The Chrysler 300 has been one of the biggest sales successes in the automaker’s recent history, but that popularity is making the car’s redesign all that much more difficult. Chrysler engineers and designers are finding it hard to walk the thin line between leaving well enough alone and giving the car a fresh new look.
Although the large sedan has virtually nothing in common with Porsche ’s 911, Chrysler designers are taking a page out of the German automaker’s book. By and large the 911′s redesigns have been evolutionary rather than revolutionary, and Chrysler will be building on that philosophy for the next-generation 300 — look for it to sport a boxy shape with a blunt front fascia. After all, why change a good thing?
While the car’s exterior will remain similar to the current model’s, the 300′s interior will see a “huge leap†forward, according to Ward’s. Chrysler has been widely criticized for its sub-par interiors, but designer Lou Gasevski says “the [Chrysler] products coming out in 2011, 2012 will be very competitive with Asian models as far as content, materials, fit-and-finish.†The all-new 300 is set to launch in 2011 or 2012.
The new 300 will also have a greater focus on technology and will feature a next-generation infotainment system.
