Another comic hero hits the screen
“The Green Hornet“ follows in the wake of Batman and Spiderman as yet another superhero leaps from the printed page to the cinema screen. The story is quickly summarized: behind the Green Hornet is the spoiled son of a media magnate. When his father meets a suspicious death, Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) resolves to change his wastrel ways and give his life meaning by fighting evil.
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- The Chrysler Imperial was never underpowered but for a super-hero only a superlative is good enough. And so under Black Beauty’s hood lurks a 500 horsepower GM engine.
Co-starring Black Beauty
Together with his buddy Kato (Jay Chou) Britt disguises himself as a criminal and seeks to overturn theunderworld from within. There are spectacular actions scenes sure to thrill fans and popular stars in supporting roles (Cameron Diaz as Britt’s secretary and Oscar-winner Christoph Walz as the embodiment of all that is wicked). All this sounds like the recipe for a box office hit. But there is another important starring role, one with four wheels and named Black Beauty. It is Kato who has put together this heavily armed monster motor. The better to combat evildoers when their day jobs allow, their car has giant machine guns mounted on the hood, Stinger missile launchers in the bumpers, a flame-thrower in the radiator grill and shotguns loaded with rubber bullets as further armament.
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- This huge highway cruiser has become a rarely seen classic although it is not nearly as sought after as Lincoln Continental models from the sixties. The Imperial was always the top car of the Chrysler model range.
Underneath, a Chrysler Imperial
Like the Batmobile driven by Adam West, Black Beauty is also based on a real automobile. Batman’s ride was a modified concept car, the Lincoln Futura. For the Green Hornet the role is taken by a Chrysler Imperial. This huge highway cruiser has become a rarely seen classic although it is not nearly as sought after as Lincoln Continental models from the sixties. The Imperial was always the top car of the Chrysler model range. From 1955 Imperial was launched as a marquee to compete directly with Ford’s Lincoln division and General Motor’s Cadillacs. In fact, the look of the Imperials of the sixties is strikingly similar to that of the contemporary luxury Lincoln limousines. Not coincidental, since in 1961 Chrysler recruited Ford designer Elwood Engel. Engel had designed the 1961 Lincoln Continental model, the car which became notorious after the killing of John F. Kennedy, but also an automobile regarded by many as one of the most timelessly elegant ever made. The 1964 Imperial was the first to bear Engel’s signature and reprised the restrained and harmonious look of the earlier Lincolns.
The movie car with a 500 horsepower GM motor
The car co-starring in “The Green Hornet” is based on the 1965 Imperial. The model was never underpowered but for a super-hero only a superlative is good enough. And so under Black Beauty’s hood lurks a 500 horsepower GM engine, there is a reinforced off-road suspension with high performance brakes, 20 inch rims and many more extras. While the film designers had their fun, fans of the classic cruiser must have frowned in disgust. The film crew sourced no less than 29 Chrysler Imperials in order to prepare them for the huge variety of stunt scenes. And, as is so often the case with film autos, there wasn’t much left when the shooting ended.
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- Apart from the well-upholstered seats our intrepid super-heroes have no luxury features to enjoy. There are just the array of knobs, buttons and levers with which to control the various formidable weapons systems!
Although the daunting exterior appearance of the black Imperial will send a shiver down the spine of any villain the interior is extremely simple. Apart from the well-upholstered seats our intrepid super-heroes have no luxury features to enjoy. There are just the array of knobs, buttons and levers with which to control the various formidable weapons systems! The original Chrysler Imperial was rather more comfortable and certainly more peaceable.
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- “We bought up a good number of remaining Imperials from all over the world,” says film designer Dennis McCarthy. “If there’s a sequel planned it could be very difficult to find enough cars again.”
No more Imperials to be found?
Perhaps interest in the neglected Chrysler old-timer will be re-awaked through the movie. “We bought up a good number of remaining Imperials from allover the world,” says film designer Dennis McCarthy in an interview in Popular Mechanics magazine. “If there’s a sequel planned it could be very difficult to find enough cars again.”
