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Don Draper’s 1964 Chrysler Imperial

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This 1964 Imperial Crown Convertible was used in the hit TV Series Mad Men in Season 4, Episode 3. Only 922 (1964) Imperial Crown convertibles were built and fewer than 200 are believed to exist today. This is the rarest of the rare as this is the only Imperial to boast having been smoked in by Don Draper (okay, we are not 100% certain he smoked in it during filming, but when have we ever seen Don not smoking?). Want to buy it? Check it here.

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He drives this beautiful land yacht with the top down to visit the real Don Draper’s wife in California. Sporting aviator glasses, white shirt and black tie to match his grey suit, Don Draper, epitomizes the successful businessman out for a Sunday spin in this very special car. Many mistakenly refer to this vehicle as a “Chrysler Imperial” (including local DMVs when titling the vehicle), but Imperial was its own separate brand after 1955 as Chrysler spun it off to better compete against Lincoln and Cadillac. Famed auto designer Elwood Engel, creator of the ubiquitous Lincoln Continental slab side design, found his way to Imperial and completely redesigned the Imperial for 1964. There’s an old adage that you “…ride in a Cadillac, you glide in a Lincoln, but you float in an Imperial”. So true! Head turner. Draws a crowd wherever you go; especially when it’s learned the car was featured in Mad Men.

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This stunning example of mid-1960’s styling boasts the iconic 413 V-8 wedge engine mated to the smooth-shifting 727 TorqueFllite push button automatic transmission. Power steering, power brakes, power windows, power antenna for the working AM-FM radio and electric top; she’s fully loaded from the factory. This beauty is believed to be all original except for one repaint about 20 years ago and new carpeting. The original drab Roman Dark Red color was upgraded to its current bright (and much more attractive) red. The comprehensive frame-on paint job covered all painted surfaces with the exception of one small circle under the hood deliberately left in place by the paint shop as a nod to the original paint code.

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