2010 Chrysler 300C SRT8: one engine, four colors, one interior

Chrysler's 2010 engineering guide documents a single power team for the 300C SRT8: the 6.1-liter HEMI V-8, a 90-degree pushrod engine of 370 cubic inches with a deep-skirt cast-iron block, aluminum heads and 10.3:1 compression, rated 425 hp at 6,000 rpm and 420 lb-ft at 4,800 rpm with an electronic limit of 6,400 rpm. It drove the rear wheels through the W5A580 five-speed automatic with AutoStick, with ratios of 3.59, 2.19, 1.41, 1.00 and 0.83, a 3.06 final drive and a 3.17 reverse. The car was assembled at Brampton, Ontario, and the guide recommends 91-octane premium fuel and rates it 13 mpg city and 19 highway.^1,2

The guide describes the chassis in unusual detail. The unitized steel body sits on a front short-and-long-arm suspension with a high upper A arm and a five-link independent rear, both with Bilstein monotube shocks, SRT-tuned dampers and a ride height half an inch below the 300C. Steering is hydraulic rack-and-pinion at 16.1:1 with 2.75 turns lock to lock. Brembo four-piston calipers grip 14.2-inch front and 13.8-inch rear vented rotors, wheels are 20 by 9 inch forged aluminum, and the standard Goodyear Eagle RS-A tire is P245/45ZR20. The estimated curb weight is 4,160 lb on a 120.0-inch wheelbase.¹

The car was offered in four exterior colors, printed in the guide as Bright Silver Metallic Clear Coat, Brilliant Black Crystal Pearl Coat, Deep Water Blue Pearl Coat and Inferno Red Crystal Pearl Coat, and the sales brochure lists the same four for the SRT8. Both documents show one interior: the guide calls it Dark Slate Grey, and the brochure calls it Dark Slate Gray Royale Leather Trim with Perforated Suede Microfiber Inserts. Standard equipment included performance sport seats with suede inserts, carbon-tech accents, xenon headlamps, a power sunroof, dual-zone climate control and a Performance Pages display for 0-60 and quarter-mile timing.¹

The option list was short. The guide marks a 13-speaker KICKER audio system with a 322-watt amplifier, a rear-seat video system with a 7-inch screen and DVD player, and three-season Goodyear F1 tires as options, plus SRT Option Group II, which requires the power sunroof and bundles Uconnect navigation and phone. No price for any of these is published in the sources found. The two documents also disagree in places: the brochure calls SIRIUS radio optional where the guide calls it standard, prints the engine as SOHC, and gives a different optional tire size. Each disagreement is kept as a conflict rather than resolved, because both are manufacturer documents of uncertain finality.¹

Two prices are documented from a buyer's-guide database: $44,865 as the MSRP excluding destination, with no effective date stated, and $42,501 as the dealer invoice price. Chrysler's release for the car makes performance claims without stating test conditions: 0-60 mph in the low five seconds, 0-100-0 mph in under 17 seconds, 0.89 g on the skid pad and 60-0 mph braking in about 110 ft. Chrysler did not publish a 300C SRT8 production or sales count; its sales summary gives 37,116 US sales for the whole 300 nameplate in calendar 2010, a figure covering every trim and not an SRT8 count.^3,2,4