Though built on American bones, the locally-developed VE Valiant won something no US donor car ever did: Wheels magazine’s Car of the Year, Chrysler Australia’s first.
Median 104 hp across 233 similar cars
Lead trim: VE Slant-6 (145 bhp) · up to 195 hp
Chrysler Valiant VE1967–1969
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Chrysler Valiant VE yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactThough built on American bones, the locally-developed VE Valiant won something no US donor car ever did: Wheels magazine’s Car of the Year, Chrysler Australia’s first.
The VE Valiant (October 1967) was an all-new design on the North American platform with a 108 in wheelbase, sharing its bonnet and guards with the also-new 1967 Dodge Dart, with slightly larger body dimensions and more interior space than the VC, a flatter roofline and a concave rear window. Two engine options were available: the basic Slant-6 at 145 bhp and a new 2-barrel carburetted version at 160 bhp, and the 273 V8 was improved and made available across the whole range. Other upgrades were a 64-litre fuel tank, shorter manual gear-lever throw, a relocated dip switch and wiper motor (much less wiper noise), dual-circuit brakes with a tandem master cylinder, double-sided safety rims, front seat belts and front power disc brakes on V8 models. The range was Valiant and Regal sedans, Safari and Regal Safari wagons and Valiant, Wayfarer and Dodge utilities (the last a lower-priced version), with the V8 flagship renamed "VIP" (bucket seats, floor-shift automatic, vinyl roof and three sergeant stripes). It won Wheels magazine's Car of the Year in 1967, the first for Chrysler Australia; 68,688 VE Valiants were built.
Collectors Spotted in the Chrysler Valiant Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Chrysler Valiant yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
3 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VE Slant-6 (145 bhp) | 1967–1969 | — | 145 hp | 215 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| VE Slant-6 two-barrel (160 bhp) | 1967–1969 | — | 160 hp | 220 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
| VE V8 273 | 1967–1969 | 4.5 L V8 | 195 hp | 265 lb-ft | — | — | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
By 1979 a 4.0-litre Valiant with Electronic Lean Burn beat a 2.0-litre Ford Cortina on fuel in Wheels magazine's economy test.
New Zealand held off launching the VJ for nearly a year after Australia, a 60 percent tax on big engines having killed the market's appetite.
The VH was the first Valiant Chrysler Australia engineered entirely in-house, Charger included, ending reliance on Detroit.
The VG Pacer's hardtop body lasted exactly six cars, three E31 and three E35, before Chrysler dropped the style for good.
The VF's new Hardtop grafted a Dodge Dart coupe body onto Valiant front sheetmetal — and at over 5,000mm, it's still the longest coupe ever built in Australia.
Though built on American bones, the locally-developed VE Valiant won something no US donor car ever did: Wheels magazine’s Car of the Year, Chrysler Australia’s first.
The Australian-built AP5 Valiant looked American but barely was one — Chrysler's local arm redesigned nearly everything, keeping just the doors, windscreen and front guards from its US counterpart.
Australia's first-ever Valiant quietly beat the rest of the local industry to a piece of modern electronics: it was the first Australian car built with an alternator instead of a generator.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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