Full-size ‘70s American cars are a real pain to own in Tokyo. Well over half of the streets here are too narrow for them, fuel costs are way higher, some parking garages are impossible to use, parts are hard to come by… So if you’re going to go ahead and get one, you might as well go for the rarest and most outrageously styled high-performance one of the bunch.
Cards on the table here: I had no idea Chrysler had attempted one last high-performance 300 so late in the game. I knew about the legendary letter series cars of 1955-65, but not about this Hurst model. A sizable gap in my knowledge, I think you’ll agree. Thankfully, CC’s Jason Shafer wrote the definitive post on this wonderful machine, so I will only briefly touch upon this car’s historical background and technical details.
It’s interesting that Chrysler picked the number 300 for their high-end series. It originally meant something tangible: the 1955 Chrysler 300 did have that amount of horses under its hood from its 5.4 litre hemi. That was already ancient history by 1956 with the 300 B, when said hemi grew to 5.8 litre and 355hp. Output hovered around the 360-380hp mark for most of the Letter-series 300’s tenure from 1958 onward, courtesy of the “Golden Lion” 413ci (6.8 litre) V8. But, just like Mercedes sticking to their iconic 300 nameplate, Chrysler kept theirs intact.
Well, sort of. Chrysler could not leave that magic number to its high-performance two-doors. They spread the 300 number on their mid-range cars, replacing the Saratoga (and the DeSoto range) from MY 1962. So the 300’s image was a tad muddled. Chrysler still thought it was a good idea to do a sort of “last hurrah” for the Letter-series in 1970, five years after said series was cancelled. Those revivials rarely go well for TV series, and it also proved quite challenging in the automotive field.
The 300 Hurst started appearing at selected Chrysler dealerships in February 1970, apparently as a total surprise for said dealers. It seems both Chrysler and Hurst thought the other party would advertise these specials, but neither actually did so. Oops.
The only colour available for the 300 Hurst was this cream and bronze two-tone combo – rather fetching, especially that sweep running from the top of the C-pillar all the way to the front end. The car was basically a fully-optioned Chrysler coupe with the 375hp 440ci (7.2 litre) “TNT” V8. Despite being well-known for their aftermarket floor shifters, Hurst’s involvement was limited to manufacturing and fitting a couple of pieces of fiberglass on the Chrylser’s trunk lid and hood, as well as rotary latches on the latter’s front.
This discreet Hurstification is coolest at the back. That spoiler probably provides zero downforce, but it sure looks great. And I normally hate spoilers. Especially at the end.
So if there’s no Hurst shifter in there, what else can we find of interest? Just the classic 1970 Chrysler dash, coloured in a pleasant shade of light brown. This particular car has the three-spoke wheel with the horn ring – at this point, a bit of a throwback, but a far more handsome item than the alternative.
The leather-upholstered bucket seats were lifted straight out of the Imperial, but they’re starting to show their age a bit. Not sure what happened to the driver’s seat, but it went albino.
The rear upholstery, as is often the case in two-door cars, is far better preserved, giving us a glimpse of what the interior would have looked like 55 years ago. Very tasteful, really – the last gasp of the pre-Brougham era, interior-wise.
Chrysler only managed to sell about 500 of these (some say 485) before calling it quits; plans for a 1971 model were scrapped early on, when they would have realized that the market for a full-size luxury muscle car was ridiculously small, unlike the car itself.
There are at least a couple of these extremely rare Chryslers in Japan, as far as I can tell. This one was featured in a local enthusiast publication, back before the 30-year-old owner made the highly debatable decision to switch to rally wheels and low-profile tyres. Millennials, eh.
Still, the wheels are only somewhat disturbing when viewing the car in profile. The Fuselage body’s overwhelming bulk, the surprisingly understated and judiciously executed two-tone paintwork and that massive electric razor grille surrounded by its thick chrome loop all conspire to draw the eye elsewhere. There are wheels one this thing? Oh yes, it’s a car. I almost forgot.
As a car, this 300-H is pretty pointless. The buying public of 1970 certainly thought so too, no matter who should have advertised it. But that is precisely what makes this two-tonne two-tone tin-top so alluring: it never should have been made. Chrysler did not need it, Hurst were busy enough making shifters and working with Oldsmobile and AMC to keep afloat without a land yacht in their shop, so in theory, good business sense should have killed it at the planning stage. Yet it exists, quirky fiberglass spoiler and all, to add a belated fuselage-shaped footnote to the Chrysler 300 saga.
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst – A Spicy Cocktail Created By George And Walter, With Help From Linda, by Jason Shafer
Vintage Review: 1970 Chrysler 300H – Road Test Magazine Reviews A Very Rare Chrysler, by GN
I’m surprised this car hasn’t been shod with 22 inch wheels yet.
Disgusting.
Don’t give ‘them’ any ideas, lol!
I always wonder about the original buyer and their demographic.
With the Hippie Movement having disintegrated into the “Freak”, who kept the drugs but lost the philosophy.
Gay was still illegal but Stonewall had happened.
Nixxon was proving himself a liar as Vietnam had expanded.
He had not yet taken us off the Gold Standard and the monumental fake Energy Crises were still a dream of the insane drug soaked “intelligentsia”.
Who would have thought having this car would improve their life?
The paint scheme works better than that on the ’70-’72 Hurst Grand Prix, which had the first fake landau half roof that I know of, but the normal GP is a better looking car by far.
These made absolutely no sense, but they are truly a sight to behold.
Thanks for the shoutout – researching about these cars was some of the most fun research ever.
I would appreciate this car much more if the owner had chopped off the roof and mounted a gigantic prop shifter on the trunk lid…instead of replacing the wheels.
What’s going on with the piece of cardboard in the driver’s foot well?