THE OLDER WE GET, the more we look back, and Chrysler is no different. Many of us will recall (or even have owned) a car that changed the way Australians looked at Valiants.
The Valiant Pacer was released in 1969. With a few clever tweaks to a basic VF Valiant, Chrysler slotted in a high-performance six-cylinder engine and a three-speed floor change. Externally, the car wore minimal chrome, had a red and black grille, Pacer 225 decals and a choice of three colours – blue, red or yellow. Inside, there were high-backed bucket seats, black-on-white instruments and a tachometer mounted on top of the dash.
Fifty years later, Chrysler Australia has created a custom, one of a kind Chrysler 300 SRT Pacer tribute car, celebrating an Australian motoring icon, the 1969 Valiant Pacer.
Acknowledging Australia’s love of fast, rear wheel drive four door sedans, Chrysler Australia is reintroducing the Pacer nameplate, paying homage to the original with a custom wrapped high performance sedan based on the Chrysler 300 SRT Core.
“We’re excited to bring to life a modern interpretation of an Australian classic, the Chrysler 300 SRT Pacer tribute car,” said Guillaume Drelon, Director of Product, Chrysler Australia.
“Highlighting the signature details of the original, the Pacer tribute takes inspiration from the iconic design cues of the celebrated 1969 Valiant Pacer.”
Featuring a full vehicle wrap replicating the original Wild Yellow body colour, the Pacer tribute is adorned with black side stripes and ‘Pacer 392’ decals on front quarter panels and rear boot lid.
The tribute Pacer’s 20-inch Black Noise Alloy Wheels are enhanced with the striking red stripe seen on the wheels of the 1969 Pacer, matching the red front splitter decal with the Pacer logo and boot lid decal.
The 1969 Chrysler Valiant Pacer was built exclusively for the Australian market at the Chrysler factory in Adelaide, South Australia.
Today, the Wild Yellow Chrysler 300 SRT Pacer tribute car is powered by an even stronger HEMI V8 that produces a booming 350kW and 637Nm of Torque. All details from the original have been meticulously reproduced. The Pacer 225 decals turned into Pacer 392, which represents the cubic inch of the 6.4 V8 powertrain. The high-powered engine is paired with the advanced TorqueFlight ZF-8-speed automatic gearbox with Rotary E-shift, Launch Control and Rear Wheel Drive.
To further celebrate the iconic Australian-made 1969 Chrysler Valiant Pacer, Chrysler Australia is excited to announce that a limited-edition production variant will be released soon.
Prices and other details are yet to be released, but expect the new Chrysler to be substantially more than the 1969 price of $2798.