Brawny 300 SRT8 to live on

Chrysler has confirmed Australia will be the world's only market to continue to receive a 6.4-litre V8-powered SRT version of the facelifted 300 revealed at yesterday's Los Angeles motor show.

The move is partly due to slowing 300 SRT sales in the US, where Chrysler sold only a few more examples than Australians snapped up in the first half of this year, when more than 400 SRT sales accounted for more than a third of all 300 sales Down Under.

It's also due to a move away from performance and more towards luxury for the Chrysler brand -- at least in countries where Dodge is not present -- which will see the US car-maker's big-bore V8 and SRT brand become Dodge-only propositions.

Currently the only Dodge on sale in Australia is the Journey people-mover, but that could change if the next-generation Dodge Challenger coupe (due within two years) and Charger sedan (due two years after that) are produced in right-hand drive.

At that point Australians should also gain access to the ballistic SRT Hellcat versions of the two models, both powered by a volcanic 527kW 6.2-litre supercharged HEMI V8.

No information has been released about the 2015 300 SRT8 because it will be exclusive to Australia, but Chrysler chief Al Gardner indicated we'd score an even more powerful version of the current SRT8 V8 with about 500hp (373kW – up from 347kW, which will continue to make it a direct rival for HSV, plus Ford's born-again XR8.

Nor has Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Australia confirmed any local details for the facelifted 300, or even when it will arrive here next year, but we're likely to see upgraded versions of all members of the current range arrive here without big price changes by around mid-2015.

That means the continuation of 3.0-litre diesel and 3.6-litre petrol V6s across four model grades, opening at $43,000 for the 300 3.6 Limited sedan and also including the 300C, 300S and 300C Luxury variants.

It's unclear if the 6.4 V8 will continue to be available in both Australia-only 300 SRT8 Core ($56,000) and top-shelf 300 SRT8 ($66,000) guises, but it could be based on the new 300S sedan (pictured in red), which swaps the current model's chrome body highlights for black.

Australian 300s will come with most of the changes applied to North America's facelifted range, which continues with a 270kW 5.7-litre HEMI V8 and brings a new 300C Platinum variant (pictured in blue), as well as more powerful yet efficient engines, improved infotainment systems and an array of new advanced safety aids.

The man who designed the current Chrysler 300 in 2005, President and CEO of the SRT Brand and Chrysler's Senior Vice President of Design Ralf Gilles, said the next-generation large sedan would stay true to its unique 'gansta' design rather than grow smaller and/or sleeker in the search for efficiency.

"This car is suspiciously efficient," he told motoring.com.au. "I'd rather challenge my team to figure it out than give up. The silhouette has to be unique, but presence comes in many ways.

"Australians love the same things as Americans. We're going to become more international every time we start q new project."

Before the new 300 appears, Chrysler's next redesigned model is expected to be next year's all-new Grand Voyager people-mover, which Gilles said was the focus of a large design and engineering team right now, reflecting the current model's position as US market leader.

"It's not hard to design a big mini-van that looks good," he said. "We take it very seriously and we have a full-force team on that. I think you can make it sexy."