2008 Chrysler 300C SRT8: a mid-cycle refresh

The 2008 Chrysler 300C SRT8 received a mid-cycle update rather than a mechanical change, adding a deck lid with an integrated spoiler, revised taillamps, new bodyside mouldings, a new instrument cluster and center console, and adaptive cruise control. Chrysler claimed 0.89 g on the skidpad for the year. The 6.1-liter SRT HEMI V-8 remained rated at 425 hp and 420 lb-ft, paired with the five-speed AutoStick automatic, built at Brampton, Ontario, unchanged mechanically even as the car's appearance and interior were refreshed around it for the model year.¹

Chrysler did not publish a dedicated 300C SRT8 production or sales count for 2008, and this record's own production notes state that plainly. Its own sales reports instead give 62,352 US sales for the whole Chrysler 300 nameplate across calendar 2008, a figure this record treats strictly as context covering every trim level rather than the SRT8 alone. An unpublished lead notes a forum claim of a $41,385 base MSRP with a complete features list, but this record's own note is explicit that the thread was seen only as a search result title, never actually read, and that no Chrysler-issued price list was found to check the figure against, leaving that lower price entirely unverified for this record's purposes.²

Two prices are documented from a buyer's-guide database: $42,405 as the MSRP excluding destination, with no effective date stated, and $39,395 as the dealer invoice price. The 6.1-liter SRT HEMI, naturally aspirated and the only engine offered on the 300C SRT8, is rated 425 hp and 420 lb-ft as the factory's own advertised output, paired with the five-speed automatic and AutoStick as the sole standard transmission, with no alternative engine or gearbox offered on the car for the year.^3,1

Three regular-production options are documented for the year: SIRIUS Backseat TV, new for 2008; a Kicker premium surround-sound system; and the Rear-Seat Video system including Kicker Mobile Surround Sound. The SRT Track Experience package is again documented as standard rather than optional. This record's own specification entry names the year's new standard content directly: Adaptive Cruise Control, with the electronic stability program specifically tuned to work with it, an SRT Reconfigurable Display built into the instrument cluster, the deck lid with its integrated spoiler, a revised instrument panel and center console, and a ride height a half-inch lower than the standard 300C, a combined set of changes this record treats as the year's defining update rather than any single headline feature.¹

Four exterior colors are documented, Bright Silver Metallic, Brilliant Black Crystal Pearl Coat, Steel Blue Metallic Clear Coat, and Inferno Red, matching the palette this subject's sources record for the year without any addition or deletion. The interior is documented as Dark Slate Gray with suede-accented power sport seats. Chrysler's own manufacturer claim of 0.89 g on the skidpad is carried with this record's own performance note flagging that the test conditions behind the claim are not stated, a gap this record does not fill by assuming standard test conditions, so the 0.89 g figure stands strictly as the manufacturer's own unverified assertion for the year.¹