Chrysler Valiant: Австралийская история модели

The Chrysler Valiant was a full size car which was sold by Chrysler Australia between 1962 and 1981. Initially a rebadged locally assembled Plymouth Valiant from the United States, from the second generation launched in 1963, the Valiant was fully manufactured in Australia. It was sold locally but also in New Zealand and South Africa, with smaller numbers also exported to South East Asia and the United Kingdom. Parent company Chrysler made a substantial investment in Australian manufacturing facilities by establishing operations in South Australia with an assembly plant at Tonsley Park in 1964 and an engine foundry at Lonsdale in 1968. The Valiant thus established its position as the third of the "Big 3" Australian made vehicles behind the Holden Kingswood and Ford Falcon. The Australian Valiant was built on the North American A body platform but with many parts and components from Australian suppliers. Apart from a sedan and wagon body style, 1965 saw the introduction of a commercial utility that was badged the Wayfarer and later exported to South Africa as the Rustler. Greater differentiation from the donor car creeped in over time, particularly since the VE series, which was embraced by the Australian motoring press and won the 1967 Wheels magazine Car of the Year award. The VF series of 1969 and the VG of 1970 departed even further from its North American donor both in terms of styling and performance—with the latter series introducing the Hemi 6 engine that replaced the Slant 6. Moreover, Australia continued to produce a station wagon model, called the Safari, even after this body style being discontinued for North America. Beginning in 1971, the VH series saw Chrysler Australia develop the entire lineup locally including the Charger. Local design and production continued until the CM series of 1979, which marked the end of local production in 1981, after the takeover of operations by Mitsubishi Motors Australia.

After the Plymouth Valiant turned out to be a success in the United States (starting with its 1959 introduction), Chrysler released Australia's first locally assembled Valiant, the RV1 (R series). It was officially unveiled by South Australia's Premier, Sir Thomas Playford, in January 1962 and was assembled at Chrysler's Mile End facility. The RV1 (or R Series) Valiant was an instant success. Not everyone was taken instantly by the car's styling, but the general consensus was that the car had a modern, almost space age quality about it. Also notable was the Valiant's performance with from the 225 Slant 6 engine. This was a lot of power compared to the competing Holdens and Fords, which offered only and SAE respectively. Standard transmission in the RV1 was a floor shifted three speed manual with a non synchro first gear. A pushbutton operated three speed TorqueFlite automatic was optional. Other options included a heater demister unit, as well as a "Moparmatic" deluxe pushbutton transistor radio. The RV1 Valiant was the first Australian car to come with an alternator instead of a generator, and instead of coil springs, the Valiant came with torsion bar suspension. Brakes were hydraulic drums front and rear. The RV1 had a simulated spare wheel outline on the bootlid, but the spare wheel was actually under the floor of the boot. The base model sold for £1299.

In March 1962, Chrysler replaced the American 1961 model R Valiant with the American 1962 SV1 (S Series) Valiant. The SV1 used the same body shell as the RV1, with cosmetic changes including the deletion of the simulated spare wheel on the bootlid, and round tail lamps replacing the R model's cat eye shaped ones. There was a revised radiator grille and new exterior trim. Mechanical changes included relocation of the manual transmission shifter to the steering column, new ball joints, and a new gear reduction starter motor. 10,009 SV1 Valiants were sold, of which 5,496 were automatics and 4,513 were manuals.

On 30 May 1963, Chrysler Australia produced the first fully Australian manufactured Valiant, the AP5. In February of that year, Chrysler Australia had begun work on its new $36 million Tonsley Park facility in South Australia, where it could boost annual production to 50 thousand cars. The new plant produced its first Valiants on 31 March 1964.) was an entirely new design with only the four doors, windscreen, and front guards shared with its North American counterpart. Initial cars retained the left hand drive wiper pattern but this was soon changed to a RHD layout. The Slant 6 driveline was retained, but the AP5 was considerably more straightforward in styling than its R and S model antecedents. With high local content and specifications optimised for local conditions, this new Valiant strengthened the brand's position in the marketplace. A new upmarket Regal version was included in the range. In November 1963 an AP5 Safari station wagon was released. Total production of the AP5 range amounted to 49,440 vehicles.

Although the Charger is arguably the best remembered Valiant in Australian motorsport, earlier models achieved class wins at the annual "Bathurst 500" production car race, something that the Charger never did. A Valiant AP5 won Class D at the 1963 Armstrong 500, a VC Valiant V8 won Class D at the 1966 Gallaher 500 and a VG Valiant Pacer won Class D at the 1970 Hardie Ferodo 500. Chargers were raced in the Hardie Ferodo 500 at Bathurst in 1971 and 1972 with factory support. They gained a best placing of third outright and second in class in 1972. Chrysler's policy was to race "Australian made" product, which meant the race cars ran six cylinder engines equipped with triple Weber carburettors and 3 speed gearboxes. Even skilled driving and good engineering could not defeat Ford's legendary Falcon GTHO Phase III with its V8. In New Zealand, however, the Chryslers proved to be virtually unbeatable from 1971 to 1979 at the famous B&H 500 mile (later 1000 km) series at Pukekohe Park Raceway. The most successful drivers were Leo Leonard and Jim Little, who still races his Valiants (mostly pre 65 class).