2010 Chrysler 300 SRT8

the Chrysler 300. Not because the stalwart sedan is heavy on kitsch and light on substance like the Gremlin or the duck — far from it. And not because the Chrysler is a magical machine manufactured with unicorn tears and is completely flawless. But because the Chrysler 300 occupied two distinctly different modalities for automaking in America extremely well.

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First, because the massive sedan pandered to the excesses of American lifestyles. The wheelbase, clocking in at a lifetime-long 120 inches, can comfortably shelter a full orchestra but rarely carries more than one. Similarly, the 4,000-lb. Goliath at low speeds is tougher to steer than an aircraft carrier.

But second because Chrysler built what can safely be marketed as the most affordable luxury vehicle of all time. Starting in at $28,000 on the low end, the 300 offers the best chance for middle-class America to become enveloped in a loving interior short on windows but long on comfort. And so universally accepted that it found its way into Snoop Dogg’s heart and suburbia’s heart, too.

So, as the 2010 Chrysler 300 marches on toward redesign in 2011, what better way to look back on the sedan that carried Chrysler for so many years than to admire its top-of-the-line, all-out, guns-blazing swan song, the 2010 Chrysler 300 SRT8?

An R-rated version of the 300, the SRT8 adds a lower stance, bigger engine, bigger brakes, bigger tires and badder sound to the already colossal Chrysler-built carrier. The 6.1-liter, Hemi V8 is so big under the hood it needs its own postal code.

This sedan is low and mean. And with a 0-60 time in the low 5-second range, it’s beyond quick — it’s diabolical.

The rev-happy sedan gallops with a whisper on the gas pedal, and howls with a stamp of the right pedal.