DETROIT – After a long run, the Chrysler 300 will go out with a bang, or at least a big engine under its hood.
The Stellantis brand will stop making the 300 next year – another sedan casualty of the U.S. market’s SUV/CUV/pickup truck popularity. But the final 2023 model will come with a 6.4L Hemi 392-cu.-in. V-8 that produces 485 horsepower and 475 lb.-ft. (644 Nm) of torque.
Chrysler unveils the limited-edition 300C here at a tent event on the eve of the first indoor/outdoor North American International Auto Show.
At the debut, Chrysler brand CEO Chris Feuell speaks of the 300’s “iconic legacy” yet suggests its time is up “as we transform Chrysler with a fully electrified future in the automotive world.”
The automaker introduced the fullsize sedan in 1955 and revived it in 2005. Putting a powerful Hemi in the car for its final year seems like an internal-combustion-engine last hurrah.
The first Chrysler 300, introduced 67 years ago, had a 300-hp Hemi V-8. It was billed as the world’s most powerful fullsize car.
The 392-cu.-in., naturally aspirated engine in the special-edition model is paired with a TorqueFlite eight-speed transmission that offers maximum performance with 160-millisecond shifts.
Additional performance features include red four-piston Brembo brakes, active damping suspension and a throaty exhaust system.
Inside, creature comforts include Black Laguna leather front seats embossed with 300C logo and silver stitching, carbon-fiber accents here and there and an amped-up 19-speaker Harman Kardon audio system.
In its heyday, Chrysler offered a full vehicle lineup. The impending departure of the 300 essentially leaves the brand with a couple of versions of the Pacifica minivan, one of them a hybrid electric plug-in vehicle.
The automaker will produce a limited 2,000 units of the ’23 300C for the U.S. and 200 for the Canadian market. The MSRP is $55,000. The current Chrysler 300 starts at $31,770. The automaker sold 16,662 models last year.
Three-step ordering for the 300C at reservation.chrysler.com consists of selecting an exterior color (white, black or red), picking a dealer and submitting a deposit.
Is there any follow-up vehicle to replace the 300, or is Chrysler just migrating to electric vehicles?
“The 300C is a special vehicle,” Feuell tells Wards during a sideline conversation with journalists after the unveiling.
“We wanted to give our 300 enthusiasts something to celebrate as we sunset this version of the 300,” she says. “The Pacifica is really a flagship vehicle. We created the minivan some 40 years ago and we’ll be maintaining that vehicle for some time to come.”
Is Chrysler done with cars then?
“We’ve got a lot of different new products in our portfolio for the future, and we’ll be announcing those when the time is right.”
Are any of them cars?
“Stay tuned.”
Dodge has announced plans to introduce the Charger Daytona BEV in 2024 featuring 800V charging capability and muscle-car level performance and exhaust sound. It seems likely Stellantis would opt to produce a Chrysler version of the 2-door liftback on the same production line.
