Imperial Crown Southampton Sedan 1962

by

Model number: BOS290

Review of the model:

Big American motor cars from the late fifties and early sixties are often only thought of as makers as Cadillac, Continental and Buick, but often forgetting the luxurious brand of Imperial. These cars were the top of the line, the Chrysler corp. could put in the game. Imperial were a separate brand own by Chrysler as well as Continental was own by Ford.

The Imperial Crown Southampton 4 door sedan was the most sold car of the Imperial line in 1962. This car was the choice of CEO and Presidents. Now you have the opportunity to own one in scale 1:18!

The producer of this model car is Best Of Show, also known as BoS-Models. They have found a niche of this branch, to produce model cars, cast in resin in limited numbers. This very model only comes in 508! So are you a fan of big land yachts from this period, hurry up call your nearest dealer!
Maybe you will ask: Is this model good, is it perfect?

The fast answer is Yes and No.

Let’s take a narrow look at this massive, big, handsome model. – At first when we open the box and remove the soft paper that protect this car as it was a gift from heaven. I can’t stop myself of being surprised over how nice and well made it looks there in the box. And if you “unbox” it on a well lid desktop the sparkling chrome and paintwork strike you as lighting. And I catch my self in saying and loud wow! BoS-Models have an impact on the collector as a drug. You can hear here I’m up on the big words. Yes I like the model.

Nearly every thing is made perfect. I will mention the chrome, paintwork, prep work and  polish. The lenses are maybe the most realistic to date for my models. The hubcaps have engraved Imperial on them as the real car. Some of the emblems are made in etched-metal and other is tampon stamped paint work. The windows of this model have no distortion in the plastic, so they look very clear and realistic. But the downside is they are very flimsy and made of ultra thin plastic. Furthermore the surrounding trim chrome panels are made by ordinary silver paint. That suits not a model in the +130 Euro price range!

All windows are closed as they expect a heavy rainfall soon. If we look inside the roomy cabin a nice light blue colored interior welcomes you with fine details, but again try to compare to Sun Star or Signature models – they come with far more detailing for half of the price. If I shall be more specific, the dashboard and instrument panel should have more “bling”

Resin cast model cars have the missing feature of opening parts, for some this is not an issue, but I preferred to look inside the engine bay and trunk as well. BoS-model cars have no spring suspension on the wheels. That is not a big issue for me, and the model stands realistic on the tarmac. – If it not was for a small flaw on one of the tires attached to the wheel (a small bump) can resolve in the model stand on three “legs” - maybe a small thing easily corrected later.

This was the pro and cons outspoken as objective I can. Take a look on my pictures below and enjoy the article regarding the history, technical data and more – Here after it’s up to you if you will be the new owner of the 1962 Imperial Crown Southampton sedan.

After all I had some joyful days when I wrote this and handled the pictures of my model.
I will recommend you to give the model a try!
 

I will give this model 5 out of 6 stars  ******

Below here are pictures of the model, historical description, old brochures, technical data and some  movie clips for the real car. So please enjoy!

History:

Chrysler's Crowned King - Chrysler Imperial Crown
Partly by David Traver Adolphus

If you were Chrysler, whose Imperial line was in a constant battle with Lincoln for second place behind Cadillac at the top of the luxury market, what could you do? Imperial was already as fine a car as you could make it, buzzing with luxury, technological innovation, craftsmanship and power. So Chrysler created a badge and trim level to add even more allure: the Crown.

At the time of the name's introduction in 1940, Crown was applied to long-wheelbase automobiles, originally all closed cars. But by 1960, the scene had changed. Catalog models were on the same 129-inch wheelbase as other Imperials, with a special-order, $16,000 limousine handbuilt by Ghia in Italy on a 149.5-inch wheelbase.

Confusingly, even for Imperial fans, the limousine was always "Crown Imperial," while Sixties cars were all "Imperial Crown." Both used the new 413-cu.in. Wedge V-8 in place of the Fifties-era Hemi engine, but kept body-on-frame construction in place of the unit-body all other new Chryslers shared. With Forward-Look styling dating from 1957, Crowns could be had in four-door sedan; two- and four-door Southampton hardtop; and the Crown-only convertible coupe. The 17 available colors tended "toward iridescent and pastel shades of bronze, mauve and turquoise," according to Chrysler.

With a few exceptions over the next decade, Crowns were either hardtops or convertibles, and in 1960, the four-door Crown Southampton the most popular choice, with 4,765 sold. Richard Nixon was seen in various Crowns about the country, as were dignitaries and celebrities the world over. Crown seats featured six inches of foam padding with steam-fitted upholstery, and each car was comprehensively inspected and road tested before delivery.

