Stellantis announces the 300 will depart next year, so this special-edition 2023 Chrysler 300C will pay homage.
- Stellantis will produce 2000 of these high-octane sedans for the US (with another 200 available in Canada), much like the Last Call versions of Dodge Challenger and Charger.
- With a suggested price of $55,000, the 2023 Chrysler 300C will be a fire breather, rated at 485 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque and capable of sprinting to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds.
- Stellantis has said it will launch Chrysler’s first battery-electric vehicle in 2025, and that the brand will have a full battery-electric portfolio by 2028.
It’s been more than six years since the Chrysler brand unveiled an all-new vehicle: the Pacifica minivan on Jan. 11, 2016, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Soon, the Pacifica will be the only vehicle in the Chrysler stable, after the 300 sedan goes away following the 2023 model year.
The announcement from Stellantis comes this week as Detroit hosts a reinvented (and much smaller) North American International Auto Show. But the fullsize Chrysler 300 sedan—in the market since 2004 as a holdover from the DaimlerChrysler days—is getting a proper send-off before it departs.
With the 6.4-liter Hemi-powered 2023 Chrysler 300C special edition, the Detroit brand will pay tribute not only to this most recent 300 but also the nameplate that dates back to 1955, when the newly launched 300 was soon dominating NASCAR with its 300-hp Hemi V8 and dual four-barrel carburetors.
Chrysler will produce 2000 of these high-octane sedans for the US (with another 200 available in Canada), much like the Last Call versions of the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger that will mark the end of production for that coupe/sedan combo. The 300, Challenger, and Charger have been produced at Stellantis’ plant in Brampton, Ontario.
With a suggested retail price of $55,000, the 2023 Chrysler 300C will be a naturally aspirated fire breather, rated at 485 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque and capable of sprinting to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds and covering a quarter-mile in 12.4 seconds, Stellantis says. Channeling all that power will be a TorqueFlite eight-speed automatic transmission.
Performance upgrades include red four-piston Brembo brakes, a 3.09 limited-slip differential, active damping suspension, active exhaust system, and black rounded exhaust tips. Riding up front on the grille (and on the rear decklid) will be a new version of the tri-color 300C badge.
1957 Chrysler 300C.
Chrysler
“We’re celebrating the Chrysler 300 and its iconic legacy in the automotive world,” said Chris Feuell, Chrysler brand CEO. “The Chrysler 300 changed the automotive world in so many ways, and we will carry that spirit of ingenuity forward as we transform Chrysler with a fully electrified future and breakthrough customer experiences.”
The interior of this outgoing 300C is all business: black Laguna leather sport seats embossed with the 300C logo along with carbon-fiber accents, a 19-speaker Harman Kardon audio system, and driver-assistance technologies such as lane departure warning and full-speed collision warning.
Hand raisers can visit reservation.chrysler.com to start the ordering process.
The Chrysler 300 had a good run, and it was marketed as the most powerful full-size car in the world when it launched in 1955 with its 300-hp Hemi.
Two years later, Chrysler debuted the 300C with its 6.4-liter Hemi now cranking out 375 hp, and in 1958 the 300D set a Bonneville land speed record at 156 mph.
Vintage Chrysler 300.
Chrysler
New variants of the 300 came and went until Chrysler issued the last of its 300 letter-series cars, the 300L, in 1965.
It took 30 years for Chrysler to revive the 300 name, as the front-wheel-drive 300M arrived (and was well received) in 1999 and stayed on until 2004, at which point, the sport-sedan baton was handed to what we know as today’s rear-wheel-drive Chrysler 300, with a fair amount of German engineering and available all-wheel drive.
The last high-output version of the outgoing Chrysler 300 was the 425-hp 300C SRT8 with a 6.1-liter Hemi.
Since 2004, Chrysler sold more than 1.1 million 300 sedans, and the best years were 2005 and 2006 (144,000 units each year), according to Wards Intelligence data.
Sales have plummeted for years, to fewer than 17,000 deliveries last year.
2023 Chrysler 300C interior.
Stellantis
This has been the case for all large sedans for more than a decade, as they continue to struggle to compete with crossovers and SUVs. In reality, the 300 outlasted the Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, and Chevrolet Impala.
Factor in the industry’s general disillusion with internal combustion these days, and it’s surprising the Chrysler 300 lasted as long as it did.
So what happens now? Stellantis will close the Brampton plant for retooling in 2024, and production will resume in 2025 as the plant supports the brand’s electrification plans with a new flexible architecture.
As for the future of Chrysler overall, Stellantis has said it will launch the brand’s first battery-electric vehicle in 2025, and that Chrysler will have a full battery-electric portfolio by 2028.
Keyword: If You’ve Wanted a 485-HP Hemi-Powered Chrysler 300, Here It Is