Chrysler 300C a new hero

It's the make-or-break Chrysler 300C that cost the bankrupt corporation more than $1 billion and must work to give Chrysler some much-needed leverage in its global partnership with Fiat.

The 300C will eventually also wear Lancia badges in some countries but, as it is revealed today in Detroit, is a new hero for Chrysler.  It looks good and tough, is suitably lightweighted and technologically loaded, and is promised at value prices.

The bad news for Australia is that right-hand drive production is a low priority and the new 300C will not land until 2012. Until then, Chrysler Australia has 12-months' stock of the outgoing car.

Chrysler has a totally new take on the 300C, which retains some of its gangsta impact but is more modern in everything from the front-end styling to slimmer pillars and windscreens that drop away much more dramatically than the upright glass of the current car.

It retains rear-wheel drive but has much-improved suspension and steering, the key engine is the new-generation Pentastar V6 already fitted to the Jeep Grand Cherokee, and pricing in the USA starts as low as $27,995.  Chrysler has done a lot of work on touchy-feeling stuff, from better shaping in the seats to heated-and-cooled seats and cupholders, a 20cm touch-screen infotainment system and a dual-plane sunroof.

The new 300C can roll on 20-inch alloys and there is more than two metres of acustic insulation and underbody paneling to smooth airflow and cut drag and fuel economy.

The new 300C is displayed at Detroit alongside a revamped Voyager minivan and massively-updated 200 sedan that both reflect the new styling direction from Chrysler's hero car.