It’s the end of the road once again for our dear buddy, the Chrysler 300C. The final Hemi-powered 300 — a velvet red example — just rolled off the assembly line at Stellantis’ Brampton Assembly Plant in Canada. It comes just a few weeks before production of Chrysler’s full-size sedan ends altogether.
The current-generation 300 was first launched back in 2011 after the previous (and best) generation started up in 2005. If you consider the fact that the second-generation modern 300 looks fairly similar to the first, this car has been on sale for just about 18 years. That’s a hell of a good run for an old-school American sedan.
Chrysler knew this 300 was coming to an end at the end of 2023, so late last year the automaker brought back the 300C after a two-year hiatus as a sort of special edition sendoff, meant to pay tribute to the Hemi V8-powered 300C of the late 1950s.
The 2023 model is powered by the same 6.4-liter Hemi V8 that puts out 485 horsepower and 475 lb-ft of torque that you’ll find in the Dodge Scat Pack siblings. It’s a beefy enough motor to get the big, boxy sedan from 0 to 60 in just 4.3 seconds, a quarter mile time of 12.4 seconds and a top speed of 160 mph. Along with the extra power, it gets four-piston Brembo brakes with red calipers, an active exhaust system, a 3.09 limited-slip differential and adaptive suspension. Just 2,200 (2,000 for the U.S. and 200 for Canada) were made, and every single one was sold within 12 hours of Chrysler announcing it.
To set the 300C apart stylistically, it got a tri-color 300C badge on the grille and rear decklid, black chrome accents, black headlamp and taillamps bezels, black rounded exhaust tips and black Laguna leather seats, embossed with the new 300C logo.
It’ll be very interesting to see where Chrysler goes from here. With 300 production ending on December 31, the Pacifica is the lone survivor of the Chrysler brand. Odds are, though, the 300s replacement is going to be electric.
“As we celebrate the last HEMI-powered 300C off the line with our Brampton team members, we’re also excited to work together as Chrysler brand moves forward to a sustainable all-electric future as part of the Stellantis Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan,” Chris Feuell, Chrysler CEO said in a statement.
The 300 has served as a cultural icon for the better part of the last two decades. From video game covers in the early 2000s to cameos on some of the best TV shows of all time, the 300 has always been at the top of badass-looking sedans of years gone by. Rest easy, captain. Your watch is over.
