Imperial embraced “fuselage” styling with the new-for-’69 redesign, with the rounded sides taking cues from aircraft design. Indeed, these full-sized luxury cars transport passengers across long distances in comfort, at speed. This 1970 Imperial Le Baron Coupé in Herrliberg, Switzerland will attract more attention at Swiss car show than an army tank at Walmart. While it might not be my first choice for a spirited ascent of the Alps, European enthusiasts looking to make a unique statement will spar for ownership here on Ricardo, where you can also shop for swimming pools and air conditioners. The asking price of 39,900 Swiss Francs equals $48,372 USD, and while the listing closed on May 4th, let’s take a look at this Swiss classic.
Power seats and luxury appointments welcome the captain and passengers aboard this land yacht, with cigar lighters for all four passengers, air conditioning, cruise control, and more. Aftermarket cup holders keep your hot chocolate in place as you traverse your favorite mountain pass. The steering wheel wrap may be preventative or covering a worn original.
Fans of the 1969-1973 Imperials must choose between these nifty three-segment 1969-’71 turn signals (sequential in 1969) and the bookend tail lights of the ’72 and ’73 models. Both designs include bountiful chrome and luxury styling. Similarly, the front of the later units features imposing “lantern” turn signals compared to the more subtle units on this 1970. For some years, “LeBaron” signified the upper trim level with this smaller and more private limousine-style rear window, but the lower Crown model ended in 1969, making this the first year that all Imperials were also LeBaron. The 1969 and 1970 LeBaron tops my list for luxury from this era, and I plan to own one, a four-door hardtop.
Imperial gave all owners a single powerplant for 1970, the 440 cid (7.2L) V8, and the big-inch mill delivered 350 HP and 480 lb-ft of torque (gross) through a three-speed automatic. Thanks to Automobile-Catalog for some details. The 440 looks mostly original and clean, but not fully restored. Repainted valve covers and air conditioning parts stand out against the largely authentic patina, though not objectionably. Imagine dropping $184 USD to fill the 23-gallon tank where gasoline runs about $8.00 per gallon, then weeping as the gauge dips every time you hammer the 440. Would you choose this American classic for your European vacation?
Oh man, this thing has just about everything a person (me) could ask for, other than a $5,000 shipping invoice. Excellent info on the tail lights, Todd, thanks for giving the sequential tail lights info, I’ve always wondered about that. Nice work!
Barely under 5000lbs of American purity. 440, Torq-flite and 2.94 gear.
A King of the road 👑 for sure.
Thanks Fitch. 👍
I cut up a 70 imperial 30 or so years ago for the miles of straight sheetmetal. I’m still using sections of that car for patch repairs and other repairs. Chunks of that big ol’ blue boat are still on the road today in probably a dozen other cars.
1969-71 ftw.
Totally love this car , beyond words, all time favorite across the board ,lacks nothing
Very nice clean Chrysler Land Barge!! Needs nothing .Well except a lot of gas!!
What a great find and, in particular, color combo with two tone interior. Lots of interesting cars on that website. I bet those brakes fade fast in the Alps.
Very cool looking.
Big American two-door luxury coupe, clean and stately styling, unique colors inside and out, good condition. Plenty to like here.
Todd, I hope to ***not*** see an Army tank at Walmart….
This is one impressive Imperial. Just look at that side shot. There was a time over 50 years ago, the proportions were kind of normal, but look at how small the passenger area and roof is and how large the rest of the car is. At least to me anyways. These are This is a great find and write up Todd. And I’m with Bob, I do not want to see an Army tank at my local Walmart. And if I do, Ill just drive across the highway to Target lol. This is a beautiful Imperial and hope it gets preserved.
Can anyone read the original dealer’s logo on trunk?
Hi larry. It’s “Perkins” and underneath “COLO. SPRINGS” Still selling Mopars today!
Highway Star. Great, when gas was 12 cents a gallon… Kinda funny, I had 2 Caddy convertibles, a 67, and a 68, at the same time. For some reason the 67, with the smaller engine got better gas milage then the 68. MPG was so bad on the 68 I checked the tank for a hole cause I thought it was evaporating.
Have a 440 and 727 from one of these in my 71’ charger. Didn’t realize this until my third order of crankshaft bearings.
There’s at least 3 different sizes of thrust bearings. After 74’, magnum for the charger/challengers/roadrunners, and the luxury ones like imperial and LeBaron.
Beautiful car.
Chrysler called it low glass to body ratio. I call it a great looking car. A coupe in the genuine sense of the word.
