Engine As Tested: Standard 3.2-liter, Single Overhead Cam, 24-valves, V-6 cylinder, 215-horsepower at 5700 rpm and 229 lb-ft torque at 3000 rpm.

Transmission As Tested: Standard 5-speed Automatic with Autostick, 6-speed Manual.

Fuel Economy (city/hwy): Manual 18/27, Automatic 21/27

Standard Safety Features: Driver and front passenger, front and Supplemental door-mounted thorax side airbags, ">Antilock Braking System, remote keyless entry, tire pressure monitor, Traction Control.Security alarm system with tow-away protection, Sentry Ke engine immobilizer

Competition: Infiniti G35 Coupe, Nissan 350Z, BMW Z4, Mercedes-Benz SLK, Ford Thunderbird

LAKE CAYAMACA, Calif. -- Stomp that throttle on rare straight stretches but tap the brake before turning into all of these tight curves as we rip up California 79, a wiggly line of wrinkled asphalt that climbs over humps of the Laguna Mountains to scenic Lake Cuyamaca pitched about a hundred miles east of San Diego.

The vehicle selected for this romp across pine-covered mountains amounts to a spirited new rear-wheel-drive (RWD) premium sports coupe from the Chrysler brand of DaimlerChrysler that merges slick American car styling with precision automotive engineering direct from Germany.

Chrysler calls it the Crossfire. The name comes from the crossing of two creased character lines etched into the car's flanks above fender gills strafed by satin-silver streaks.

Cast low against the pavement on big wheels with sculptured body lines raked across an exaggerated hood and over the rounded roof to a bulbous boat tail rump, Crossfire looks at first blush like a car designer's homage to streamlined automobiles from the Thirties in the artistic era of Art Deco.

Yet with its exuberant six-pack engine and the stiff chassis linked to a taut suspension and precise steering system, the retro-styled Crossfire feels as contemporary as a sporty German two-seater from Chrysler's DaimlerChrysler sibling, Mercedes-Benz.

As a matter of fact, the front section of the floor pan plus mechanical components including engine, gearbox, steering column and suspension control arms come out of cars that wear the tri-star Mercedes badge.

And Crossfire is assembled in Germany at the Osnabruck shop of Karmann Coachworks, a car-crafting partner of long standing with Mercedes-Benz and DaimlerChrysler.

However, styling for the package, a clever two-seat cockpit design plus components for suspension tuning come directly out of Chrysler in North America.

So what's the result of this intercontinental creation?

It's a sporty new coupe with German manners that's fun-to-drive but styled like no other vehicle on the road.

And it may well be the only car we can recall that looks best when seen from behind. The rear view exaggerates that boat tail treatment and curvy sweep of the hatchback roofline.

Shapely shoulders wrap around exaggerated wheelwells with 19-inch rollers in the rear but 18-inchers up front for a rump-high stance.

Fenders sheltering those larger rear wheels bulge wide to form a muscular ledge and wrap rearward around the oversized taillamps in a scheme that isolates the hatchback superstructure for emphasis.

Two squarish tailpipes coated in satin-finish chrome anchor the back bumper in the center spot, while above the bumper the hatchback window curves gracefully up into the sweeping roofline to reach the raked windshield.

From there the prow projects forward dramatically while sloping to a low-cast nose with louvered front grille pinned between corner sets of projector-style headlamps.

Flanks undulate with carved and chiseled lines highlighted by those fender gills scored by the slashes of chrome, which resemble twin streaks over fender gills on a daring 1954 300SL gullwing coupe, the work of automotive art by Mercedes that's one of the most distinctive car designs out of the Twentieth Century.

If all of that sleek body styling could translate to forward motion, Crossfire would fly. So it does.

It acts like a squatty go-kart, in fact, hunkering low on pavement with wheels pushed to corner points for keen stability and all torque from a powerful up-front engine flowing in classic arrangement to rear rubber for predictable and controllable traction.

And those tires seem to dance down the road due to the isolation of an independent suspension system rigged with upper and lower A arms up front tied to coil springs, gas-charged shock absorbers and a stabilizer bar plus at the rear a five-link arrangement with coil springs, link-type stabilizer bar and gas-charged shocks.

Crossfire's enthused engine factored by the relatively light curb weight of about 3000 pounds propels it into the fast lane.

In particular, Crossfire contains the 3.2-liter Mercedes V6 that also motivates many Mercedes models, such as the mid-size E320 sedan and sporty CLK and SLK coupes and convertibles.

The single-cam aluminum plant produces as much as 215 hp at 5700 rpm plus strong torque numbers of 229 lb-ft at 3000 rpm.

It translates that torque to power at the wheels through a notchy six-speed manual gearbox or an optional five-speed automatic coupled to Chrysler's AutoStick selective clutch-less shifter, where a flick of the stick, either left to downshift or right to upshift, switches one gear at a time.

Noteworthy mechanical tools aboard Crossfire include power rack and pinion steering for crisp turning control, plus power-assisted disc brakes tied to anti-lock (ABS) and all-speed traction control (TCS) systems, even a miraculous device -- called electronic stability program (ESP) -- that integrates brake and throttle intervention to check and maintain lateral stability.

And to enhance the stick-to-the-pavement traction at high speeds, a slick retractable spoiler integrated into the tail deploys above a designated speed of 50 mph to exert more aerodynamic force on the rear tires.

Climb into Crossfire's snug cockpit and you will find a central spine and console cap splitting the space in half with a bolstered bucket seat on each side clad in distinctive two-tone leather.

Satin silver metallic trim lines the top of the console and crowns the stubby shifter stick as well as a grab bar across each door.

White-on-black gauges with metallic bezels fill the instrument panel and the metallic theme continues in bright rings on the four-spoke steering wheel.

Crossfire also comes with a long equipment list that extends to frontal and side-impact air bags, dual-zone air conditioning, a remote keyless entry system with central locking, security alarm and tire-pressure monitor, tow-away protection and an Infinity Modulus sound kit with CD deck.

Chrysler pegs the MSRP at $34,495 with manual gearbox, or $35,570 for the AutoStick.

Editors' Ratings

Pros: Good acceleration and handling, Distinctive styling inside and out

Cons: Road noise is a little loud, The visibility out the reaar window is extremely limited, No available sunroof, Needs a convertible version

Ratings (1-10)

• Style:9
• Performance: 8
• Price: 7
• Handling: 8
• Ride: 7
• Comfort: 8
• Quality: 7
• Overall: 7.7

More Data

Where Built: Osnabruck Germany

Major Options: All-season performance tires

Seating: 2

Number of Rows: 1

Crash Test Ratings:

• NHTSA Frontal Impact/Driver Crash Test Rating: Not Yet Tested
• NHTSA Frontal Impact/Passenger Crash Test Rating: Not Yet Tested
• NHTSA Side Impact/Front Seat Crash Test Rating: Not Yet Tested
• NHTSA Side Impact/Rear Seat Crash Test Rating: Not Yet Tested
• NHTSA Rollover Resistance Rating: Not Yet Tested
• IIHS Frontal Offset Crash Test: Not Yet Tested

Length in Inches: 159.8

Warranties: 3 years/36,000 miles bumper-to-bumper, 5 years/100,000 miles corrosion, 7 years/70,000 mile powertrain. 3 years/36,000 miles Roadside Assistance

Weight in Pounds: Manual 3,060, Automtaic 3,084

Cargo Capacity in Pounds: 115

Gross Maximum Vehicle Weight in Pounds: Not Available

Towing Capacity in Pounds: Not Applicable

Gas Tank Capacity in Gallons: 15.8

Destination Charge: $680