(Pics) Chrysler 300 concept car

I never knew this car was called the Chrysler 300. I always heard it referred to as the Chrysler Atlantic when it was shown at the St. Louis auto show.

It's beautiful !

It is possible, Bob, that this Chrysler concept car was modified into a couple of different editions over the time before Chrysler put the first return of the "300" into actual production.

Perhaps it was known initially as the Chrysler "Atlantic" and then, with positive consumer response, was known as the "300" as such a real car came a bit closer to production.

Cool concept! I see styling cues that made it into production of their other cars, maybe even the later Viper's.

I attended that show in 1990 as a dealer. We saw the prototype Viper and this "300" concept. The car was spectacular, and the buzz around it was incredible.

It never made it into production, though. The Chrysler Atlantic was a separate, even more radical design shown in 1995. 

They did produce the 1999 Chrysler 300 M. This car was originally designed to be the next Eagle Vision. But Chrysler discontinued the Eagle brand before the 300 M was produced, so the new Vision became a Chrysler. It was a well-equipped, luxurious, and fast car that shared the flagship position with the new LHS. The 300 M was 10" shorter than the LHS and a few hundred pounds lighter. The engine was a 3.5L V6, making 253 HP. 

We all thought this would be the revival of the letter-series Chryslers, but the "M" designation stayed for several years, and the mechanicals never changed much. The car had great potential, but it was never fully realized like so many Chryslers of that era. 

Chrysler was showing many concepts in the nineties, all beautiful and promising a revamping of Chrysler's design, which had gotten bogged down under Iacocca, who wore the K-Car platform to death. Spearheaded by Bob Lutz, each of the new concepts cashed in on the retro-design craze that marked the era in truly imaginative ways. While some of them made it into production (the LH cars, Viper, PT Cruiser, Prowler), things became cloudy when the great buyout by Mercedes occurred. The designs languished and became cliches while Mercedes began to produce new Chryslers on warmed-over Benz platforms (300 C).  Folks quickly forgot how daring the original designs were. 

@jkuvakas VERY well presented lay-out here John - THANKS!

Yes, the 300 concept (sometimes called the 300C concept) was a 4-door, 4-seater design.

The Atlantic came later and was a more close-coupled 2-seater which was supposed to be a tribute to the Bugatti Atlantic but there is more than a hint of the Jaguar XK120 about its style and proportions.

A couple of my favourite Chrysler concept cars were the Cirrus (which unfortunately got watered down beyond all recognition for the production Cirrus sedan)

and the gorgeous Portofino, which was designed as a Lamborghini by one of Chrysler's chief stylists (Lambo were  taken over by Chrysler in 1987) but never got beyond a single prototype. I think it is stunning in style, proportions and detailing but it is reported that Lamborghini didn't care for its looks at all!

The origins of the eventual Chrysler LH "cab-forward" production cars are clearly in evidence.

@graeme-ogg Excellent knowledge/research Graeme - thank you sir!

here they are in 1:43 scale.

the 300....

and the Portofino....

both from my collection.

Some excellent overviews and summaries of these and other Chrysler projects taking place. Sometimes the hidden paper designs and proposed concepts are perhaps even more interesting than the public ones!

@joop  Be interested to know who did that Portofino in 1:43.

I have a resin kit (unbuilt) by Alezan. To be honest it looks much too tall (and too short!) compared with photos of the real thing, but it's all I've got.

@graeme-ogg that's an Alezan, too...

I bought it in 2005 from a Austrian seller, who must have bought it from a builder who did the doors-trick on this model.

Wow. That's a pretty smart trick! Hmmm, now where did I put my jeweller's saw . . .