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.
Lead trim: Imperial Crown limousine V8 (149.5 in wheelbase)
Imperial Imperial Crown limousineC-70 · 1955–1965
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Imperial Imperial Crown limousine 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.
FactThese 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 Imperial Crown was a 4-door limousine offered from 1955 to 1965 (designers Virgil Exner and Elwood Engel; production 1954–1965): in 1955 and 1956 the Crown limousine had an extra 19.5 in and 16.5 in of wheelbase and seated eight (three in front including the driver, three in the rear and two on rearward-facing seats), and from 1957 through 1965 the long-wheelbase Imperial Crown cars were finished by Ghia in Italy, formally introduced on January 2, 1957 (the later ones built on the D-body). Engines followed the standard cars: the 331 and 354 cu in Hemis (1955–56), the 392 Hemi and the 413 cu in (6.8 L) wedge; the wheelbase was 149.5 in and the curb weight 5,300 to 6,300 lb (a range). Limousines built by Stageway Coachbuilders of Fort Smith, Arkansas for the 1967–1971 Crown on a 163.0 in wheelbase were advertised as the largest luxury automobiles in the world.
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
One published trim in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial Crown limousine V8 (149.5 in wheelbase) | 1955–1965 | V8 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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.
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