1928 Chrysler Imperial 80L Tourer

Four nearly five decades, Chrysler's Imperial line was the company's most exclusive model aimed squarely at upper class buyers and was first seen in 1926. Introduced in November 1927, the Imperial Series 80L was built on a longer 136-inch wheelbase and powered by an L-head six-cylinder displacing 309.3-cid, with 4.75:1 compression ratio as standard (6:1 was optional), developing either 100hp with the standard head or 112hp with the optional 'Red Head'.

Driving through a three-speed manual gearbox, the Chrysler came with four-wheel hydraulic braking and customers could choose from four distinct catalouge lines of bodywork from the factory, LeBaron, Dietrich and Locke. In addition to the 1,962 Imperials built in this manner, a further 161 were bodied by outside concerns. Chrysler sent four Imperial roadsters to Le Mans in 1928 and finished third and fourth in their class, making it the first American company to contest the famous endurance event and further enhancing Chrysler's reputation for exemplary performance. Walter Chrysler had also managed to lift his company from 32nd place in the sales race in 1924 to fourth just three years later and established a corporation that survives to the present day.