The Chrysler Royal is an automobile which was produced by Chrysler Australia from 1957 to 1963. After investing in tooling to stamp body panels for the 1954 P25 series Plymouth locally, and with Chrysler headquarters in Detroit unwilling to assist in the costs of retooling for the new US models, Chrysler Australia made the decision to develop their own range, using as much of the existing tooling as possible, whilst also realising that the new car had to appear as different as possible. The doors and basic structure of the P25 sedan was retained, and with input from Australian and American Chrysler designers, the 1955 US Plymouth front sheetmetal was adapted to the P25 body and the rear quarter panels redesigned. They also added a wraparound rear windscreen, which caused development problems with Pilkington Glass, the Australian suppliers, who struggled to get the correct curved shape.[2]
AP1 (1957–1958)
The first version of the Chrysler Royal, the AP1, was introduced in May 1957.[2] It was a development of the American Plymouth P25 design[3] of 1954 which had itself been produced by Chrysler Australia as the P25 Plymouth Cambridge and Cranbrook, the D49 Dodge Kingsway