1955 Chrysler 300

Black 1955 Chrysler C-300 hardtop with its large egg-crate grille and wide whitewall tyres, in a museum hall — 1955 Chrysler C-300 hardtop in black, the first of the letter-series cars Photo: CZmarlin (Christopher Ziemnowicz), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Factory statusFactory configuration

Body styleSports Coupe

Trim / packageChrysler 300

Engine331.1 cid FirePower V8, dual four-barrel

Inductiontwo four-barrel carburetors

Published power300 brake hp · Chrysler advertised brake horsepower; basis not further identified

Published torqueUnknown

Forward gearsUnknown

TransmissionPowerFlite fully automatic torque converter

Matched period road testUnknown

What this record proves

The badge is only the beginning.

Chrysler advertised the 300 as a limited-quantity Sports Coupe carrying a 331.1-cubic-inch FirePower V8 on two four-barrel carburetors and rated at 300 brake horsepower. The brochure states the rating; it does not state the standard behind it, so the number and the missing basis stay together here.

The chassis was part of the argument. Chrysler listed lowered heavy-duty suspension, heavy-duty shock absorbers, power brakes, and dual exhaust — equipment that separated the 300 from an ordinary showroom Chrysler without turning it into the car Carl Kiekhaefer's team actually raced.

What the record does not contain matters as much. Torque, the PowerFlite's exact forward-gear count, curb weight, the production total, and any matched period road test are unknown. None is filled in by inference, and the unknown gear count is published as unknown rather than counted as zero.