EXTERIOR STYLING

The Turbine Car is styled as a car of today, rather than a futuristic or "dream" car. Yet its styling is distinctive, different from all other Chrysler Corporation cars, and appropriate to its role as a vehicle for the turbine engine.

Front

The functional elements at the front are integrated into the basic form of the car. The dominant elements are the rings outlining the headlights, and the grille area is restrained to accentuate these outboard circular forms.

Front of Turbine Car

Thin, horizontal aluminum bars are framed within a broad rectangular grille opening, outlined in bright stainless steel. A chrome-plated bezel encircles each of the two 7-inch head lamps and simulates a bladed wheel. The bezel itself is recessed within a heavy gauge steel ring which is part of the front bumper and serves as a visual extension of the front fenders. A 5/8-inch deflection gap concealed by a color-keyed vinyl extrusion separates the bumper ring from the front-end sheet metal.

Added impact protection is afforded below the center of the grille opening by a heavy-gauge license plate housing. Parking/turn signal lamps, located directly beneath the headlights, are keystone-shaped and each is recessed within a broad chrome-plated collar.

The brow of the hood dips below the front fender crown line, affording the driver an excellent view of the front fender projections. This helps him judge front-end clearance under traffic and parking conditions. The hood is decorated in the front center by a thin, pylon-shaped ornament and, in the front left corner, by a "Chrysler Corporation" plaque plus the word "Turbine" in bright-metal script.

Engine Compartment

Contrasting bright-metal finish and paint colors in the engine compartment make the engine stand out against the sheet metal. The engine housing is black, while the air intake is painted body color. The front diffuser, end covers and exhaust collectors are polished aluminum, and accessory covers are both black and bright metal. A circular plaque containing a Pentastar and the words "Turbine" and "Chrysler Corporation" is mounted on the inlet duct.

Side

The Turbine Car displays a low, thin-roof silhouette supported by a narrow front pillar and wide rear pillar. A bright molding outlines the side glass opening and follows the belt line across the base of the rear pillar and around the rear. Both roof and rear pillar are covered in a durable black vinyl. A subtle horizontal crease line along the middle of the body side puts the lower body in slight shadow and emphasizes the low appearance of the car.

Side shot of Turbine Car

The word "Turbine" in bright-metal script appears on both rear quarters, and a gold Pentastar is carried on the right front fender behind the wheel opening.

A flat chromed molding, with a raised black paint-filled double rail in its center, seats over the character line on the fender crown and extends to the end of the rear quarter panel. In both the front and rear quarter areas, the molding is split along its middle and mounted over the hood and deck openings so that it effectively conceals them. A remote-control outside rearview mirror is seated in the molding on the left door, and a manual radio antenna is located within the molding, on the left side, ahead of the rear deck opening. On the front fender, three narrow rectangular louvers, simulating air intake vents, are inserted flush with the sheet metal, one above the other.

In the sill area, the body side rolls outward to indicate a character line extending along its entire length. The line is emphasized by a wide paint-filled molding, with all sheet metal below the molding painted silver. Removable skirts cover the rear wheel openings.

Each wheel cover is highlighted by a ridged outer rim surrounding a center hub styled with radial ribs.

Rear

The most distinctive exterior appearance is the rear, which gives immediate identity to the car with its "swept back" aerodynamic styling. A large chrome-plated bumper section angles forward and inward from each rear quarter corner to a point near the center line. From there it curves sharply rearward to form a squared-off, airfoil-shaped tail, and a "Chrysler Corporation" plaque is mounted on this central prominence. As in the front, a 5/8-inch gap between the rear bumper and sheet metal is filled with a color-keyed vinyl extrusion. The deck is flat and wide, broken only by a thin wind-split in its center, and the back window, enclosed by a plain, level molding, provides a smooth, uninterrupted surface flowing downward from roof line to deck.

Rear View of Turbine Car

Rear lamp areas are shaped in the form of horizontal tear drops, framed by the bumper. A concave recess within each opening is painted copper color. Within the recess, the inner end of a blade-shaped tail lamp lens butts into the base of a long, fluted, chrome-plated backup light body.

The rear license plate frame of bright metal is suspended below the rear bumper projection.

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