In the early 1930s, an era which offered many of the world’s most beautiful automobiles of all time, the 1932 Chrysler CL Imperial was a true standout, a stunning combination of performance and exceptional looks. The CL Imperials featured handsome LeBaron bodywork with a hood line extended back to the windshield, emphasizing the car’s length and the size of its potent 384.84-cubic-inch inline eight-cylinder engine. Each body was meticulously constructed to the highest standards and finished in the highest quality materials, including walnut interior trim. The result was an automobile that was smoothly powerful, easy to drive for its era, and built with quality as the foremost consideration. It was a superb car—and it looked terrific.

Only offered for 1932, and at the stunning price of $3,595, just 49 examples of the beautiful five-passenger CL Imperial Convertible Sedan were produced. A mere 11 of the 1932 CL Imperials are known to exist, including the incredible example offered here, chassis 7803459. Few can boast the cherished history of this example, lovingly preserved and enjoyed by the same family from 1947 until 2021. The previous owner is said to have acquired chassis 7803459 when he was 16 and kept it his entire life, its existence to Imperial registrars only coming to light ahead of the car’s consignment in 2021.

In the later years of the car’s previous ownership, chassis 7803459 was refinished in a rich maroon, very similar to the original color, with a complementary white interior and tan cloth top. Included with the history file is a work log documenting nearly $20,000 in expenditures from 2014 through 2020. Inspection of Chrysler factory sales records by noted marque historian Joe Morgan indicates that engine number CL1072, equipped with the Silver Dome cylinder head, began its life in a sedan, and so this is likely a replacement unit fitted at some point relatively early in the Imperial’s long life—certainly before the car’s previous owner purchased it in 1947.

An ideal basis for continued freshening and further driving enjoyment, this CL Imperial almost certainly remained in single ownership longer than virtually any other. It represents an incredible opportunity for any Classic Era connoisseur, one that should not be taken lightly. As a Classic Car Club of America Full Classic, it would make an ideal participant in CARavans or, with appropriate detailing, a stunning entrant for the show field.