The Chrysler group is developing a business case to determine whether it will build a Chrysler 300 convertible.

Marketing and engineering groups are studying the Helios concept convertible created by ASC Inc. The Helios is based on a stock 300C sedan.

"There is nothing in the segment," says George Murphy, Chrysler group senior vice president of global brand marketing. "It is an interesting opportunity."

But Chrysler faces a daunting challenge in building a four-door convertible - a rarity because of the engineering difficulties involved. In November, Chrysler group design chief Trevor Creed said the company would not build a 300 convertible.

Chrysler engineers were involved in the creation of the Helios, which was unveiled at the 2005 Detroit auto show. But Creed said structural-rigidity issues precluded a production version of the 300 convertible.

The company has no deadline for making a decision, Murphy says.

Chrysler has received "a lot of requests" for a 300 convertible, Murphy says.

"It is more a technical challenge than it is a marketing challenge," he says.

But Chrysler will wait to deal with the engineering issues until a marketing study is complete, says Burke Brown, chief engineer for the rear-wheel-drive product team.

"Right now, Brown says, "marketing is in the middle of their analysis asking, 'Is this really something the world wants and needs?' "

Creating structural rigidity in a four-door convertible is a long-standing industry challenge. If Chrysler succeeds, the 300 convertible will be the first four-door convertible since the 1967 Lincoln Continental, according to ASC.

Rigidity is an issue because removing the roof eliminates much of the structure that gives the vehicle body its stiffness.

The longer distance between the front and rear wheels in a four-door vehicle makes it more likely the body will flex.

Brown says the issue is: "How do you make a car with that long a wheelbase very stiff and not give up all the ride comfort and handling?

"I don't think there is anything in it that is totally impossible. It is assessing what it will take."

When it introduced the Helios, ASC said it had reinforced the car.

Additionally, Chrysler must decide how to build a convertible.

"Do you take a whole car that is essentially a finished car and chop it up and throw away parts, or do you send out a partial vehicle?" Brown asks.

ASC does not comment on programs with any customer, says Tim Yost, a spokesman for the Southgate, Mich., specialty design firm.

ASC stands by claims it made in January regarding the structural rigidity of the Helios, Yost says.

In January, the company cited patent-pending "body-engineering advances, including an innovative cross-car bulkhead, longitudinal tunnel and underbody reinforcements."

ASC said the rigidity of the Helios would be better than existing production convertibles. ASC also said the Helios would meet federal side-impact crash standards.

http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102154

Here are some pics of the concept:

 

That thing is so hot. :eek3:

 

Good luck with the structural rigidity. Four-door large convertibles always looked weird anyway.

 

i concuuurrrrrr.

 

That looks gorgeous. It makes me think the 300 should have always been a convertible. I'd opt for black leather instead of the wood and black leather for the seats as well. The headrests are a bit bulky too...I don't really like screens in the back of the headrests but otherwise, it's pleasing to look at.

 

A price premium of about $7,000 is likely for a proposed four-door Chrysler 300 convertible.

The Chrysler group will take another year to determine whether it will build a production version of a concept car unveiled at the Detroit auto show in January, said Joe Eberhardt, executive vice president of global sales and marketing for the Chrysler group.

Key factors are market appeal and the structural concerns involved in creating a four-door convertible.

ASC Inc., with assistance from Chrysler engineers, created the four-door Helios convertible concept. It cut off the top of a 300C sedan and strengthened the car's structure.

Eberhardt said: "Convertible premiums typically range anywhere between $2,500 and $7,000 in the marketplace. I think we would have to be probably on the upper range of it because of all the changes required for the vehicle."

Pricing it any higher would make it hard to sell, said Eberhardt, who was interviewed at a Dodge event here.

Craig Love, vice president of the Chrysler group's rear-wheel-drive product team, said there are engineering challenges to create sufficient stiffness in a four-door convertible.

Eberhardt said research shows there is demand for a more functional convertible.

Part of the business case is determining where the four-door convertible could be assembled. DaimlerChrysler's Brampton, Ontario, assembly plant, which builds the 300, is near capacity. Eberhardt said the automaker is in discussions with ASC, which builds niche vehicles.

"If you run it on the regular line, I think the volume would have to be quite substantial because you need to tool for it, you need to do all the dimensional things," he said.

"If you (go) offline at a specialty shop, I think you could make a viable business case with smaller volumes."

http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=102482

 

looks like something that bentley would be turning out for 200k+ a pop, good job DC