The Chrysler 300 (Chrysler 300 Sport Series) was a

full-size Full-size car—also known as large car—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than mid-size cars, it is the largest size class for cars. In Europe, it is known as E-segment or F-segment. ...

automobile produced by

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

from 1962 until 1971. It was a continuation of the earlier

Chrysler 300 letter series The Chrysler 300 "letter series" are high-performance personal luxury cars that were built by Chrysler in the U.S. from 1955 to 1965 and were a sub-model from the Chrysler New Yorker. After the initial year, which was named C-300 for its standar ...

. Chrysler decided to consolidate its product line and the sedan replaced the 1961

Chrysler Windsor The Chrysler Windsor is a full-size car which was built by Chrysler from 1939 through to the 1960s. The final Chrysler Windsor sold in the United States was produced in 1961, but production in Canada continued until 1966. The Canadian 1961 to 1 ...

, which itself filled the place in Chrysler's line previously occupied by the Saratoga just the year before that (1960) and also filled in for the discontinued DeSoto product line. At the time, it was considered a luxurious "

muscle car Muscle car is a description according to '' Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' that came to use in 1966 for "a group of American-made two-door sports coupes with powerful engines designed for high-performance driving." The '' Britannica Dictionary'' ...

", with all the performance of the Dodge and Plymouth products of the time, but with the luxury features expected of the Chrysler name. The 300 was positioned as a more affordable version of the exclusive 300 "letter series", and a sporty variant of a full-size automobile, adding 4-door hardtop version and running alongside that model until its discontinuation in 1966. It became the sole 300 model until 1971, when production ended. The 300 name returned to the Chrysler line in 1979 as an option package on the Cordoba coupe.

1962–1964

The Sport Series was introduced in 1962 along with the letter series 300H when DeSoto was cancelled. The Sport Series was the hardtop coupe, sedan and convertible and had only bench seats installed for all passengers, while the letter series was the coupe and had only bucket seats for all passengers and a full length center console. Chrysler expanded the 300 product line to include a 4-door hardtop, which was a previous appearance on the 1960

DeSoto Adventurer The DeSoto Adventurer is a Full-size car, full-sized automobile that was produced by DeSoto (automobile), DeSoto from 1956 through the 1960 model year. Introduced as a four-seat high-performance sports coupe concept car, the Adventurer ended up be ...

hardtop sedan, adding 383 V8 as a choice (letter cars had 413 V8 as standard). For Canadian market there was similar

Chrysler Saratoga The Chrysler Saratoga is an automobile built by Chrysler. The nameplate was used from 1939 to 1952 and from 1957 to 1960 in the U.S. market, in Canada through 1965, and in Europe from 1989 to 1995. In the beginning, it was introduced as a sport l ...

offered instead, also as a 4-door sedan, from 1964 named Chrysler Saratoga 300 and bearing a similar trim. 1963 saw all-new sheet metal and the canted headlights were no longer offered.

1965–1968

There was an all-new sheetmetal in 1965. When the performance-first the Chrysler 300 letter series was discontinued in 1966, the 440 V8 replaced the 413 V8 in this "non-letter" version, and there was a mild facelift. 1967 brought makeovers which changed front and rear styling extensively. The 4-door sedan was dropped from lineup (leaving the 4-door hardtop, 2-door hardtop, and 2-door convertible), the 440 V8 remained and only available powerplant in two guises: base and more powerful TNT. 1968 face-lifting brought concealed headlamps which were to be 300 trademark until 1971.

1969–1971

1969 was first year for "fuselage styling", there were two engine options; 440 and 440 TNT. For 1970, taking a cue from

Oldsmobile Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produ ...

, a

Hurst Hurst may refer to: Places England * Hurst, Berkshire, a village * Hurst, North Yorkshire, a hamlet * Hurst, a settlement within the village of Martock, Somerset * Hurst, West Sussex, a hamlet * Hurst Spit, a shingle spit in Hampshire ** Hurs ...

300 was offered in Spinnaker White trimmed in Satin Tan with leather interior (borrowed from the Imperial), powered by a TNT V8, as a limited edition of 485. The single convertible built used a standard Chrysler 300 white interior. In 1971, the convertible was no longer offered, as Chrysler halted production of convertibles across the entire lineup in 1971.

Engines

1979

The 300 name returned to the Chrysler line in the spring of 1979; this time based on the Cordoba coupe. The 300 was a $2,040 option package featuring special emblems and traditional "cross-hair" 300-style grille. It was available in Spinnaker White (perhaps 30 were painted Rallye Red) with a red-leather interior and red pin stripes. The model came with the code E58 V8, featuring a four-barrel carburetor, a performance camshaft, and dual exhausts. Other features included police-spec suspension with 15"x7" wheels, heavy duty torsion bars/leaf springs/shocks, front and rear sway bars, and a 3.23 rear gear ratio. The deteriorating U.S. domestic economic conditions that led to the

early 1980s recession The early 1980s recession was a severe economic recession that affected much of the world between approximately the start of 1980 and 1983. It is widely considered to have been the most severe recession since World War II. A key event leading to ...

reflected in low demand and less than 2,900 were built. The 300 model was planned for the 1980 model year using the new 2nd-generation Cordoba (based on the downsized Chrysler J platform), but was instead called the "LS".

Notes

External links

Website covering all generations of Chrysler 300 vehicles from 1955 to 2007
{{Chrysler timeline 300 Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Full-size vehicles Convertibles Coupés Sedans 1960s cars 1970s cars