The 1961 Imperials received distinctive "floating" headlamps and a new instrument panel, but they were largely unchanged, as were sales. But stylist Virgil Exner's wild fins were not for everyone, and when he departed Chrysler that year, successor Elwood Engel was ready to take a new direction.

At first, Engel's 1962 Imperials only toned down the Exner-styled models, rather than completely redesigning them. The 413-cu.in. V-8 actually lost 10hp, dropping to 340hp, but had a stomping 470-lbs.ft. of torque. It was detuned to make the driving experience even more relaxed, while a modified pushbutton TorqueFlite automatic transmission was lighter and smaller. The series SY-1-M 1962 Imperial Crowns also retained the 129-inch wheelbase and freestanding headlamps of their predecessors. But they lost the big fins, with an all-new rear-end treatment easily identified by freestanding gun sight tail lamps. Like the tail lamps, a new split grille also recalled the 1955-'56 Imperials, but Exner's pod-mounted headlamps and an interior distinguished by a squared-off steering wheel remained.

As usual, the Crown received almost every luxury touch Chrysler had: six-way seats, power windows, power brakes, triple cigarette lighters, you name it. Crown convertibles also received a standard full leather interior, and most buyers went further and optioned their cars heavily with power seats, air conditioning, leather interiors, 45 RPM record player and custom colors.

Regardless of whether Engel's intent was for the 1962 model to be a stopgap on the way to an all-new car, or if this was the design he was after, it worked: Between the modern look and a major advertising campaign, sales jumped to the tune of 145 percent, for the top-selling four-door Crown Southampton.

It didn't hurt that they were just plain great cars. Driving the 1962 Imperial LeBaron, veteran journalist and serial big Chrysler owner Tom McCahill called it "the best sedan made in the world today," (Read his test further down) and when we tested the Crown Convertible in 1990 , we tended to agree: Thanks to torsion-bar suspension, "Handling is probably the best of the big cars," wrote John Tennyson. "There is no other luxury car quite like it."
 

Technical specification:

Assembly

Jefferson Avenue Assembly
Detroit, Michigan, United States

Body style

2-door hardtop
2-door convertible
4-door sedan
4-door hardtop
Platform D-body

Powertrain

Engine 413 cu in (6.8 L) Wedgehead V8
Transmission 3-speed TorqueFlite automatic.

Dimensions

Wheelbase: 129.0 in (3,277 mm)
Length: 227.1 in (5,768 mm)
Width: 81.7 in (2,075 mm)
Height: 56.8 in (1,443 mm)
Curb weight 4,800–5,500 lb (2,200–2,500 kg)

Elwood P. Engel (February 10, 1917 – June 24, 1986) was Chrysler Corporation's design chief from 1961 until 1974.

Engel first joined General Motors as a student under Harley Earl's watchful eye at GM's school of design. In 1939 he met classmates Joe Oros and George W. Walker at the school. During World War II, Engel served four years in the U.S. Army as a mapmaker, in both the European and Pacific theaters of operation. He and Oros remained in touch throughout the war, and after the war when Oros took a position in Walker's design firm; he recommended that Engel be hired as well. Although Walker's firm had Nash as an account, Engel worked on designs for farm equipment, women's shoes and household appliances. However, when Walker obtained a contract with Ford Motor Company in 1947 (and dumped Nash), Engel and Oros went to work full-time designing automobiles. Engel and Oros were such close friends that Oros was best man when Engel was wedded to Marguerite Imboden. While Oros worked under Walker on Ford car and truck designs, Engel concentrated on Lincoln and Mercury vehicles.

When Walker became Ford's vice president for design in 1955, he made Engel and Oros his lieutenants. The trio was responsible for most of the ever-increasing sizes of Ford's late 1950s models, and their ornate chrome adornments.

Engel and Oros came up with competing designs for the 1958 Thunderbird. Oros's four-seater design was ultimately chosen. Engel's team was instructed by Ford President Robert S. McNamara to add two more doors and two more seats to their roadster design - and that became the basis for the 1961 Lincoln Continental. McNamara had considered terminating the Lincoln brand, along with the Edsel, after the 1960 model year. The Continental, however, convinced him to keep the line going, and it became such a success it was credited with saving the brand. Engel also scaled down the Ford Thunderbird and turned it into a four-seater to create the 1959 Ford Anglia 105E, a popular saloon in Britain.

