Chrysler has faded into glory in 2022. The Stellantis brand only has models on the menu that are also quite old. During the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the brand shows with the Airflow Concept what you can expect from the brand in the future.
Chrysler currently only sells the Pacifica and the 300. The Pacifica is the youngest of the bunch, but that MPV with birth year 2016 is no longer very young. Next to it is the Chrysler 300, a car that in its current form dates from 2010 but which is technically partly related to the 300C from 2004. Stellantis also realizes that Chrysler is ripe for a rejuvenation program and during the CES in Las Vegas it attracts with this Airflow Concept is a vision of the future from the top hat.
Chrysler does not immediately say that this Airflow Concept is a preview of a future model of the brand, but at least count on certain design elements of the model to return on a production model. No, the Airflow Concept is the banner of the new Chrysler. The brand says it will launch its first fully electric model in 2025 – in three years’ time – and will only have EVs in its range in 2028. Chrysler has to become the technology brand within the American departments of Stellantis, so Chrysler is filling the Airflow Concept with autonomous software and hardware.
Chrysler Airflow
We’ll start with the design, because that’s interesting too. The Airflow Concept looks remarkably ready for production and has remarkably few optical frills. In the front we recognize something of the Pacifica and remarkably little of the 300. So no high and straight sloping nose for the Airflow Concept. The electric crossover has flat viewers with a grille in which an illuminated Chrysler logo is hidden. The car also has recessed door handles, a black roof and a relatively quietly designed rear with – how could it be otherwise – optically knotted rear lights. Then the powertrain, because Chrysler also opens up about that. The Airflow Concept has two 204 hp electric motors each and is therefore four-wheel drive. Chrysler does not highlight the battery pack, but the brand does say that in theory the car should be able to travel between 560 and 645 kilometers on a single charge.
Chrysler Airflow
The Airflow is on one of the four new STLA platforms envisioned by Stellantis and on software architecture that the company calls the ‘STLA Brain’. This software also shows its tricks on the STLA SmartCockpit christened dashboard in which multiple displays are incorporated. This means that not only the driver, but also the co-driver and the rear passengers have screens in front of them. The whole can be kept up to date via OTA updates (over-the-air) and can be completely adjusted to personal taste. Thanks to STLA AutoDrive, the Airflow can find its way autonomously (level 3). In the back we find two spacious-looking seats. Of course Chrysler also folds all kinds of ecologically responsible materials into the Airflow Concept, but the furniture is also simply covered with more. Chrysler is alive.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl