1960 Chrysler 300F
Engineered and built to capture a new market, the Chrysler 300 entered the market in 1955 at the beginning of the Chrysler Corporations “Forward Look” era renaissance. Designed to be the “gentlemen’s hot rod,” the 300 was aimed at the upper-class market as a performance car that did not sacrifice luxury, with each new annual iteration further developing on this formula, carrying a new alphabet-based signifier each year. By 1960, the 300F entered the market fresh from the ground up, ready to take on a field without competition.
In the 1960s, nothing said performance louder than a Chrysler V-8. Whether it was on the stock car oval or the quarter mile drag strip, Chrysler’s big and powerful engines were a force to be reckoned with. When Chrysler began their letter series of cars with the 300C in 1955, it began a succession of cars that were highly refined and built for brute power. For 1960, Chrysler introduced the 300F, a car that was as gorgeous as it was powerful. A special feature of the 300F was a new Ram-Tuned Induction intake manifold that was unique in the performance car world. It also made the 300F one of the fastest cars built at the time.
At the rear of the Chrysler 300F is a faux spare tire inlay atop the trunk lid, placed to dignify the appearance of the 300F further. Large canted fins house boomerang-shaped tail lamps that add further drama to the rear of the car. Dual power antennas were available as an option. Other available options on the 300F include air conditioning, power door locks, power windows, and a remote exterior mirror.
Chrysler had superseded the expensive hemispherical combustion chamber V-8 in 1959 in favor of the 413 cubic inch RB series with wedge-shaped combustion chambers but 1960’s 300F brought an entirely new concept to the dual four-barrel carburetor intakes which had characterized the 300s from their inception: the Long-Ram intake system which placed the carburetors outside the opposing cylinder heads on 30-inch long intake runners tuned to enhance the 300F’s torque. They worked and while the 375 horsepower of the 300F was five less than in 1959 the 413 produced fantastic torque of 495 lb-ft at just 2,800 rpm, even more than the later 426 Hemi head version of the RB V-8 and the highest torque figure of any Chrysler V-8 of the 60’s and 70’s.
he flagship model from Chrysler Corporation, The 300F was produced as a luxury and performance model with a high-power engine and high-end interior materials. Options include power steering, power brakes, power windows, Golden Tone touch radio, leather interior, power swivel seats, electric antenna, rear defroster, air conditioning and trunk decklid.
Also, standard on the 1960 Chrysler 300F was a pair of front swiveling seats. When the consumer opened the door, the corresponding seat would unlatch at its base, allowing the driver or passenger to swing out of the car.
Approximately a tenth of these cars are still on the road today, and their status has only grown to new heights. Thanks to low production numbers and newfound demand for Forward Look era Chrysler cars, the Chrysler 300F has an average auction selling price in 2021 of $93,000, with fully loaded convertible examples selling as high as $160,000. These numbers help to prove that the Chrysler 300F is still the gentleman’s hot rod even over six decades after its conception.