In 1961 Walker retired from Ford at age 65. When Eugene Bordinat, not Engel, was chosen as his replacement, the well-connected Walker helped orchestrate Engel's move to Chrysler in November 1961.

At Chrysler, Engel replaced chief stylist Virgil Exner, who had designed the successful "Forward Look" models of the latter 1950s. Exner was responsible for the era of large tail fins; Engel was credited with replacing fins with a slab-sided look, reminiscent of his Lincoln Continental design.

Engel generally delegated the majority of work to his design teams; he then would fine-tune the clay models with his touches.Co-workers said he had an uncanny eye for the "commercial viability" of designs.

Engel oversaw the design and development of the 1963 Turbine car, of which 55 were manufactured and 50 of them road tested until 1966. The two-door model was said to strongly resemble his original two-door design for the 1958 Thunderbird, which had evolved into the '61 Continental. Although most of Chrysler's legendary "Muscle Cars" were credited to specific designers, Engel oversaw, worked on, and approved all of them.

Engel retired in 1973 but stayed on at Chrysler as a consultant until 1974.
He died of cancer on June 24, 1986.
 

Old brochures of the Imperial 1964

ADVERTISING

For the 1962 Imperials must have been effective, since sales increased considerably over 1961. In fact, they were higher than any year since watershed 1957, when Imperial sent its competition scrambling back to the design studios with its "suddenly it's 1960!" styling. The panic at the competition was short lived, though. 1958 was a bad sales year for the automobile industry in general, and an awful year for Imperial. Too bad for the Imperial, generally it was preferred over its competition for handling ability, maneuverability, and always scored high marks in the "fun to drive" category by the automotive journalists of the time.

Imperial's advertising campaign for 1962 was directed at the top professionals in America. It invited them to accept the offer to have a new Imperial delivered to them for a test drive. The black and white ads generally ran in National Geographic and other appropriate magazines. Some of the ads were directed specifically to Doctors or Attorneys, and admonished that if somehow your invitation missed you, just write to the General Manager of the Imperial Division (on your letterhead).

It's curious that Imperial's advertising consisted of mostly black and white photography during this time. Even lesser cars were using color photography, and virtually all of Imperial's competition used color. Cadillac utilized beautifully illustrated ads with very little copy. Prominent in Cadillac ads were beautifully jeweled Cadillac "V"'s and crests. Always designed by one of the top jewelers, such as Harry Winston or Van Cleef and Arpels. Lincoln was riding the wave of success brought in by its 1961 models, certainly one of the great automotive designs of all time. The lines of this car were very clean and uncluttered, due largely to designer Elwood Engel. Engel was about to play a big part in the Imperial's design, but not for 1962.

For 1962, Imperial finally shed the finned look it had helped start with the 1957 models. By 1961, most other makes had abandoned the huge fins of previous years, promoting a less flashy look for the sixties. Cadillac is generally considered to have propelled the fins to their biggest heights with its 1959 models, a burden that Imperial (thankfully) didn't have to bear. But by the time 1961 rolled around, the finned look had run its course, leaving Imperial alone in the fine car field with its appendages. Cadillac still had fins, but they had retreated into the rear quarter panel considerably at this point. Lincoln had a semblance of fins from the rear, but not from the side view.

The 1962 Imperial had an athletic look, the new lower rear quarters made the car seem somehow more balanced, a bit longer (it wasn't). A contemporary test drive report indicated that the Imperial seemed to attract attention, which did not happen when other luxury makes were being tested. Was it Imperial's stately appearance? Was it the fact that this car was capable of accelerating at a rate faster than expected? Perhaps. But maybe the looks were just because it was an Imperial.

There's a scene in the movie It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1962) where Ethel Merman has the privilege of being a passenger in a Dawn Blue 1962 Imperial Convertible. During this scene, the Imperial is among a group of lesser vehicles racing to the same destination. At one point Miss Merman commented, "We're the ones with the Imperial and we're running LAST?!?!"

Perhaps Ethel Merman understood the Imperial: the car which handles and accelerates and thrills as a great car is supposed to.
 

Tom McCahill's review of the 1962 Imperial

Video of the real car from Youtube

1962 Imperial Crown - Exterior Walkaround - 2013 Granby International, Quebec, Canada

1962 Imperial Lebaron & Imperial Crown Promotional Film

If you have any question or comment your are free to contact me at: aeronautic@stofanet.dk

Dealers are welcome to get their models reviewed too.

Aeronautic Jan. 2018

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