Features

Fangs For the Memories
Dodge Copperhead

Dodge's Copperhead slithers into the limelight. Michael Lamm gives us the details while Scott Dahlquist captures the photos.

Just what Chrysler needs-another sports car! And yet, and yet...maybe; well, probably not.
The Dodge Copperhead concept convertible made mouths water at the Detroit International Auto Show in April, and it's certainly a producible piece of machinery. Visually, according to K. Neil Walling, Chrysler's director of design, the Copperhead's styling harks back to the proportions of the original Austin-Healey 100-4 and the Jaguar XK-120: classic roadsters with long hoods, short decks, delectably tight overhangs and snug, purposeful cabins.
"The project began as we were looking at Prowler," recounts Walling. "Prowler has what we consider great proportions, with the front wheels way far forward, no front overhang, long wheelbase, people sitting right back by the rear wheels. We thought these were great proportions in a hot rod, and I wondered what they would look like in a sports car.
"Back when I was still in college, auto enthusiasts were classified in one of two groups: You were either a sports car guy or a hot rod guy. I had Triumphs and a 240Z. Two of the cars that I felt were really neat back then were the Austin-Healey and the Jaguar. They just had such a great stance on the road. The front wheels were way far forward...they had a great presence. "So I thought it would be an interesting thesis to put together a sports car with a V6 engine-a little brother to the Viper-that would have just tons of feel and presence and stance. When we looked at other 6-cylinder sports cars out on the road today, we figured people would notice immediately that this one was different simply by virtue of its proportions."
Unlike Prowler, which came from a 1990 "idea fair" at the corporation's California studio, Chrysler Pacifica, the idea for the Copperhead originated in Chrysler's Auburn Hills, Mich., design center. Walling became the project's spearhead and patron, encouraged and abetted by executives Bob Lutz, Tom Gale and John Herlitz, all of whom take a keen interest in auto design. The initial concept sketch was done by advanced designer Bob Hubbach in the early part of 1996. According to Walling, however, the rear end of Hubbach's design was missing something. "Bill Chergosky did a sketch that we liked," notes Walling, "so it was Bill's rear development that finished off the remainder of the car. The rest of it came along pretty easily. There were detail areas that we had to work out-the leading edges of the front fenders ahead of the wheels, the placement of the headlights; work in that area. And getting the front fender to interlock properly with the rear fender in the door area also took some development time.
Dodge Copperhead "The interior was pure Michael Burton. He's the designer who did that...it was his thought, his thesis. We again wanted a little of the Prowler influence by having the tach in front of the driver and the instruments in the center, but the Copperhead's interior is done a little differently. The tach is larger, and what we call the center stack or pod...the instruments are arranged sort of like the head of a cobra, the head of a snake. And, of course, in keeping with that theme and the car's name, we use purple simulated snakeskin on the seats." Interior designer Burton obviously delights in rounded forms, and he sketched them here with just a touch of crispness. This led to the oval-on-oval center dash section, but with a sharply defined surround and sharp-edged recesses for the gauges. Complementary forms adorn the door panels. There's also an oval, slightly convex, slotted aluminum shift gate-molto Italiano-and an attendant aluminum pod for the HVAC controls and sound system.
The round, crisp edged forms echo throughout the exterior as well. There's a slight hard edge where the front fenders approach the grille, and then around back, an ever-so-subtle fin along the decklid. The fin interrupts with the vertical CHMSL and then gets picked up again beneath the rear pan, where it emphasizes the tuck-under in that area.

Dodge Copperhead Unlike so many open showcars, the Copperhead does have a working top, and it raises and lowers manually. The windows, however, run up and down electrically. Mechanically, the Copperhead makes use of as many production parts as possible. Chrysler engineers have taken the 24-valve, aluminum, 2.7-liter V6 from the corporation's upcoming 1998 LH sedans and boosted its horsepower from 200 to the 220-250 range. Tweaks come via different manifolding and cam timing. They also plucked the 5-speed manual gearbox from the Dakota pickup and bolted it to the bellhousing of what would normally be an east/west engine.

The entire showcar was fabricated by Metalcrafters Inc., in Fountain Valley, California. Metalcrafters has been building prototypes and showcars for Chrysler since 1987, among them the first Viper, the initial Prowler, the Atlantic, and the 300. Chrysler's design and engineering computers feed directly into those at Metalcrafters, which speeds build time considerably.
Dodge Copperhead The Copperhead uses a fully unitized body structure, and for this Metalcrafters hand-hammered the sheet steel over forms developed in the computer. Wheelbase was set at 110 inches, nearly 14 inches longer than the Viper's. And yet, because of the Copperhead's tight overhangs, the copper-fire orange convertible stands eight inches shorter overall than the Viper.
Suspension is all-independent, with the front A-arms borrowed basically from Chrysler's JA series (Cirrus/Stratus/Breeze). And the rear suspension system came from the F-24S (Eagle Talon). Tires are a wide, squat 225/40R18 up front and 255/40R20 in the rear. Antilock disc brakes and speed-sensitive rack-and-pinion power steering complete the basic mechanical package.
Whether the Copperhead will ever go into production-even in limited quantity-remains a question. Chrysler naturally chooses not to say at this point. It doesn't seem likely, but then neither did the Viper and Prowler.

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