Chrysler C-300 – Price: $70,000+
The fastest and most powerful American production model for 1955, the Chrysler C-300 shook the car scene. It marked the start of a 10-year production run of Chrysler’s famous “Letter cars,” a series of exclusive, fast, and expensive coupes and convertibles. The first car in that lineup was the ’55 C-300. The car got its name from the 331 V8 Hemi engine, which was equipped with 8.5:1 compression, a race camshaft, and twin four-barrel carburetors to produce 300 HP, a magical number for the mid-’50s (via Hagerty ).
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. It also proved very successful in racing, winning 37 stock car events. Today, the Chrysler C-300 is a very valuable early muscle machine and a rare one too. Chrysler built just over 1700 of these Hemi-powered cruisers.