During a lunch with the South Cape Old Motor Club at a private motor museum, among the myriad of cars we spotted this beaut!
This is an Imperial Crown Southampton. These special cars were built from 1957 – 1966 and were quite advanced for the time. Power seats were standard and cruise control (called “Auto Pilot”), Air conditioning and power door locks were options. The detail and styling on this car is astonishing. Look closely at the crown above the headlights – that is 8-carat gold!
Imperial was the Chrysler Corporation’s luxury auto-mobile brand from 1955 until 1975 and again from 1981 through 1983.
In 1954, Chrysler dropped its brand identification from Chrysler Imperial and simply named it the Imperial. The objective was to separate the line from the Chrysler models and to better compete with other luxury manufacturers like Lincoln and Cadillac.
This is the only 4-door example in South Africa.
Article: Johann van Tonder