Luxury. Performance. Comfort. Muscle. Beauty. Affordability.

You can find these attributes in any vehicle on the road. You can have luxury, comfort, and beauty in a Bently, but performance, muscle, and affordability are out. You want muscle and performance? You could take a peek at a Corvette, but then luxury and comfort are going to take a hit. If you want all of them together, there’s only one place to go. Say hello to the new Chrysler 300.

With the 2012 models Chrysler has designed the new 300 series to be a closer fit for you, no matter who you are. The 300S is the toned-down version of the series. At first glance it seems nearly identical to the 300C and the SRT8. The difference, as is often the case, is in the details. The chrome is gone from the exterior, giving the car a more subdued look. The interior is filled with matte finishes all around to continue the less in-your-face style of the 300S. If you want something a little less reserved, there’s an option for bright red leather seats. I will admit that the red leather contrasts really nicely with the matte and carbon fiber, but I can’t see myself paying for it. I can only imagine that being surrounded by red would cause a headache after a while. The 300S also comes with a 10-speaker Beats sound system “tuned” by Dr. Dre. I want to point out that the quotation marks were placed there by Chrysler, not by this author. I’m not trying to be sarcastic with my usage of the word, I just don’t know exactly what they meant when they wrote “tuned” so I left it that way. You have a choice of a Pentastar V-6 or a HEMI® V-8 to power your new road machine.

The 300C Executive is the all-business 300. The seats and door armrests are wrapped in premium Nappa leather for ultimate luxury and comfort. In fact, every bit of the interior is clad in leather; the instrument panel, the doors, the cluster brow, and of course the steering wheel. Adding a little beauty to the mix is real, natural, hand-sanded wood instead of the cheap, not-fooling-anyone plastic that has been popular for so long. Outside, playing up the luxury sedan feeling of the 300C Executive, we see a generous helping of chrome. Mirrors, door handles, the front fascia, the door accents, it is everywhere. It looks like what it is: a fantastic luxury car.

All NYIAS images captured by Lou Piccirillo

But I don’t dig the luxury cars. I love the big engines and sporty rides that grab the road to rip through turns. I said that there was something for everyone in the 300 series, and I meant it. For people like me, Chrysler decided to take the 300 back to its roots. The original, the Chrysler C-300, won the road course and the “flying mile” at Daytona in 1955. Chrysler went back in 1956 with the 300B and took both events again. The 300 series vehicles also took home the NASCAR overall championships for 1955 and 1956. These were the cars that everyone wanted. They came to be known as the “Beautiful Brutes”. These Brutes would eventually become the all new 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8.

As soon as you look at this car, you know you’re not seeing just another luxury sedan. There are no chrome accents. It’s all one color from the brand new, meaner looking front fascia, to the massive pipes roaring out of the back. She’s about half an inch closer to the ground than the rest of the 300s (and if you don’t think that’s a lot, ask the next speed bump you encounter how much difference half an inch makes).  And the biggest change is the 6.4-liter HEMI® V-8, pushing out an estimated 465 horses and 465 lb-ft of torque. You want muscle? You won’t find any more muscle than that in a luxury car. Or is this a sports car? Why can’t she be a little bit of both?