Next Chrysler 300C To Go Front-Wheel Drive, Use Pacifica Platform?

The second generation Chrysler 300C had a nice run, but its days are numbered and the execution may change, as the model’s successor could benefit from a FWD powertrain.

This comes after CEO Sergio Marchionne has given a hint that the vehicle’s replacement might just share the same platform with the new Pacifica minivan.

Reuters reports that while speaking with reporters at the FCA plant in Windsor, Ontario, Marchionne said that the company will cease production of the 200 midsize sedan by the end of the year on in early 2017, and that the underpinning architecture of the Pacifica could be used for the next-gen Chrysler 300 – at the Windsor plant: “This plant and this architecture is capable of making the 300 successor, the front-wheel, all-wheel drive successor.”

When asked if that means the future 300 will be front-wheel-drive, FCA’s CEO swiftly made things vague again by saying the Windsor plant is “capable” of making the sedan. “It’s capable. It’s not a commitment,” Marchionne concluded.

Nevertheless, since the new 300’s debut won’t happen earlier than 2018 – presumably – it’s still early to speculate and interpret Marchionne’s words.