The Chrysler Citadel concept car was the ultimate station wagon

It might be strange to think of a station wagon as a rear design, but a concept car with a rear like this immediately places itself in that peaceful period of the late ’90s and early ’00s. Before all our cars somehow got longer, heavier and a little shorter.

Especially an American car like this Chrysler Citadel, which appeared at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit in January 1999, a show that is as American as apple pie and concealed handguns. This was the year after Daimler and Chrysler merged to form what turned out to be a defunct industrial colossus (called DaimlerChrysler, they weren’t very clear at the time).

The Chrysler Fort has some interesting equipment

Perhaps they wanted to show that some of the European stars had penetrated the Americans. In addition to that striking, aggressive look, Chrysler’s Citadel also had a cool feature – the rear doors were sliding doors with a connected B-pillar and the lower part of the two-part tailgate disappeared into the floor. Both items were designed to facilitate access to the cream leather interior.

The interior, especially the dashboard, was ‘inspired by high watches’, which was definitely a must for your concept car at the time. But what really got viewers to pull out their pitchforks, feathers and pitchforks: the hybrid. Electric assist at the time was still the exclusive preserve of Japanese manufacturers, with smaller engines and even smaller bills at the pump. So crazy things.

Good and economical, six cylinders with electric assist

That’s why Citadel aimed to combine the power of the V8 with the utility of the V6, which Chrysler did not cheat on. Oh, what are those times when you can promote family cars in such a way. The 3.5-liter V6 gasoline engine pumped 256 hp to the rear wheels, while the Siemens-sourced electric motor sent 70 hp to the front wheels for all-wheel drive. How far can you stay from a Prius in terms of hybridity?

And yet Citadel did not make it to the production stage. The Sebring and PT Cruiser were safe choices, it seems. The Citadel could have had a better position in the US if it had combined V8 power with V12 use. Or if it was a big picture with 40 inch wheels and a gun mount on the passenger side of the dashboard.

However, DaimlerChrysler had a tendency to do everything wrong. The American/German tycoon combined the worst of the two companies and, to a great extent, damaged the reputations of both parties for years to come. These were dark times. Chrysler was sold in 2007, went bankrupt in 2009, was bought by Fiat in 2014 and merged with Stellantis in 2021. American quality, French ergonomics and Italian reliability? That’s more like it.