For 1956, Chrysler sold just 921 New Yorker convertibles, including this one finished in two-tone Cloud White and Stardust Blue and now featuring a new white convertible top. Its 354/280 HP Fire Power Hemi V-8 engine was rebuilt, and it’s topped by a 4-barrel carburetor and connected to a Powerflite automatic transmission with dash-mounted pushbutton controls. The two-tone blue interior exemplifies upscale motoring for the day, with leather upholstery and a host of standard amenities, and this one is no exception. Fitted with power windows, a power front seat, both a steering wheel mounted clock and an in-dash clock, a foot-button-operated signal-seeking AM radio and a padded dashtop, this New Yorker even features the optional Highway Hi-Fi 16 2/3 RPM record player. A new wiring harness was installed, and the interior boasts new carpeting. Driving was made much easier, thanks to power steering and power brakes. Fitted with dual sideview mirrors, the New Yorker also features a power antenna, dual exhausts with correct tips and replated chrome trim, as well as a custom chrome license plate frame. Rolling on correct chrome wire wheels and wide whitewall tires, this rare convertible is an AACA Grand National Senior Award winner and was featured on the cover and centerfold of Classic Car Magazine. Introduced for the 1938 model year as a Chrysler Imperial submodel, the New Yorker became its own Chrysler model for 1940. Upscale, it cost slightly north of $1,200, around $26,000 in today’s money, and competed squarely with certain Buick and Oldsmobile models. By the 1950s, the New Yorker had firmly established itself as Chrysler’s most luxurious model, except for the Imperial, which became a standalone brand for 1955. Offering a wide array of standard features bolstered by a number of unique optional extras, the New Yorker was also well regarded as a styling leader, an aspirational car offering exclusivity, performance and luxury. A New Yorker convertible could easily edge in on the $6,000 mark in 1956, or about $66,000 today, lending some reason as to why they are so difficult to find.
