Quantcast
Channel: Hemmings Daily - News for the collector car enthusiast » Nissan 300ZX Turbo
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 3

Captive ‘Chiller:’ 1986 Chrysler Conquest brochure

0
0

lead

All brochure images are from the collection of Mark J. McCourt

The Chrysler Conquest – and its Mitsubishi-badged twin, the Starion – is a perfect representative of the place, time and situation that it came from, being a “captive import,” built by Mitsubishi in Japan and sold in Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth showrooms through the 1980s. The tough, wide-body Conquest TSi and Starion ESI-R were new for 1986, and although their turbocharged and intercooled 176-hp four-cylinder engine was less exotic than the turbocharged V-6 or Rotary of the competing Nissan 300ZX and Mazda RX-7, they still managed to capture a small slice of the sports coupe market. The television program MotorWeek even found the Starion ESI-R a solid competitor for the far pricier and more powerful Porsche 944 Turbo.

This simple fold-out brochure/poster has special significance for me, as it was the very first car brochure that I ever picked up in a dealer showroom (I started collecting in earnest a couple of years later). I’d accompanied my grandparents to Young’s Motors when they were picking up their new Chrysler Laser in the fall of 1985, that being a surprisingly sporty car for a couple pushing 70 years of age and who’d driven huge Buicks for decades. The appeal of the Conquest remains obvious to this Eighties kid 30 years later, as its wedgy shape, pop-up headlamps and muscular, blistered fenders framing deep-dish alloy wheels still push my ‘hot car’ buttons.

A couple of summers ago, I had the opportunity to experience this brochure come-to-life, as I drove the beautiful Starion ESI-R that starred in our Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car buyer’s guide. It was techy and torquey and really fun to toss into corners… its performance truly lived up to its looks.

Click on the brochure images below to enlarge.

g1g2g3g4g5


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 3

Latest Images

Trending Articles



Latest Images