VIN: 1C3BA54E8EG000002
Odometer: TBD
Engine: 2.2l I4 Turbocharged
Trans.: 5-spd. Manual
In 1982, Lee Iacocca was on a roll – on his way to becoming the best-known automobile executive of his generation.
In April of that year, he made a famous commercial for the 1982 LeBaron, the most luxurious of his many K-Car variants. “If you can find a better car, buy it,” he told America, and the K Car subsequently saved Chrysler and made him a legend.
That same year, he gave industry insiders and enthusiasts a taste of what was to come for the newly revitalized Chrysler. At the company’s Auto Show, he presented this car – a 1984 Chrysler Laser XE prototype, a turbocharged vehicle that he hoped would be Chrysler’s next big thing.
The prototype’s VIN carries the suffix 000002.
After its triumphant display at the Auto Show, Iacocca donated the car to the Harrah Automobile Foundation, where it stayed for a good while before being donated to the Automobile Driving Museum in 2018.
This was definitely a vehicle built with recreation in mind – but befitting the era, emerging from inflation and an oil-supply crisis, the fun came in the form of a 2.2 liter inline four-cylinder. The turbocharger, though, made all the difference, helping the little mill generate 142 horsepower and achieve 60 mph in 8.6 seconds, all the while achieving 23 miles per gallon.
Although produced by four fewer cylinders, those numbers were quite competitive with Ford’s Mustang GT and Pontiac’s Firebird Trans Am, Road & Track’s test crew discovered.
The new owner of this ultrarare and historic prototype will receive a copy of the title in the Harrah Automobile Foundation name – along with a clean CARFAX.
