The Chrysler K platform is one of the Chrysler entries the open record knows by name and by date — in 1981, and by little else. That is not nothing: a name in the catalogue is where a car's story starts to be recoverable.
The background
The K-car platform was a key automotive design platform introduced by Chrysler Corporation for the 1981 model year, featuring a transverse engine, front-wheel drive, independent front and semi-independent rear suspension configuration—a stark departure from the company's previous reliance on solid axle, rear-drive unibody configurations during the 1970s.
Derived from Chrysler's L-cars, the Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni, the platform was developed just as the company faltered in the market, at first underpinning a modest range of compact/mid-size sedans and wagons—and eventually underpinning nearly fifty different models, including all-wheel drive variants—and playing a vital role in the company's subsequent resurgence.
Under the skin
The record carries the layout — and the layout: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The engine, output and weight have not yet reached the open record, and MotorJury does not guess at them.
Where it sits
The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Mitsubishi Pajero, the DeLorean Motor Company DeLorean DMC-12, the Porsche 944. Its Chrysler stablemates include the Chrysler Falcon and the Chrysler Chronos.
Owning one today
There is no federal ownership record for the Chrysler K platform — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.