Хрислер 300Ц - Хеми Хит - 12
Return of a legend
They say that if you want to get ahead, sometimes you have to look back. Certainly in terms of Chrysler’s new 300C it seems designers have revived more than just the old ‘letter car’ badges and retro chrome grille from the original series.
For back in the mid ’50s when it all began, Chrysler launched the C300 with the first of its innovative Dual Quad Hemi V8 engines. Output was a surprising 300hp (224kW), hence the 300 badge designation. Transmission was Chrysler’s Torqueflite two-speed, with later models even getting a three-speed option. Performance for its day wasn’t bad either, as it was claimed the C300 could reach 60mph (96.5kph) in under 10¯seconds, and 130mph (209kph) flat out. In fact it was one of the fastest production cars you could buy off the showroom floor. But what made the C300 unique apart from the performance was the fact that it wasn’t just a stripped-out racer. Leather seats were standard and it got optional extras like wire wheels, tinted glass, a radio set, a heater — even electric windows and seats were on
offer. Standard equipment by today’s standards, but back then it was pure luxury.
Horror Times
Over the years the 300 evolved from the ‘C’ all the way to the ‘L’ by the mid ’60s, which is why they were known as the letter car series.
Chrysler brought back the 300 badge in 2000 with the controversial ‘M’ series cab forward design, but to the horror of Mopar fans it was front wheel drive and two cylinders short of a V8.
It may be history now, but looking back Chrysler has remembered the things that made its cars so popular in the first place, plenty of metal, big V8s and rear wheel drive. Sometimes it makes you wonder why it just didn’t ask?
Today’s 300C has the most intimidating presence of a type not seen on our roads for quite some time. Its high waist line and lowered roof suggest origins of classic American customising, while the long squared-off bonnet and trunk almost give it the stately shape of the ’60s. At 1881mm in width and 4999mm in length the 300C doesn’t sound like anything out of the ordinary, but visually looks like so much more.
If on the outside the 300C looks large then inside the interior cabin has more of the same.
There’s more than enough room to swing a cat. Even though from the outside the chopped roof gives the impression that head room may be tight.
Wood trims and aluminium inserts are of good quality, while the white-faced analogue retro clock and instruments are a nice touch. There’s no hand brake lever, instead you’ll find a foot-operated park brake which is nicely tucked away.
Unlike
the original 300 series you pretty much get all the options as
standard, including air conditioning, electric seats, an adjustable
steering column and a Boston Acoustics speaker system, just to name a
few.
The rear seats have plenty of legroom even for those around the six foot mark, however the centre rear is really only for the little ones. The front seat frames were donations from the previous Mercedes E-class, and roughly 20¯per cent of the 300C’s construction comes from the company’s German partner.
Hemi Is Back
At the business end of the car there’s a familiar powerplant under the hood. It’s Chrysler’s new generation 5.7-litre Hemi engine, delivering 250kW and a strong 525Nm of torque.
The name may be the same as the old Hemi last seen in the ’70s, but the Hemi’s comeback has unleashed a barrage of modern updates. The cast iron block is retained but is precision cast to save weight, while the cam is now hollow and sits much higher up in the block, so shorter pushrods could be used. Up on top the head is now alloy with two valves per cylinder and dual firing plugs, and the intake manifold is of composite construction.
Today’s Hemi also has the controversial MDS (multi displacement system) which, depending on throttle position and speed, shuts off four of the eight cylinders for added fuel economy.
Chrysler claims that once the pedal hits the floor full power can be retained within 0.04 seconds. All very interesting, but it begs the question, why would you buy a V8 if you were worried about fuel consumption?
Bringing up the rear of the Hemi engine is the Mercedes-sourced five-speed auto gearbox with sequential Auto Stick selection. Once Drive
is
selected gear changes can be made by pushing the lever left for down or
right for up. The system certainly makes manual selection of the gears a
breeze as there’s no alternate gate for this mode, it works straight
off the Drive position.
4 and 8
When you fire up the Hemi there’s no mistaking that there’s a V8 powerplant up front ready for business. It’s nice to see the Chrysler engineers have read my mind and not opted for the long travel accelerator from the Mercedes parts bin, instead to my delight it’s short throw and equally responsive.
