Chrysler 300: the rear-wheel-drive flagship of the modern era

The Chrysler 300 is a full-size rear-wheel-drive saloon that revived one of Chrysler’s oldest nameplates in 2005. Built on the LX platform with engineering derived from Mercedes-Benz, it offered a Hemi V8 in the 300C and became the company’s flagship, remaining in production in two generations until 2023.

Chrysler 300 at a glance

History of the Chrysler 300

Background

The 300 continued a long Chrysler tradition of front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, V8-powered luxury saloons that ran from the 1940s through the Saratoga, New Yorker, Windsor, Newport and Cordoba to the Fifth Avenue, whose production ended in 1989. The original 1955 C-300 and the letter series that followed gave the new car both its name and its proportions, and its styling also borrowed details from the 1998 Chrysler Chronos concept.

First generation (2005)

The car appeared as a concept at the 2003 New York International Auto Show with styling by Ralph Gilles, and production began in January 2004 for the 2005 model year. It was the last Chrysler designed under Tom Gale, who retired from DaimlerChrysler in December 2000. Built on the rear-wheel-drive LX platform, it drew heavily on Mercedes-Benz engineering: Chrysler engineers studied the W211 E-Class, and the toe board, safety-cage architecture and load paths followed Mercedes practice, along with the rear suspension cradle and five-link rear suspension from the E-Class, a double-wishbone front suspension derived from the S-Class, the five-speed NAG1 automatic, the rear differential, ESP and ABS, the CAN bus electrical architecture and much of the switchgear. All-wheel-drive cars used Mercedes’ 4MATIC system.

The range

The basic 300 came with 17-inch wheels, four-wheel disc brakes, a power driver’s seat and a four-speed automatic behind the 2.7-litre V6 rated at 190 hp; in Canada the 3.5-litre V6 was standard. The Touring used the 3.5-litre V6 with 250 hp and was renamed Touring Plus for 2009 and 2010, while the Limited added chrome-clad wheels, anti-roll bars, dual-zone climate control, a Boston Acoustics audio system and parking sensors. The top 300C used the 5.7-litre Hemi V8 with the Multi-Displacement System, which ran on four cylinders when little power was needed, and produced 340 hp and 390 lb·ft through a five-speed automatic, with 18-inch chrome-clad wheels as standard. The second generation arrived for 2011 as a saloon only and was marketed as the Chrysler 300C in the United Kingdom and Ireland and as the Lancia Thema in the rest of Europe; it remained in production until 2023.

Design and features

• Rear-wheel drive: the LX platform restored a layout Chrysler had abandoned after the Fifth Avenue.
• Mercedes-derived engineering: suspension, transmission, electronics and all-wheel drive came from Mercedes-Benz components.
• Hemi V8: the 5.7-litre 300C produced 340 hp and could run on four cylinders to save fuel.
• Bold retro styling: a large grille, long bonnet and low roofline recalling the 1955 C-300.
• Two body styles: a saloon and, in the first generation only, a station wagon.

Chrysler 300 versions

• 300 (base and LX): 2.7-litre V6 with 190 hp.
• 300 Touring / Touring Plus: 3.5-litre V6 with 250 hp.
• 300 Limited: the same V6 with a higher equipment level.
• 300C: 5.7-litre Hemi V8 with 340 hp, also available with all-wheel drive.
• 300 SRT-8: the performance version of the first generation.
• Lancia Thema: the second-generation car as sold in continental Europe.

The 300 took its name from the 1955–1965 letter series and was preceded as Chrysler’s flagship by the 300M. Its styling study, the Airflite, used a shortened version of the same platform. More cars are in the Chrysler collection.

Sources

• Chrysler 300, English Wikipedia: platform, engineering, engines, trims
• Chrysler 300, Wikimedia Commons: photographs