Chrysler Spy Photos: 2011 Chrysler 300C Revealed

[Merc1]

Well this was the car that saved Chrysler in 2004, can they do it again? What do you guys think? I like it, but of course official pics will make it look better. Now we need to see the interior.


Spy Photos: 2011 Chrysler 300C Revealed



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[Michael]

Is this car still based on the old E class chassis? I guess I should have read the press release to see.

For me, even though I am American, American designs rarely interest me and spark anything inside of me. This design falls within that realm. It is not my type of car. I think, aesthetically, it is not too pleasing.

It does have some RR Phantom attributes, though.

 

[Zafiro]

I prefer previous generation. BTW in sweden Chrysler 300-series been a huge hit. I see a lot of them here.

 

[Dave1984]

Fiat to sell Chrysler cars under Lancia badge in Europe:

Chrysler is now Lancia

 

[Cashmere]

the headlamps scream Audi.

 

[PHYBENZ]

I like it.

This is just a major facelift from what I understand. It is still based on the W210 Benz. Looks good though.

 

[Sunny]

Looks like a Chinese imitation of an Audi.

 

[tikipukapuko]

introducing the all new 300 FAKE :fake audi front
fake m.benz sides
fake phantom top
rear still same just a little decorated.

 

[Yaz]

Too much chrome, yo!

 

[Centurion]

Meh! Not enough bling to match my outfit. I find the lack of golden details to be disturbing.

Seriously speaking, Chrysler has overdone it. I was a secret admirer of the first generation but this successor is simply too fake and superficial.

 

[ateekt]

Same old body with new odd face! I'm pretty sure, its still running on the old out-dated Merc chassis. Chrysler is slowly killing itself!

 

[NarutoRamen]

All of you screaming about the bling factor obviously are not part of its audience.

Believe me when I say this: This isn't NEARLY enough bling. Just wait and see what most of the people who buy this car will add to it. Now THAT will be face-palm status.

 

[Human]

LOL this 300C will be hated by tuners, nothing much to ad the bling comes standard

 

[Deleted member 1071]

It actually is a bit Audiesque, isn't it ?

Not really a bad thing-quite uncluttered and actually rather elegant. Far less in your face ostentatious than its' predecessor. Then again, that's what made the current car an icon. Perhaps Chrysler sees itself captive to FIAT product strategists. This new 300 could concieveably be rebadged as a Lancia whereas the previous model couldn't, really.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

I was secretly looking forward to this. Now I'm glad I kept that a secret because it looks terrible. Where should I begin?

Let's start with the front...head-on it looks fine, but the way the hood is integrated reminds me of my family's 1984 Cutlass Ciera. There's absolutely nothing special. In fact, there are some compact cars that are more modern looking.

The sides....the trunk line is too high relative to the hood line. It looks like they grafted the rear feom another car! Plus check out the fender flares...the apex (?) of the rear is lower than the front flares. What the hell! The way the designers executed the current generation's flares was impressively tasteful and elegant. It was also rather intricate. The way they have executed on the next-gen looks like they hapahazardly eyeballed it and called a day. Absolutely ridiculous.

The rear...is that strip of chrome really needed? Chrome is supposed to give the impression of class. This looks tacky. The graphics in the rearlights were unnecessary. There is something to be said about keeping things minimalist and restrained, and thus elegant.

The funny thing is that once Fiat saw the design proposal, they wanted certain things redone. And apparently this is the outcome. The new Grand Cherorkee, Durango, and Charger brought some optimism of what's to come. The 300 slows down that momentum. And the 200....well, the less said about it, the better. Plus there's not that much to say about the 200 since Fiat/Chrysler have not (purposefully) released any side profile shots. I'm not ready to be disillusioned by Chrysler, but this 300 really does not help.

 

[coolraoul]

I'm rather disappointed too. I always loved the current 300C, very special and very well designed and executed.

This here looks like a caricature of the 300C, with the proportions rendered too heavy, the detailing rendered too bling-bling, and the whole lacking harmony and specialness.

It's a shame, really, that they had to whore the 300C to that extend.

 

[Centurion]

Chrysler are in an arms race with Rolls-Royce. Given how cool the Ghost looks in the dark, Chrysler had to up their game with LEDs and chrome around the tail light units.

 

[martinbo]

I can't help but think that it's lost its identity in pursuit of more mainstream appeal.

And that's just the worst possible move for this car...

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

I can't help but think that it's lost its identity in pursuit of more mainstream appeal.

And that's just the worst possible move for this car...

hear, hear! The LEDs don't bother that much, as every automaker is doing to give it the most up-to-date look. It's the overall execution. I know it's easier to criticize than putting pen to paper (or in this, fingertips to a keyboard and mouse), but it looks like it was designed by an amateur with some sort of visual impairment. The first gen was rather professional and confident in design. I guess it really is hard to follow such a great, almost iconic design. I usually wait to be this critical when we see more official pics, but I think this is a definite face-palm moment.

EDIT: by the way, I really would of like to been a fly on the wall when the design team was trying to explain the disparity between the front and rear fenders. Seriously, how did that get passed by the head of design?

 

[NarutoRamen]

I can't help but think that it's lost its identity in pursuit of more mainstream appeal.

In America, the current car is as mainstream as it gets.