Selecting Drive and easing out into traffic the 300C pulls off the mark smoothly, but somehow you know there’s a lot more power available if needed. At lower speeds the chassis rides well, extinguishing fears that it may have been set up like American cars of old. Probably no surprise as both front and rear multi link set-ups are modified versions of the previous Mercedes E-class design.
By this time I’m sure the Hemi is only running on four cylinders, but honestly there’s nothing giving it away. Abandoning the suburban traffic we manage to enter open road territory to get a taste of what Chrysler’s latest offering can really deliver. Pushing the pedal to the floor, the 5.7-litre Hemi bursts into all cylinders with the beautiful sound of the eight-piece orchestra up front.
Chrysler’s MDS is working well, very smooth and hard to detect switching over.
At just under two tons the car’s no light-weight, but independent tests have showed it will hit 100kph in under six seconds, which is fairly respectable.
After negotiating a series of bends and sweeping corners it’s obvious that this is no sports or GT car, but more a cruiser. Faster corners let
you know there’s plenty of weight being pushed around, and tighter ones produce signs of understeer.
The brakes, however, do the job well and never gave us any indication they weren’t up to the job.
At the end of the day it’s hard not to like the 300C as it looks menacing on the road, just like the legendary Chryslers of old, yet has all the refinements of the modern era.
But honestly what I most admire about the 300C is that Chrysler made it in right hand drive straight from the factory. Nice to see someone is thinking of us, God bless America (and Germany too).
Driveline: Five-speed auto gearbox with Auto Stick, rear drive with ESP traction control
Suspension: Front: upper A arms, lower lateral and diagonal links, coil springs tube shocks, anti roll bar. Rear: Five link, coil springs, tube shocks, anti roll bar
Brakes: Front: 345mm (13.6”) disc Rear: 320mm (12.6”) disc
Wheels/tyres: 18×7.5 aluminium wheels with 225/60/18 tyres
They say that if you want to get ahead, sometimes you have to look back. Certainly in terms of Chrysler’s new 300C it seems designers have revived more than just the old ‘letter car’ badges and retro chrome grille from the original series.
For back in the mid ’50s when it all began, Chrysler launched the C300 with the first of its innovative Dual Quad Hemi V8 engines. Output was a surprising 300hp (224kW), hence the 300 badge designation. Transmission was Chrysler’s Torqueflite two-speed, with later models even getting a three-speed option. Performance for its day wasn’t bad either, as it was claimed the C300 could reach 60mph (96.5kph) in under 10¯seconds, and 130mph (209kph) flat out. In fact it was one of the fastest production cars you could buy off the showroom floor. But what made the C300 unique apart from the performance was the fact that it wasn’t just a stripped-out racer. Leather seats were standard and it got optional extras like wire wheels, tinted glass, a radio set, a heater — even electric windows and seats were on
offer. Standard equipment by today’s standards, but back then it was pure luxury.Horror Times
Over the years the 300 evolved from the ‘C’ all the way to the ‘L’ by the mid ’60s, which is why they were known as the letter car series.
Chrysler brought back the 300 badge in 2000 with the controversial ‘M’ series cab forward design, but to the horror of Mopar fans it was front wheel drive and two cylinders short of a V8.
It may be history now, but looking back Chrysler has remembered the things that made its cars so popular in the first place, plenty of metal, big V8s and rear wheel drive. Sometimes it makes you wonder why it just didn’t ask?
Today’s 300C has the most intimidating presence of a type not seen on our roads for quite some time. Its high waist line and lowered roof suggest origins of classic American customising, while the long squared-off bonnet and trunk almost give it the stately shape of the ’60s. At 1881mm in width and 4999mm in length the 300C doesn’t sound like anything out of the ordinary, but visually looks like so much more.
If on the outside the 300C looks large then inside the interior cabin has more of the same.
There’s more than enough room to swing a cat. Even though from the outside the chopped roof gives the impression that head room may be tight.
Wood trims and aluminium inserts are of good quality, while the white-faced analogue retro clock and instruments are a nice touch. There’s no hand brake lever, instead you’ll find a foot-operated park brake which is nicely tucked away.
