FINS AND CHROME
J O N AT H A N F L E E T W O O D, C L A S S I C A M E R I C A N
SPONSORED BY
1960 Chrysler 300F Chrysler’s 300-series ‘letter cars’ blended luxury with performance, and are said to have established the muscle car movement – one that saw huge V8s fitted in two-door, four-seater
sports coupes designed for high-performance driving. This particular 300F boasts 375bhp from its 413ci V8, with huge ‘cross ram’ intakes to boost power lower down the rev range,
1956 Packard Caribbean The Caribbean is considered to be one of the last ‘real’ Packards before the era of badgeengineered Studebakers of 1957. Only 276 Caribbean convertibles were built, with professionals and creative types in their sights. The 374ci V8 was teamed with an electric pushbutton auto trans. Aimed squarely at luxury rivals from Cadillac, Lincoln and
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Imperial, it had amenities such as self-levelling torsion-bar suspension and power operation on much of the interior. Visual tweaks for 1956 included an updated grille to match that of its Patrician stablemate, exaggerated headlight brows and reversible seat cushions. An original California car, this example has been fully restored.
and it has a push-button auto gearbox. Inside are sixway power leather bucket seats that ‘swing away’ for easy entry, and a full-length centre console. The body uses Chrysler’s lightweight
unibody construction. The 300F was ordered new from Manhattan Chrysler by a Donald J Baker, and is one of what is believed to be only 78 survivors from the original
248 convertibles built. It is the sole triple-black model in existence, and it came to the UK in 2011 after spending time in Monterey, California. It’s covered just 77,000 miles from new.
