Between 1955 and 1975 (and again for the 1981-83 run), Imperial was the top-tier brand offered up by Chrysler Corporation. This wasn’t the ultimate dolled-up Chrysler product, but instead more analogous to Cadillac and Lincoln…an Imperial meant that you had the means, that you had earned your way into the upper crust, that you had the money to pay for the boatload of chrome you were purchasing that had all of the up-to-date luxuries attached. Imperials might be best remembered for being built as sturdy as a brick outhouse as a result of their full-perimiter frame with an X-brace in the middle, but the D-body’s robustness was only part of the equation. The other half was it’s options list. A fully kitted-out Imperial model, especially one of the 1957-1966 models, was a sincere exercise in opulence. Power windows, power door locks, power seats, air conditioning, cruise control…we take these comforts for granted today, but even a car half the age of this 1962 Imperial Crown four-door would be considered optioned out if it packed the same gear. For 1962, this was cruising at it’s finest…you weren’t doing any better without paying house-like money.

Whoever built this particular Imperial killed the Pro Street approach, in our eyes. The interior is mostly stock. There’s a worked-up 440 under the hood, connected to the pushbutton TorqueFlite automatic, and there are the steamrollers out back. And just in case you weren’t having enough fun, there are flamethrowers on the custom exhausts on the rear of the car. Riding in comfort while looking this good? We’re down. How about you?

Craigslist Link: 1962 Imperial Crown