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1955 C300

When the 1955 season started NASCAR had a strict rule requiring every competing vehicle to be a true production model available to the public. Chrysler took absolute advantage of this mandate by releasing the C300.

Engineers took their premium luxury coupe and dropped in a modified 331 cubic inch FirePower Hemi V8. By adding two four barrel carburetors and a race profile camshaft they created the first American production car to officially hit 300 horsepower. They upgraded the suspension to handle the massive output and shipped it straight to showrooms.

Racing team owner Carl Kiekhaefer bought a fleet of them right off dealership lots. Driver Tim Flock took the wheel and absolutely crushed the competition by winning 18 races and the 1955 championship. The C300 was basically a factory built race car disguised as a luxury cruiser. It gave regular buyers access to untouchable track performance and forced every other manufacturer to completely rethink how they built street cars.