Lutz Helping Develop Luxury/Performance Car

Robert A. Lutz, former vice chairman of Chrysler Corp. and father of a new generation of mass market Dodge- and Chry-sler-brand cars and trucks, is entering a new arena - the high-performance ultra-luxury sports sedan.

Mr. Lutz, currently chairman and chief executive of Exide Corp., is working as a consultant to Lime Rock, CT-based Cun-ningham Car Co., owned by the heirs of the late legendary race-car driver Briggs Cunningham.

Cunningham is building a prototype of the car, which will be of body-on-frame construction. The present version covers a chassis and drivetrain that will not be used in a production model. So far, the company has not signed with any automaker to purchase a chassis for the project.

Cunningham expects to build 500 units a year of the car, which would be priced at about $200,000 each and designed to compete against the upcoming Mercedes Maybach and planned entry-level Bentley, among other prestige models.

Cadillac Motor Div. and Cunningham were talking about a high-performance version of the Seville and possibly other models, but those negotiations fell apart, and both companies say that there is no plan to renew talks.