Unlike
the original 300 series you pretty much get all the options as
standard, including air conditioning, electric seats, an adjustable
steering column and a Boston Acoustics speaker system, just to name a
few.The rear seats have plenty of legroom even for those around the six foot mark, however the centre rear is really only for the little ones. The front seat frames were donations from the previous Mercedes E-class, and roughly 20¯per cent of the 300C’s construction comes from the company’s German partner.
Hemi Is Back
At the business end of the car there’s a familiar powerplant under the hood. It’s Chrysler’s new generation 5.7-litre Hemi engine, delivering 250kW and a strong 525Nm of torque.
The name may be the same as the old Hemi last seen in the ’70s, but the Hemi’s comeback has unleashed a barrage of modern updates. The cast iron block is retained but is precision cast to save weight, while the cam is now hollow and sits much higher up in the block, so shorter pushrods could be used. Up on top the head is now alloy with two valves per cylinder and dual firing plugs, and the intake manifold is of composite construction.
Today’s Hemi also has the controversial MDS (multi displacement system) which, depending on throttle position and speed, shuts off four of the eight cylinders for added fuel economy.
Chrysler claims that once the pedal hits the floor full power can be retained within 0.04 seconds. All very interesting, but it begs the question, why would you buy a V8 if you were worried about fuel consumption?
Bringing up the rear of the Hemi engine is the Mercedes-sourced five-speed auto gearbox with sequential Auto Stick selection. Once Drive
is
selected gear changes can be made by pushing the lever left for down or
right for up. The system certainly makes manual selection of the gears a
breeze as there’s no alternate gate for this mode, it works straight
off the Drive position.4 and 8
When you fire up the Hemi there’s no mistaking that there’s a V8 powerplant up front ready for business. It’s nice to see the Chrysler engineers have read my mind and not opted for the long travel accelerator from the Mercedes parts bin, instead to my delight it’s short throw and equally responsive.
Selecting Drive and easing out into traffic the 300C pulls off the mark smoothly, but somehow you know there’s a lot more power available if needed. At lower speeds the chassis rides well, extinguishing fears that it may have been set up like American cars of old. Probably no surprise as both front and rear multi link set-ups are modified versions of the previous Mercedes E-class design.
By this time I’m sure the Hemi is only running on four cylinders, but honestly there’s nothing giving it away. Abandoning the suburban traffic we manage to enter open road territory to get a taste of what Chrysler’s latest offering can really deliver. Pushing the pedal to the floor, the 5.7-litre Hemi bursts into all cylinders with the beautiful sound of the eight-piece orchestra up front.
Chrysler’s MDS is working well, very smooth and hard to detect switching over.
At just under two tons the car’s no light-weight, but independent tests have showed it will hit 100kph in under six seconds, which is fairly respectable.
After negotiating a series of bends and sweeping corners it’s obvious that this is no sports or GT car, but more a cruiser. Faster corners let
you know there’s plenty of weight being pushed around, and tighter ones produce signs of understeer.The brakes, however, do the job well and never gave us any indication they weren’t up to the job.
At the end of the day it’s hard not to like the 300C as it looks menacing on the road, just like the legendary Chryslers of old, yet has all the refinements of the modern era.
But honestly what I most admire about the 300C is that Chrysler made it in right hand drive straight from the factory. Nice to see someone is thinking of us, God bless America (and Germany too).
Chrysler 300C – Specifications
Engine: Hemi cast iron block with aluminium heads, ohv two valves per cylinder, 5654cc (345 ci), bore-99.5mm, stroke-90.9mm, compression 9.6:1, twin plug ignition, sequential port electronic fuel injection, fly by wire throttle controlDriveline: Five-speed auto gearbox with Auto Stick, rear drive with ESP traction control
Suspension: Front: upper A arms, lower lateral and diagonal links, coil springs tube shocks, anti roll bar. Rear: Five link, coil springs, tube shocks, anti roll bar
Brakes: Front: 345mm (13.6”) disc Rear: 320mm (12.6”) disc
Wheels/tyres: 18×7.5 aluminium wheels with 225/60/18 tyres
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