The Chrysler Thunderbolt Concept Featured A Navigation And Infotainment System Ahead Of Its Time
Concept cars are one of the more exciting ways that automakers can show off the latest and greatest when it comes to automotive technology. Concepts can be morphed into full-fledged production cars, or the automaker can borrow styling cues or pieces of technology from a car to use in future models. For example, the Aurora wagon never saw the light of day, but Ford used what it learned from it to inform future design decisions. Some concepts are clearly just to show off. Dodge likely had no real intentions to make the Tomahawk motorcycle that was powered by a V10 ripped right out of a Viper.
Concept cars can be an optimistic look at what cars might be in the future, and that's the route Mercedes did with its VISION AVTR concept car. Every once in a while though, a concept car comes along that perhaps unwittingly predicts the future. Once such concept car is the Chrysler Thunderbolt from 1993.
A look into the future
The 1993 concept car borrows its name from the 1940s Chrysler of the same name that sought to revolutionize automotive design eight decades ago. Chrysler's 1993 concept tried to do the same thing. On the outside, the Thunderbolt is a sleek two door that looks like it's moving while standing still. The design itself is not unlike Chrysler's Cloud Cars like the Cirrus or Dodge Stratus. The Chrysler Concorde from the era closely mimic's the Thunderbolt's low profile and long styling lines. You wouldn't be remiss in noticing that the Chrysler 300 from the late 1990s took some ideas from the Thunderbolt, namely its long hood and small front grille.
According to sources from Jalopnik, the interior of the Thunderbolt featured a large infotainment system as its centerpiece decades before that was commonplace. In 2022, a center console for radio, streaming music, or navigation is on virtually every car offered by a modern manufacturer. Chrysler (now Stellantis) puts a UConnect system in every one of its cars. Some car buyers won't even buy a car without it. But back in 1993, it was rare if unheard of. Stylistically, the Thunderbolt influenced Chrysler's future designs. On the technology side, it may have unintentionally seen where the entire automotive industry would shift nearly 30 years after it was made.