3C 216---A New Type of Superluminal Quasar

We present VLBI maps of the core in the compact, steep-spectrum radio source 3C 216, associated with the quasar 0906+430. Our data indicate an apparent superluminal core expansion speed of (4.7 +/- 0.9)h^-1^c (H_0_= 100h km s^-1 Mpc^-1^ and q_0_ = 0.5). We also present a high dynamic range VLA map of 3C 216 at 1.4 Ghz, which reveals the presence of a low surface brightness halo about 8" in extent. 3C 216 has some of the features of both a relativistically beamed blazar and a steep-spectrum compact radio source interacting with an interstellar medium, and therefore cannot easily be understood in the context of current models for extragalactic radio sources.