1955-1956 Chrysler New Yorker: A Classic American Car

1955-1956 Chrysler New Yorker Hardtop & Convertible Browse the article 1955-1956 Chrysler New Yorker Hardtop & Convertible

1955-1956 Chrysler New Yorker Hardtop & Convertible

The handsome 1955-1956 Chrysler New Yorker Hardtop & Convertible, created by Virgil Exner, may be just the ticket if you can't afford a 300. The '55 had that "Hundred Million Dollar Look": a split eggcrate grille and tall, chrome-encased "Twin Tower" taillights, plus attractive cloth-and-vinyl interiors and the ever-potent Hemi V-8.

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1955 Chrysler New Yorker Newport hardtop coupe.
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The 1956 acquired a more massive and unified grille and more prominent, though still conservative, tailfins housing large vertical taillights. New that year was the Newport hardtop sedan, which offered four-door practicality with pillarless construction.

PowerFlite two-speed automatic was standard (three-speed TorqueFlite became available for mid-'56), controlled by a menacing chrome wand jutting from the dash on '55s and by the famous pushbuttons on '56s. The plushly trimmed St. Regis two-door proved quite popular.

Bargain hunters, but not serious collectors, might also consider the less expensive Windsor equivalents, which had their own distinct front and rear styling for '56.

Pluses of the 1955-1956 Chrysler New Yorker Hardtop & Convertible:

• Attractive styling and still reasonably priced
  
• Fast
  
• Luxurious
  

Minuses of the 1955-1956 Chrysler New Yorker Hardtop & Convertible:

• Slower to appreciate than 300s
  
• A bit heavy on the chrome
  
• Big, heavy and thirsty, but if you're reading this entry you don't care
  

Production of the 1955-1956 Chrysler New Yorker Hardtop & Convertible:

• 1955: Newport 2d htp 5,777; St. Regis 2d htp 11,076; conv 946
• 1956: Newport 2d htp 4,115; St. Regis 2d htp 6,686; conv 921; Newport 4d htp 3,599
  

Specifications of the 1955-1956 Chrysler New Yorker Hardtop & Convertible:
Length, inches: 218.6 (1955), 220.4 (1956)
Wheelbase, inches: 126.0
Weight, pounds: 4,125-4,360
Price, new: $3,652-4,243

Engines for the 1955-1956 Chrysler New Yorker Hardtop & Convertible:

TypeSize
Horsepower
Years
ohv V-8
331.1/ 354 250/280
1955-56
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