Chrysler Classic Cars

The non-letter 300 — full-size Chrysler performance without the six-figure price tag.

When the Letter Series became too expensive and exotic for mainstream buyers, Chrysler launched the non-letter 300 in 1962 as a performance-trimmed full-size car accessible to a broader market. The 440 TNT and the 300 Hurst limited edition are the highlights of the series, offering genuine muscle car performance in a comfortable full-size package.

The first American muscle car — 300 horsepower in 1955 before anyone else was even trying.

The Chrysler 300 Letter Series is the legitimate ancestor of the American muscle car. The 1955 C-300 produced 300 horsepower from a dual-carbureted FirePower Hemi — the first American production car to achieve that output. Named alphabetically (C-300, 300B through 300L, skipping I), each year offered genuine performance credentials that embarrassed European sports cars at the Daytona Speed Week.

One year, 485 cars — Hurst turned Chrysler's luxury flagship into a muscle car.

The 1970 Hurst 300 was a limited-edition collaboration between Chrysler and Hurst Performance that grafted the muscle car formula onto Chrysler's full-size 300 luxury coupe. Only 485 were built, all in white with gold stripes and a Hurst dual-gate automatic shifter. Under the hood sat the 440 TNT V8 — 375 hp of torque-rich full-size performance. It remains one of the most unusual and underappreciated muscle cars of the era.