For 1955, Imperial was registered and brought in the market as a separate brand from the Chrysler. It became a product of the new Imperial Division of the Chrysler Corporation and it would not have the name Chrysler but was a brand on its own. Chrysler Corporation sent messages to all the states informing them Imperial would no longer be licensed under Chrysler and would be registered separately beginning from 1955. Chrysler launched the Forward look style by Virgil Exner who defined Imperial’s look and that of the other four Chrysler divisions from 1955 to 1963. As early as 1954, Chrysler Corporation advertisements began to differentiate the Imperial visibly from the other Chrysler line in the public eyes preparing for the 1955 change. Cadillac stopped using the name Imperial for its limousine once the Imperial brand was introduced.
The 1955 Imperial designs were an inspiration by Exner from his own 1952 Chrysler Imperial Parade Phaeton show cars which were later upgraded to match the year’s models. The body work was shared with the Chrysler’s big cars but the Imperial had a 4 inch longer wheelbase which allowed more rear-seat legroom, wide spaced grille,similar to that of the Chrysler 300 and straight taillights mounted above the rear quarters which looked like the ones on Exner’s 1951 Chrysler K-310 vehicle. The Gunsight taillights were separate from the fender, surrounded by a ring and was an imperial feature through 1962. The two C-69 designs were available as the two-door Newport hardtop coupe and four-door sedan plus an extra C-70 Crown limousine model.
The FirePower Hemi V-8 had 331 cu and 250 brake horsepower. Air conditioning was optional on the Imperials. The 1957 models had small tailfins and the Hemi V8 was increased to 354 cu with 280 horsepower. They had the longest wheelbase of an Imperial of 133 inches which contributed to the increase of its overall length to 229.6 inches. The TorqueFlite and the touch button Ultramatic were introduced in 1956.