Chrysler is sending off the Canadian-built 300 sedan with a big-displacement bang. The 2023 Chrysler 300C will be the final version of the sedan before it's discontinued and it gets a 6.4L Hemi V8, big brakes, and an even bigger attitude.
The car is called the 300C, but it's really more of a rebirth of the SRT-8 to say goodbye to the big sedan. The SRT model was dropped in 2015, while the 300C badge quietly disappeared in 2021, though the 5.7L V8 lived on.
Thanks to that massive 6.4L V8, the 2023 Chrysler 300C will make 485 hp and 475 lb-ft of torque, enough to get this boat down the quarter-mile in just 12.4 seconds. That performance comes with some help from a limited-slip rear differential making sure both of the 20-inch rear wheels and their wide performance tires are putting the power down to the pavement.
An eight-speed automatic is the only transmission available in the 300C. Brembo brakes with the four-piston calipers wearing a bright red finish are standard. Chrysler has added a new active exhaust system that lets the V8 sing, exiting through a set of black exhaust tips.
The 300C gets a new mesh grille with a gloss black finish you'll find on nearly every bit of exterior trim. Adorning that grille is a brand new tri-colour badge, a bit of a new spin on the logo used on Chrysler's 1950s and '60s 300 letter cars, the performance machines that came before this one.
Inside, the black Laguna leather seats get an embossed version of that same badge. The seats wear silver stitching, a theme repeated around the cabin. Carbon fibre accents help make the car feel special.
Only 200 of these cars will be built for Canada (the U.S. gets another 2,000), and they'll be sold only in black, red, and white. With so few cars staying home, expect them to sell quickly, but order books are open now. Pricing for the 300C will be announced later, closer to when it arrives at dealers. Chrysler has confirmed that 2023 will be the last year of the 300 as we know it.