The 1957 Imperial set a front shoulder-room record so wide that no car — not even a later Imperial — beat it for more than a decade, until GM's full-size cars of the mid-1970s.
Lead trim: Imperial 440 cu in wedge V8 (350 hp, 1966)
Imperial ImperialIMI · 1957–1966
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Imperial Imperial 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.
FactThe 1957 Imperial set a front shoulder-room record so wide that no car — not even a later Imperial — beat it for more than a decade, until GM's full-size cars of the mid-1970s.
The second-generation Imperial (designers Virgil Exner and Elwood Engel; body-on-frame D-body; assembled at Jefferson Avenue and Warren Avenue) shared Exner's "Forward Look": for 1957 a "biplane" front bumper, a full-width egg-crate grille, quad headlights where legal, taller tailfins with gunsight taillights and curved side glass for the first time in a US production car, with the 392 cu in (6.4 L) Hemi standard for 1957–58, power seats and dual exhaust standard and the first Imperial convertible; the 1959 models replaced the Hemi with the less expensive, lighter and more powerful 413 cu in (6.8 L) wedge V8 (the few Ghia-built 1959 Crown limousines kept the 392 Hemi until 1960), and for 1966 a 350 hp 440 cu in (7.2 L) wedge replaced the 413. 17,710 Imperials were built in 1959, ahead of Lincoln, as Packard withdrew. Transmissions were the 3-speed TorqueFlite A488 and then A727; the wheelbase was 129.0 in throughout, lengths 224.4 in (1957) to 227.8 in (1963–66); the width, height and curb weight (4,800 to 5,500 lb) vary by year and are not entered.
Collectors Spotted in the Imperial Imperial Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Imperial Imperial 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial 392 cu in Hemi V8 (1957–1958) | 1957–1958 | 6.4 L V8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Imperial 413 cu in wedge V8 (1959–1965) | 1959–1965 | 6.8 L V8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Imperial 440 cu in wedge V8 (350 hp, 1966) | 1966–1966 | 7.2 L V8 | 350 hp | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Buy the Imperial's Frank Sinatra Edition and you got more than his name on the fender — 16 cassette tapes of his music, locked in their own leather case under the dash.
To cut costs, the 1974 Imperial shared most of its body with the Chrysler New Yorker — keeping only its own front clip and trunk lid to look distinct.
The 1971 fuselage-era Imperial quietly made history as the first production car in America offered with a 4-wheel anti-lock braking system — a Bendix option almost nobody ordered.
Imperial's switch to a shared C-body platform wasn't really about progress — it was about money. Keeping a separate platform for such low sales volume had become impossible to justify.
The 1957 Imperial set a front shoulder-room record so wide that no car — not even a later Imperial — beat it for more than a decade, until GM's full-size cars of the mid-1970s.
These Italian-built Imperial Crown limousines were made so slowly by Ghia that they kept the old 392-cubic-inch Hemi long after the rest of the lineup had moved on.
The year Imperial became its own make, it also got a world first riding along: Chrysler and Philco's all-transistor car radio, a 1956 option that beat every other automaker to solid-state.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
It briefly served as senior sibling to Marquette, a GM companion brand cancelled after just one year.
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A Trabant 601 won its class at the 1970 Monte Carlo Rally, with a second 601 right behind it in second.
The 600 was a stopgap: the P50's body over the 601's mechanicals, and for a while its estate was built alongside the new 601 saloon.
The G80 Sport brought a 370 PS twin-turbo 3.3 V6, a mesh grille and copper-tinted chrome with copper stitching to match.
The Vigor was sold only with a five-cylinder engine, an unusual configuration Honda used to fit a longer engine transversely under a short hood.
The GS/E coupe earned the nickname "German Charger" for its long hood, short deck stance borrowed from Detroit muscle cars.
This DeVille/Fleetwood was the first production car anywhere to mount its V8 sideways, Cadillac's front-drive gamble on the new C-body.