1960 Dodge PD4 Phoenix |
|
| Manufacturer | Chrysler Australia |
|---|---|
| Production | 1960 to 1973 |
| Assembly | Mile End, Australia Tonsley Park, Australia Port Melbourne, Australia |
| Predecessor | Dodge Custom Royal |
| Successor | Chrysler by Chrysler |
| Class | Full-size |
| Body style | 4-door sedan 4-door hardtop |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Engine | 318 cu in (5.2 L) V8 383 cu in (6.3 L) V8 |
| Transmission | 3spd automatic |
| Wheelbase | (1968) 119.0 in (3023mm) [1] |
| Length | (1968) 213.1 in (5413mm) [1] |
| Width | (1968) 77.7 in (1974mm) [1] |
| Related | Dodge Dart Dodge Polara Plymouth Fury |
The Dodge Phoenix is an automobile which was produced by Chrysler Australia from 1960 to 1973.
The Phoenix was introduced in May 1960 as an Australian assembled version [2] of the American Dodge Dart,[3] positioned above the locally developed Chrysler Royal as Chrysler Australia’s luxury model. It borrowed its name from the top Dart, the Dodge Dart Phoenix, but unlike its American namesake it was offered only as a four door sedan [4] and only with a 318 cubic inch V8 engine.[4]The Phoenix was subsequently restyled each year in line with revisions to American Dodge models (initially the Dart and later the Polara) until a change of policy for 1965 saw the Phoenix based on the American Plymouth Fury for the first time. Like the 1965 Fury, this model featured vertically stacked headlamps.[3] A four-door hardtop body style joined the sedan in 1967.[4] The new model was fitted with a 383 cubic inch V8 engine [4] whilst the sedan continued with the smaller 318 cubic inch V8.[4] The two body styles continued to be offered until the final Australian Phoenix was built in 1973.[5] The Australian developed Chrysler by Chrysler then inherited the role of the top level luxury model in Chrysler’s Australian range.