Welcome to 300 Country

When I was a little kid growing up in Stratford, Connecticut, our grocery boy Pete Demotses showed me a magazine article about the 300C. He said "Now that's a real car. That's what you want." I was hooked on Cadillacs at the time, but I remember being rather impressed by the fighter jet appearance of the big Chrysler. Based on Virgil Exner's 613 project and Maury Baldwin's Flitesweep rear design, the 300C was the first letter car designed from scratch. To this day, you just can't ask for a better looking car. The rear design of the 613 strongly influenced later Plymouth Furys.

The 1957 Chrysler 300C began an era of big fins and beautiful designs from Virgil Exner. 1956 had been the kickoff, but those cars were still a bit bulky and appearance wise nothing compared to the all new sexy bodied 1957 models. These finned beauties would run through 1961, and are today among the most collectible Chrysler products. The 300C is king of the heap, and rightly so.

The new Brute had a new engine as well as a sleek new body. The engine was the famous 392 hemi, offered in 375 hp form. Optional was a 390 hp version with 2 1/2 inch exhaust and, of all things, a 3 speed column shift transmission. I think that one came with a strait jacket in the trunk. The eighteen guys who opted for the three on the tree 390 package got a 1957 Windsor steering wheel for their troubles, along with manual steering and a free psychiatric evaluation at the nut house of their choice. 8 of them still belonged to club members in 1987. The 3 speed Torqueflite was now standard, and the Blue Streak tires continued in 14" form with new wheel covers. No more Imperial wire wheels, but you could apparently still buy a set from Chrysler, as I have seen more than a few 300Cs so equipped. You can also buy the reproduction wires today, which are quite beautiful and are mentioned elsewhere.

The 300C didn't participate in Nascar races due to a few rules changes, but it did well in the flying mile and on the street, where it stomped the life out of all the junk iron Detroit continued to crank out. Ford had the 312, but it wasn't enough to push a Fairlane down the fast lane. Chevy now had the 283 with two four barrels or fuel injection, but it still had to lug the big Bel Airs around as before and was virtually no match for a 300 on the street. The other tubs from GM fared as well..........local Chryslers left a trail of broken hearts and crybaby drivers who longed to trade their Buicks, Oldsmobiles, or El does it really weight that much Dorados in on a 300C. Boo-hoo, go take the bus if you don't like looking at Chrysler taillights all day. One guy I knew creamed a new J2 Oldsmobile with a 300C so badly the guy never came to work with the car again. The C was towing a boat at the time. Nuff said.

The big news for the 300C was the addition of a convertible; 300 owners could now get a sunburn at 140 mph as well as a beating from the state police who managed to stop them by parking a bulldozer across the road. Hey, it worked against Barry Sullivan, didn't it? Remember Vanishing Point? The new brute also had torsion bar suspension and snappy new red, white and blue circular emblems.

5 colors could now be had......I still don't understand Parade Green, but that's just me, I guess. It is rather stunning however, as witnessed by the convertible in the gallery. The interior continued with tan leather. All in all, the 300C was a big success considering how much it cost. Approximately 2400 buyers paid up and took home America's fastest production automobile. Next year, however, would not prove to be so successful.