Emerging Classic
It was big, it was brutal and buyers loved it – welcome to Chrysler’s 300C.
The hero of 25 novels, numerous short stories and two Hollywood movies, Jack Reacher is quite possibly the second-most famous literary hero on the planet. The brainchild of author Lee Child, he combines a loner’s mystique with intelligence, morality and the ability to demolish bad guys in more ways than most of us could imagine. Reacher is a household name, a classic American action hero and a byword in my home. ‘What would Jack do?’ we ask when facing a question or dilemma.
The answer, when it concerns the Chrysler 300C, is: steal it from a now-dead would-be assassin, drive it to Los Angeles and use it as a battering ram to break into the headquarters of a company plotting to sell deadly weapons to a terrorist. ‘ Reacher… started it up and drove it around to the hotel…. He quite liked the car. It was quiet and powerful. He could see its exterior styling reflected in the hotel’s window. It looked good in blue. It was square and bluff and about as subtle as a hammer. His kind of machine.’
Unusually for a novelist, Lee Child tends to get the cars in his books right. In this case he has a fine appreciation of the 300C’s all-American appeal. A succession of movie, TV and music video appearances underlined this perfectly, as did its popularity with hip-hop performers. Snoop Dog blagged one in return for his high-profile endorsement, and fellow artiste Drake rapped that ‘ Chrysler made that one car that looked just like a Bentley.’ He was right. It did have something of the Bentley Arnage about it – although the 300C was also very much its own car.
Despite being launched into a market sector that by 2005 was shrinking, this non-premium saloon was a roaring success both in the USA and Europe. Normally rather sniffy about American cars, British motorists were especially keen on it. But then, it was a great deal of smart, solid machine for just £25,000. And its visual DNA had more British components than just the passing resemblance to something the Queen might drive. The car began life as a concept, styled by Ralph Gilles. His boss was Wolverhampton-born Trevor Creed, a man with fond memories of youthful exploits in his dad’s Rover P5B, so it is no surprise that the handsome Rover’s deep-sided profile, pronounced shoulder line, low glasshouse and flat nose with a full-height grille are all present and correct in the 300C.
Thanks to the international nature of the car industry, the 300C benefits from quite a bit of German engineering. At the time Chrysler was owned by DaimlerBenz, which meant that Stuttgart suspension components were utilised, as well as an excellent 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine – at least in the European-market models. This was a 215bhp unit developing 376lb.ft of torque, which could get the 1.8-ton Chrysler to 60mph in 7.4 seconds and on to 143mph. It was a popular choice in the UK because it returned 34mpg on average and was faster than the 3.5-litre petrol option (246bhp, 250lb.ft of torque, 8.9 seconds to 60mph, a top speed of 136mph and 25mpg average).
Less common was 2006’s
SRT- 8 model, featuring a much more American 6.1-litre V8 giving 425bhp and 420lb.ft of torque. This piece of lunacy could hurl itself to 60mph in just 4.8 seconds, topping out at 165mph. Thanks to clever engine management which allowed it to run on four cylinders when not accelerating psychotically, it actually managed to give a surprisingly good average consumption figure of 19mpg. All 300C models came with an automatic transmission, which is exactly what one should expect in an American automobile.
At its launch the 300C drew press criticism for an interior that failed to match up to the quality promised by the outside. It is true that the office was no match for one created in Munich, Stuttgart or Coventry, but a 300C is far from an unpleasant place to be. Despite the high-sided body, the cabin is surprisingly airy, controls are well laid out and the materials used are perfectly satisfactory. It is a far cry from the discordant symphony of shiny grey plastics that would greet users of, say, a Chrysler Voyager of the period.
The issue is that the 300C’s German contemporaries were engaged in a race upmarket, taking their cabins into territory a £25,000 car simply could not occupy. But for the money, the 300C provided an impressive specification. The base trim – SE in Chrysler parlance – gives you electrically- operated leather seats, the usual electric windows, cruise control and dual-zone climate control, plus good-looking 18in alloys. The SR trim added touch-screen satnav, a very good hi-fi setup, Bluetooth phone hook-up and walnut trim. More sporting was the SRT option, which eschewed veneer for carbon- effect interior details, wheelarch extensions and a mesh grille for those who valued the Bentley connection. The SRT also came with 20in wheels, which sadly had an adverse effect on the car’s ride. They also – in the opinion of many, including myself – don’t look nearly as good as the handsome five-spoke 18in rims.
A deservedly popular variant of the 300C was the estate model, achieved efficiently by grafting panels from the Dodge Magnum from the C-pillar back. This is in no way a serious loadhauler in the league of a Volvo, Audi or Mercedes E- Class, but it is a much more versatile car than the 300C saloon which is limited by its fixed rear seat back. The station wagon styling does lend an element of Judge Dredd to the already muscular lines, but in its burly way is a distinctly goodlooking and practical car.
The Mk1 300C enjoyed a healthy five-year production life, but the refreshed version for the 2011 model year signalled the end of its time in the European market. The twists and turns of multinational automotive company ownership meant that by then Chrysler was in the hands of FIAT, so – as a typically oddball Latin footnote – the new 300C appeared on Italian roads as the Lancia Thema.
During its time on sale in the UK the 300C had garnered a popular following, one that a decade later shows no sign of deserting it and well-nurtured examples abound. The Chrysler is a relatively problem-free car to run in its middle age, trouble being generally limited to failed window and mirror mechanisms and the occasional engine sensor fault. It probably helps that European market cars were manufactured at Mercedes’ Steyr plant in Graz, Austria.
It is obviously worth spending time seeking out a 300C in the specification and condition you want, but low-mileage examples are not hard to find. And they don’t cost the earth
– a thoroughly good 300C can be yours for £5000, while an exceptional car shouldn’t cost more than £7000. Autocar anointed the 300C with ‘cult car’ status. In the company of noted pilots such as Snoop Dog, Barack Obama and, well, Jack Reacher, this is one cult that could prove well worth joining.