I had a ’67 Imperial Crown Sedan. I used to go to a gas station where they gave you a glass for every fill up. I was there so often that the owner of the station would give me a case of glasses periodically. On day I realized that I no longer had room in my gigantic trunk for any more cases of glasses. I sold them glasses and very soon after the car. I loved the car, but hated the lack of fuel economy. I sold it to a friend’s father who used it to tow his Airstream.
Maybe you’re thinking of Mileage Direct Service gas stations.
Yup, my mom used to get glasses from a service station, too.
Union 76 gave away orange balls for your radio antenna.
I collected autographed Mn. Twins baseball cards.
There was a huge 76 ball on a tower at DAYTONA INT. SPEEDWAY years ago.I think it’s gone now
These coupes are very rare, even when new.
In my dreams I collect this, and the other MOPAR coupes with the long rear deck, starting with a ’38 Chrysler Royal, then a ’40’s, then a 50’s, they all look weird to me, but there they are. The Plymouth and Dodge versions one can understand, for salesmen with samples in the trunk, but otherwise, why? I can still see Humphrey Bogart diving one in a motorcycle chase in the Sierra not far from where I now live, with police motorcycles and maybe a Ford police car, all about equal in the mountain roads, maybe dirt in part.
Sort of coincidental this car is in Ricardo when about 5 years later Ricardo Montalban was singing the praises of the ” fine Corinthian leather” in the Chrysler Cordoba.
A sage observation for today.
48k USD ? Are you serious
Be interesting to hear the story of this car . Sold at “ Perkins “ in Colorado Springs and ended up in Switzerland!
“but the lower Crown model ended in 1969, making this the first year that all Imperials were also LeBaron.”
Off by a year. The Crown still existed in 1970 as the base trim level. 1971 was the first year all Imperials were LeBarons.
I’ve told ya’ll before, I had a 1971 Imperial in 1974. It was the gas crisis……one friend had a 1973 Oldsmobile 88 convertible which I really wanted but couldn’t afford as it was only a year old. I did qualify for a loan for the 3 year old Imperial. Everyone was dumping their American land yachts for Toyotas & Datsuns. I was buying.
It was a LeBaron coupe, white, burgundy interior with a paisley print burgundy vinyl top.
You could fit one of those Toyotas in the trunk of these. It was cavernous.
It had a rim blow horns which I replace with triple 1968 Cadillac horns.
I moved to Florida in it. The heat warped the metal band in the steering wheel and set the horn off. Had to disconnect them. It was either replace the steering wheel (too expensive) or have a foot button installed which is what I opted for. After that I kept accidentally stepping on the horn button at the most inopportune moments. Like behind Orlando’s finest. They were not amused.
Hi Angel, I remember those paisley roofs. Did your car have leather or cloth?
Your horn story reminds me of when my Dad had the ’70 Impala. One Saturday night we were watching TV when Mom heard a horn blowing. Well, we figured out it was the car. So, at -30, we went out to find the padlock on the service door was a little frozen, and refused to open. After a little bit of this crap and I’m getting cold, I lost my patience and yelled, “cut the effen thing!” with Mom right there to hear that. I got an earful from her. All the tools were in the garage anyway, lol!
I don’t remember how we got the lock to open, probably hot water but we got in to find one of the plastic tabs had stuck down. Memories.
Yeah Jon, I never thought those rim blow horns were a very good idea in the first place. You tense up over something minor and end up blowing the horn at someone who’s gonna knife you. What with all the road rage now.
The seats in my LeBaron were leather. I’ve never had a land yacht without them.
My 1976 Cadillac would have had the velore interior had the original owner ordered the d’elegance package, but he wanted leather seats so he got the leather seats and ordered all the d’elegance doodads separately. The only thing my car didn’t have was the d’elegance emblem on the rear roof sail.
“Let’s Do The Swiss Time Warp Again”
I have lived in Switzerland, and have driven the roads, which are in some cases half the width of US roads. In the cities – which date to medieval times – they can be alleyways. An American car like this is a nightmare to drive there except on the highways. And gas was never cheap there.
A friend’s father had a ’61 Lincoln and it cost $130 to fill it. in 1975.
A fabulous car and priced reasonably for the market; there is a huge upcharge on importing cars. Another friend in Zurich bought a brand-new 2013 Mustang and after import duties it was around $80K.
I will never understand why owners install those cheap gas station steering wheel covers in cars that, due to their excellent condition, are worthy of a leather cover that gets hand-stitched down the middle (like modern cars have).