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If Chrysler had worked this hard all along, they wouldn’t be where they are today.

The company, dependent on federal loans for its slim hope of staying alive another six months, used the Detroit Auto Show yesterday to unveil a stunning midsize electric sedan, the 200C.

Jalopnik calls it “shockingly attractive,” and comments, “Of all the Chrysler products revealed at the show, this is the most likely to reach production.”

Edmunds Inside Line reports, “Chrysler said the showcar features a 40-mile all-electric range with zero fuel consumption. The four-seat sedan sprints from zero to 60 mph in just 7 seconds and has a top speed ‘greater than 120 miles per hour,’ according to the automaker.”

Kicking Tires calls it “Chrysler’s four-door competitor to the Chevy Volt.” The car reportedly “can run 40 miles on electric-only power and 400 miles using a small engine-generator. It’s built on a shortened version of Chrysler’s rear-wheel-drive LX platform – think 300C, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger – but looks like no other Chrysler on the market. The front end looks a bit like the Hyundai Genesis, while the rear recalls a BMW 6 Series. All are good signs for a company better known for designing cars of a more pedestrian, er, Caliber.”

The Los Angeles Times says, “The 200C is a clear, formal, aspirationally modern design with clarity of lines and direction; the proportions are harmonious; it looks great from every angle — and looks wildly like a Mercedes S-class from a couple of angles. It simply is the best-looking real-world car at the show.” And while the emphasis in Detroit has been on environmental impact, the Times comments, “The transcendent truth of automobiles is that people buy beautiful cars.” The Times thinks “the 200C will be available in two years with a variety of gas-burning engines in it — and yes, probably a Hemi.”

Inside, the car is a high-tech showcase. The New York Times notes that the Chrysler uses a “touch screen in a console that flows forward and becomes the instrument panel.” A photoelectric film built into the surface material effectively makes the entire console a single touch-sensitive screen. That screen displays a “virtual command ball” which the driver rotates to select options from various menus, controlling climate and entertainment settings.

But can cash-starved Chrysler, said to be the automaker closest to collapse, actually build this car? Only time will tell if the company can manage its reorganization and stay afloat long enough to built its Volt-fighter.

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