Report: A Chrysler 300 Hellcat is Happening
A Chrysler 300 SRT with the 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V8 will arrive in late 2018.
According to Automotive News, Fiat Chrysler’s plan to move the 300 to the Giorgio rear-wheel drive platform that is employed in the Giulia has been scrapped. Instead, FCA engineers will work to significantly improve the 300’s LX platform, with the automaker planning to introduce the reworked version of the sedan sometime in 2019.
Before the updated 300 arrives, the Hellcat version will. AN‘s sources didn’t provide much info on the super sedan, but previous Hellcat-powered products give us a pretty good indication. In the closely related Charger Hellcat, FCA’s 6.2-liter supercharged V8 makes 707 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque, so we’re expecting similar output levels for the 300.
SEE ALSO: Chrysler 300 Jumping on the Hellcat Bandwagon?
Spy shots of a curious 300 SRT Prototype surfaced earlier this year, fueling rumors the 300 is in line for a Hellcat makeover. The prototype was wearing the Dodge Demon’s extra-wide tires at all four corners, so it’s possible the production version will be a widebody. Furthermore, FCA has already proven its all-wheel drive system can handle the Hellcat’s hardiness. If FCA wanted to differentiate the Chrysler from its Dodge counterpart, it could make it AWD.
Chrysler spokesperson Kristin Starnes told us earlier this year that “there are no plans” to bring a high-performance Chrysler 300 to North America, but that’s typical of PR personnel. We’re inclined to believe AN on this, after all, they predicted the arrival of the widebody Challenger Hellcat and the all-wheel drive Challenger GT well before either had made their debut.
[Source: Automotive News]
Sam McEachern holds a diploma in journalism from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, and has been covering the automotive industry for over 5 years. He conducts reviews and writes AutoGuide's news content. He's a die-hard motorsports fan with a passion for performance cars of all sorts.
More by Sam McEachern
Comments
Join the conversation
There is definitely a market for the 300SRT here in North America, even if the sales volumes of the last version were not great. If FCA would differentiate the 300SRT Hellcat with awd, it could be a compelling model for plenty of guys who want an American hotrod, without the boy racer looks of the Charger. There are a few things they could do to help 300 sales in general, specifically wrapping the interior with the leather package they use with the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT. The current 300 / Charger / Challenger dashboard in particular has a really dated look that would immediately benefit from a leather wrap. Same for some of the trim pieces on the center console and door panels.
This would be a good option for Australia, we currently get a factory 300 SRT and a Hellcat makes sense. We can't buy factory Challengers or Chargers.