It would be difficult to pick the ultimate celebrity car endorsement, but here’s one leading candidate from Chrysler: The Imperial Frank Sinatra edition of 1981-82.

The Imperial name has a long, proud history at the Chrysler Corporation, the carmaker now known as Stellantis, that dates back to 1926. From 1955 through 1975, it was even ranked as a stand-alone division within the company before it was discontinued. For its sixth production cycle of 1981 through 1983, Imperial was reintroduced as a separate brand to serve as the corporation’s extra-special flagship.

Built on a variant of the corporation’s rear-drive, unibody J-body platform shared with the Chrysler Cordoba and Dodge Mirada, this Imperial was a lavishly equipped two-door coupe with bustleback styling that listed for a staggering $18,311. The price was nearly $1,500 more than a Lincoln Continental Mark VI at the time. For buyers who were willing to spend even a few more bucks, there was the ultimate Imperial: the Frank Sinatra edition, fully endorsed by the chairman of the board himself.

The Frank Sinatra edition, also known as simply the FS, was a production of another chairman of the board, Chrysler boss Lee Iacocca, who prized his relationships with fellow celebrities in the Italian-American community. He presented his buddy with the first car off the line at the Windsor, Ontario Imperial plant (where minivans are now assembled). As the story goes, the car and one dollar were the only compensation Sinatra received for the endorsement and marketing campaign, including a theme song, in deference to his friendshsip with Iacocca.

Naturally, the FS boasted a lengthy list of distinctive features: exterior paint in Glacier Blue Crystal (an obvious nod to Sinatra’s nickname, Ol’ Blue Eyes) with matching blue upholstery in Kimberly velour or Corinthian leather, a unique center console that housed 16 casette tapes of the singer’s favorite music, and discrete gold-toned exterior badges. All the appointments were said to be approved by Sinatra himself, who was a bit of a car guy. (See our feature on the ’57 T-Bird birthday present for his daughter Nancy here.)

Unfortunately, the ’81-’83 Imperial was not a big winner for Chrysler. Despite a special quality-control process, the pricey model developed a reputation for bugs in the electronic insturment panel and the unique fuel-injection system for the 318 cubic-inch V8, among other issues. In the three years of production, sales for Imperial overall never came close to the 25,000-yearly target, and only 279 FS editions (some sources say 278) were produced in ’81-’82. But thanks in part to the celebrity connection, we’re guessing, a surprising number of Sinatra editions are still around, and they pop up now and then on the collector car market.