2006 Chrysler 300 Review

The 300 looks dramatic in profile. Rear-wheel-drive architecture allowed this whole new shape. The wheelwell cutouts, wrapping around 17 or 18-inch wheels, are striking. The wheelbase is long for a modern car at 120 inches (the 1955 original stretched 126), but the overhangs are short, offering a visual sense of power. The sedan roofline, a sort of '30s gangster tease, beautifully complements the lines which are long, low and carved as if from a big horizontal block of metal. The roof rakes thickly down to a short deck, and the sides are like large slabs. The long hood glides forward and drops off a cliff whose face is the massive grille, so strong it dictates the car's lines.

The high-performance SRT8 may be the coolest-looking 300 of all. Its unique features include body-color front and rear bumper inserts, mirrors and door handles; and the modifications are more than aesthetic. The front and rear ends direct air flow through unique ducts that cool the brakes, while a specially designed rear spoiler increases rear downforce by 39 percent, helping keep the rear tires firmly planted at high speed without increasing drag. Yet the coolest thing about the SRT8 might be its 20-inch, forged aluminum wheels and asymmetrical high-performance tires. These maximize that visual power, and they're staggered in the classic track-performance tradition, with the rear tires slightly wider than the fronts.