VH Valiant Regal 770 2 door coupe front quarter

VH Valiant Regal 770 2 door coupe front quarter
Uniquely designed for Australia the VH Valiants amazingly included two distinct coupe designs! This one was called Hardtop on a long 115" wheelbase and was the lineal descendant of US Dodge Dart hardtop coupes (1967-1976). As well as the pictured model there was a top of the line Chrysler by Chrysler version with revised front, rear and rear window styling.
The other coupe was the Charger on a 10 inch shorter wheelbase; it was a new concept more closely aligned to Ford's Mustang but was hardtop styled with flip out rear quarter windows. Reputedly only 2000 long wheelbase coupes were made; however the Charger sold like the proverbial hot cakes!.


 


VH Valiant Regal 770 2 door coupe rear quarter VH Valiant Regal 770 2 door coupe rear quarter
Horizontal midbody crease starting in door and rising through fender before falling towards the rear was "unusual" to say the least; I can't think of any other Chrysler-made car that had anything like this feature (Ford's 1972-6 Torino had something like it though). The rubstrip on the side was a popular option but arguably looks better without it.
These VH models had upright tailights; with the horizontal ones used by the Chrysler by Chrysler (see below) and VJ models the effect was one of a bit of a "droopy rear".


 


CH Chrysler by Chrysler 2 door coupe rear quarter CH Chrysler by Chrysler 2 door coupe rear quarter
A "frenched" rear window glass and different tailights distinguished the rear of the Chrysler - the interior fittings were of a very high standard but somehow neither the sedan nor this coupe ever overcame their overblown Valiant image. The "Yank tank limousine" image that their styling portrayed didn't help when import tarriffs were cut and European luxury cars became more "affordable".
This picture makes the car seem "humongous" (though considered large in Australia it was a mere intermediate by US standards!)