Chrysler 300C - Future Classic
In an odd twist of fate the big 300C can claim a link to Lamborghini albeit a tenuous one
I know the corpse hasn’t even cooled yet, but with Chrysler recently announcing it is scarpering from this brown land, the Chrysler 300C just put itself on the future classic list.
Sold as an alternative to Aussie luxo models the timing is ripe to snaffle one of these brash American designed chariots at a price that won’t exterminate your bank account.
This generation 300C was produced from 2004 to 2010 in Canada, Austria and China, going on sale here in 2005.
Huge grille, long bonnet, low roofline give 300C presence
The 300C was the last Chrysler penned under head of design Tom Gale who, according to a Motor Trend magazine article, Five Things you Might not Know About Lamborghini, was also responsible for the design of the Lamborghini Diablo.
The story goes that Chrysler owned Lamborghini and wasn’t jumping out of its skin at Countach designer Marcello Gandini’s renderings for its supercar, so Gale was asked to improve it. In an effort to retain Lamborghini’s exclusive image, Chrysler never took credit for the design.
Working alongside Gale on the 300C were Ralph Gilles, a Chrysler figurehead who at one time ran the Street and Racing Technology, (SRT) division and Freeman Thomas.
Squat rear end
Thomas had worked for Porsche, the VW Group working with J Mays on the modern version of the VW Beetle. Other cars he played a major role in including Audi’s TT, A4, A6 as well as the Panoz Roadster and, after joining Daimler-Chrysler penned several concept and production vehicles.
We can also thank him for the current Mustang after he moved to Ford in 2005.
Debuting as a concept at the 2003 New York International Motorshow the 300C was seen as a contemporary design of the similarly named 1955 Chrysler C-300 from 1955. However, the 300C model designation it wore wasn’t the first time for a Chrysler as it was plastered on a series of late 1950s coupes and convertibles.
Big grunt was a huge appeal factor
Based on the Chrysler LX platform the 300C shared many parts with the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and S-Class of the day, including the 3.0L V6 turbo-diesel engine, the 5-link independent rear and double wishbone front suspension, the 5-speeed auto transmission, steering components, the differential, driver aids stability and anti-lock brake functions. Inside the 300C had Mercedes derived electronics, switch gear, cruise control, indicator stalk, seat controls and frames and the same wiring harness.
Arriving here in 2005, the big, wide, boxy, slab-sided sedan with its big chrome grille, low roofline and small windows projected an unrivalled bad-ass road presence like no other car, including the hot Holdens and Fords it competed against in showrooms.
Benz 3-litre V6 diesel power
Engines available in the first-gen range were a 2.7lt and 3.5lt V6, a pair of V8s with 5.7lt and 6.1lt capacities and a sole 3.0lt V6 turbo-diesel. Bolted to them were a four or five-speed auto gearbox and all were rear wheel drive.
The 300C was the latest in a long line of front engine rear drive sedans that commenced with the Saratoga and New Yorker of the 1940s. Other Chrysler models with the same configuration and named after a location included the Windsor, Newport, Cordoba and Fifth Ave.
Wagon is rarer and potentially more valuable
When launched in 2005 the Austrian-built, entry-level 300C cost $53,990 and standard kit included 3.5lt V6 engine and auto gearbox, 18" alloys, a six-speaker stereo, climate control air, headlight washers, heated and powered seats, leather trim, performance brakes heated power door mirrors and auto wipers.
Shell out $59,990 for the sedan and under your right foot was the control to the 5.7lt V8 hemi engine with its 250kW and a zero to 100km/h time of 6.8 seconds. You also got more creature comforts, like a premium sound system and woodgrain garnish throughout the interior.
Plush cabin of the SRT
Another step up and an outlay $71,990 got you behind the wheel of the top dog of the litter, the SRT-8. Its brutish drive-by-wire throttled 6.1lt V8 hemi engine giving you a hefty 317kW and 569Nm to play with and a zero to 100km/h time of 5 seconds. Its bellow was emitted through a dual sports exhaust system. To haul it up equally impressively were huge, ventilated disc brakes and sports suspension helped it whip through bends.
As you’d expect it had all the fruit including: a 13-speaker audio system, 20-inch alloys, HID headlights, metallic faced sports gauges and interior garnish, leather embossed heated and powered seats, leather steering wheel, solar/sun sensing air-con, rain-sensing wipers, a rear spoiler, even a smokers kit.
Chrysler also imported a wagon version of the 300C until 2010. You could get it with the turbo-diesel, 5.7-litre V8 and as an SRt-8 model if you really needed to move your tribe in a hurry. Prices ranged from $60,9990 to $78,290.
Plenty to look at from this position
The 300C was an instant hit in the US with owners including Barack Obama, and rapper Snoop Dog. It was named in the most 25 iconic Hip-Hop cars appearing in many music videos of the music genre. The Top Gear TV show descried it as "something different with a bit of kitsch gangster cool". And this first-generation model proved popular in the UK as well.
Along the way the 300C picked up many awards including US magazine Motor Trend 2005 Car of the Year (COTY), Car and Driver awarded it in their ten Best list in 2005 and 2006. Canadian motoring journalists voted it Canadian COTY and Best New Luxury Car. It was also a finalist in the 2005 World Car of the Year, and finished equal with the BMW 1-Series in fifth place.
Its biggest sales year in Australia of 1846 units occurred in 2006 but by the time we farewelled the first-gen 300C sales had dwindled to 874 units.
That aside, the Chrysler 300C still commands attention, especially the wagon and is relatively affordable. Even the thunderous SRT-8 can be found for under fifty-grand. Compare that to a topline FPV or HSV model of the time.
Meeting the ancestors
The 300C is roomy and luxurious inside, is comprehensively decked out with plenty of kit -even at entry level - and didn't disgrace itself when roads had bends in them. That sounds like a recipe for a future classic.
FOR
• Available as a V8
• It is rear-wheel drive
• Prices that won't kill the wallet
AGAINST
• Many are now stretched limos
• Finding an original
• Dealer support
Chrysler 300C 2004-2010 specs
Body: Four-door sedan/five door wagon
Engines: 3.5lt V6, 3.0lt turbo diesel, 5.7lt V8, 6.1lt V8
Power & torque: 160/317kW -339/569Nm
Transmission: Four/five speed auto
Suspension: Double wishbone (f) independent with coil springs (r)
Brakes: Disc (f) disc (r) power assisted with ABS
From Unique Cars #462 Feb 2022
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