100 Cars That Changed History

“1966 Chrysler 300 Hardtop” by Sicnag – 1966 Chrysler 300 HardtopUploaded by OSX. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

28. Chrysler 300 letter series 1955-1965 United States

An ancestor to the muscle car, though more refined and pricey, the Chrysler 300 letter series was a high-performance luxury car built by the Chrysler Corporation in the 50’s and 60’s. The cars were produced in extremely low numbers, but were powerhouses that dominated NASCAR. Their most famous, the C300, was advertised as the fastest stock car. Recently, Chrysler has begun using the 300 designation for their new high-performance luxury sedans, starting with the M300 in 1999. They share the big body style of the original 300s but not necessarily the power. The original 300s were part of a trend by US manufacturers following World War II to build more high-performance vehicles.