The Crossfire is especially interesting to retro-design buff Denies (his hobby is searching out “antique” modern furniture from the ‘60s) because like the 1995 Chrysler show car, the Atlantic, which captured the essence of prewar Bugatti and Talbot Lago coupes, the Crossfire was influenced by prewar aesthetics, especially that era of the ‘30s when the world’s automakers were going gaga over “aero’ The Crossfire’s detailing takes its inspiration from the art deco movement of the ‘20s and ‘30s, when the world fell in love with machines and elaborately finished metal became a decorative element. Denies saw the assignment as a challenge because the concept had been built “to evoke a strong, passionate, emotional response. We had to retain that. We want to polarize our audience—we want people to love it or hate it’.
Once it is green-lighted, you bring in a designer who cans “product-ionize it” without losing what made the show car so compelling in the first place. According to Andrew Denies, who was handed that role, “going from concept to production is just recalibrating the focus on production requirements and details. Concept cars are designed at 30,000 feet and production cars at 1000 feet’ Denies is credited with designing the exteriors of two Chrysler show cars—the Charger R/T and the 300 Hemi C—and the production versions of the Neon, current Sebring, and Pacifica. Does Denies, mind being given the task of bringing to market someone else’s conception? “Our design staff is small enough that often the designer who created the concept also works on the production team:’
