Chrysler Pays Homage To Australia’s 1969 Valiant Pacer With 300 SRT Special Edition

Chrysler Australia has found a cool way to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Valiant Pacer nameplate.

The FCA subsidiary built a one-of-a-kind Chrysler 300 SRT Pacer tribute car that incorporates design cues from the iconic 1969 Valiant Pacer that was built and sold in Australia. Taking inspiration from a classic Pacer in Wild Yellow, the tribute car is essentially a base Core grade spiced up with retro design details.

The 300 SRT Pacer features a full vehicle wrap replicating the original Wild Yellow body color, as well as black side stripes and ‘Pacer 392’ decals on the front quarter panels and rear boot lid.

The one-off Chrysler 300 SRT rides on 20-inch Black Noise alloys enhanced with the striking red stripe seen on the wheels of the 1969 Pacer. Red decals can also be found on the front splitter (also featuring the Pacer logo) and the boot lid.

The original car featured ‘Pacer 225’ decals hinting at its 225-cubic inch (3.7-liter) slant six engine producing 174 HP (176 PS / 130 kW). The six-cylinder engine was mated to a 3 speed manual gearbox that sent power to the rear wheels.

The modern tribute vehicle adopts ‘Pacer 392’ decals instead, as it packs a much bigger and stronger 392-cubic inch (6.4-liter) HEMI V8 engine making 470 HP (475 PS / 350 kW) and 637 Nm (470 lb-ft) of torque. The power plant is mated as standard to a TorqueFlight ZF 8-speed automatic gearbox with Rotary E-shift, launch control and, obviously, rear-wheel drive.

It’s hard to argue with the fact that the Chrysler 300 SRT Pacer is a really cool car with a cool name, and the great news is it won’t remain a one-off. Those of you living in Australia will be glad to learn that Chrysler will soon release a limited edition production variant inspired by this tribute car.

The 1969 Valiant Pacer is an Australian institution, having been built exclusively for the domestic market at the Chrysler factory in Adelaide, South Australia. The model targeted buyers who wanted a fast, rear-wheel drive four-door sedan.

Originally available in three colors (Wild Yellow, Blue and Red), the Valiant Pacer featured the previously-mentioned ‘Pacer 225’ decals, black exterior side stripes, as well as red accents on the grille and boot lid.

Fun fact: The coupe version of the original Pacer was one of the stars in the local 2000 hit film “Wog Boy” with Nick Giannopoulos.