2009 Chrysler 300C SRT8: better fuel economy, standard sunroof

The 2009 Chrysler 300C SRT8 gained a revised front grille, Deep Water Blue paint, a standard sunroof, a retuned suspension, and recalibrated ABS and stability control, and Chrysler stated that improved fuel economy for the year reduced the car's gas-guzzler tax. The SRT-engineered 6.1-liter HEMI V-8 remained rated 425 hp and 420 lb-ft, paired with the five-speed AutoStick automatic, built at Brampton, Ontario, unchanged mechanically from the year's engineering baseline even as the car's chassis tuning and equipment were revised around it, changes this record's own overview describes as concentrated in the suspension, brakes, and stability electronics rather than in the drivetrain itself.¹

Chrysler did not publish a dedicated 300C SRT8 production or sales count for 2009, and this record's own production notes state that plainly rather than estimating one. The company's own sales reports instead give 38,606 US sales for the whole Chrysler 300 nameplate across calendar 2009, a figure this record treats strictly as context covering every trim level rather than the SRT8 specifically, and as a sales count rather than a production count in the first place, leaving the SRT8's own share of that total undocumented in any source found, and this record does not attempt to estimate that share from the whole-nameplate figure alone, since doing so would require an assumption about SRT8 mix this record has no basis to make.²

Two prices are documented from a buyer's-guide database: $44,160 as the MSRP excluding destination, with no effective date stated, and $40,861 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 for the model, with no alternative engine or gearbox documented as available anywhere in the sources this record draws on for the year.^3,1

Three regular-production options are documented for the year: SIRIUS Backseat TV; a Kicker premium surround-sound system; and the Rear-Seat Video system including Kicker Mobile Surround Sound. This record's own specification entry lists the year's standard-equipment changes directly: the power sunroof moving from optional to standard, UConnect Tunes becoming standard, new front-seat head restraints, the new front grille already noted in the overview, and brake knockback mitigation software added to the car's electronics, together forming the bulk of the model's documented changes for the year and reflecting a focus on refinement and safety electronics over any single headline feature.¹

Four exterior colors are documented, Bright Silver Metallic, Brilliant Black Crystal Pearl Coat, the new-for-2009 Deep Water Blue Clear Coat, and Inferno Red. The interior is documented simply as Dark Slate Gray, with no further trim detail given in the source. Chrysler's own manufacturer claim puts the car's 0-100-0 mph time at under 17 seconds, though this record's own performance entry notes that the test conditions behind that claim are not stated, so the figure is carried as a bare manufacturer assertion rather than a verified result, and no independent road test of the claim was found in any source consulted for this record.¹