Photo: Kleber Silva/Behance
There's been a lot of debate about the future of the Chrysler 300 in recent years. It's been rumored that the brand will stop existing in the future since it's focused just on passenger cars, and the 300 will be left to slowly starve.
The end is not yet upon us, as Chrysler is getting ready to release the 2021 series of the 300 sedan. But it lacks three of the limited-edition models that were available before, namely the Red S Appearance Pack, the Touring L-Sport, and the Chrome Appearance Pack.
There haven't been any meaningful updates to the 300 in about six years, so sales have hit rock bottom. They registered just 30,000 units last year, compared to something like 144,000 in 2005. While it's true that the full-size American sedan market has shrunk significantly, the decision to make SRT performance models exclusive to Dodge also hurt Chrysler.
How is the 300 supposed to thrive without Hemi V8 engines? One option would be to develop modern twin-turbo engines that are separate from the performance ones, a bit like what Cadillac is doing. But we still think a modern-looking 300 with 700 horsepower would be hot.
One surefire way of ensuring overlap isn't an issue would be turning the 300 into another SUV. Jeep's models would still be the most off-road-ready, while Chrysler could have curb appeal and highway cruising on its side.
This crazy mix of elements is a rendering from Kleber Silva, and it tries to preview just such an SUV. It's got a face you'll immediately recognize and a body that seems to mix elements from Jeep and even European brands.
Is this sacrilege? If you just look at it as an SUV with 300 headlights, it might appear that way. But even former CEO Sergio Marchionne said Chrysler is a "family-friendly people-mover brand." While he was talking about minivans, we all know SUVs are now the true people-movers.
There haven't been any meaningful updates to the 300 in about six years, so sales have hit rock bottom. They registered just 30,000 units last year, compared to something like 144,000 in 2005. While it's true that the full-size American sedan market has shrunk significantly, the decision to make SRT performance models exclusive to Dodge also hurt Chrysler.
How is the 300 supposed to thrive without Hemi V8 engines? One option would be to develop modern twin-turbo engines that are separate from the performance ones, a bit like what Cadillac is doing. But we still think a modern-looking 300 with 700 horsepower would be hot.
One surefire way of ensuring overlap isn't an issue would be turning the 300 into another SUV. Jeep's models would still be the most off-road-ready, while Chrysler could have curb appeal and highway cruising on its side.
This crazy mix of elements is a rendering from Kleber Silva, and it tries to preview just such an SUV. It's got a face you'll immediately recognize and a body that seems to mix elements from Jeep and even European brands.
Is this sacrilege? If you just look at it as an SUV with 300 headlights, it might appear that way. But even former CEO Sergio Marchionne said Chrysler is a "family-friendly people-mover brand." While he was talking about minivans, we all know SUVs are now the true people-movers.
Google News