29. Chrysler C-300
The fastest, most powerful American production model for 1955 and the car that shook the car scene was the mighty Chrysler C-300. This was the start of a 10-year production run of Chrysler’s famous “Letter cars.” It was a series of exclusive, fast and expensive coupes and convertibles with maximum power, comfort and luxury. The first car in that glorious lineup was the ‘55 C-300. The car got its name thanks to the 331 V8 Hemi engine, which they equipped with 8.5:1 compression. Also, they gave it a race camshaft and twin four-barrel carburetors to produce 300 HP, which was a magical figure for the mid-50s.
The performance was outstanding with a nine-second 0 to 60 mph time and 130 mph top speed. The car was expensive and full of luxury items, but it proved successful in racing, winning 37 stock car events. Today, the Chrysler C-300 is a valuable early muscle machine and an extremely rare one, too. Unfortunately, Chrysler built just over 1,700 of those Hemi-powered cruisers.