If you look wistfully back to the days of old school American muscle cars, Chrysler's 300C SRT-8 will represent something special.

Somebody must be listening. When Chrysler first launched its 300C saloon in 2005, we told you it was a great piece of kit. Great to look at, nice to drive, well specified and great value for money.

Understandably, Chrysler thought so too. Even so, their sales predictions were modest, given that in this sector and with this price tag, everybody wants a three-pointed star, four rings or a blue and white propeller on their bonnet.

Well kudos to the car buying public then, because the 300C is turning out to be something of a hit.

Demand is higher than anticipated, as people are switching on to the big saloon's American charms.

It has another trick up its sleeve though. As well as the 300C Touring, which offers major load carrying capacity with an arguably even meaner exterior, the in-house team dubbed Street Racing Technology have been fiddling with it, and created something with yet more grunt and presence.

The 300C SRT-8 sits proudly at the top of the range, not only with a longer name but some hardware to back it up.

Instead of the 5.7-litre V8, the SRT gets a 6.1-litre version, pushing out 425bhp.

To cope with the extra grunt, there is lowered and stiffened suspension, enormous 20 inch wheels and serious braking power, thanks to Brembo callipers and uprated discs and pads.

There are other visual treats too, with a discreet rear spoiler and a front end with a deeper chin. If it were any more sinisterlooking it would probably be given an ASBO.

Inside it's fully loaded, with standard leather, sat nav, high specification stereo and electric sports seats. It feels sporty and luxurious too, cosseting without making you feel sleepy instead of enthusiastic. The materials are also good: quality may just be a fraction behind the German opposition, but you'll be having too much fun to care that your neighbour's dashboard is one point lower on the Mohs scale.

The bigger V8 is no less refined, although its exhaust rumble is more pronounced. Thanks to the efforts of the impressive automatic gearbox, the SRT-8 can waft with the best of them.

As you would expect, there's plenty of torque from tickover and just a faint squeeze of the throttle is enough to send you rumbling away.

The suspension honing, including Bilstein dampers, thicker anti-roll bars and increased spring stiffness certainly firms up the ride, but avoids going too far. The bumps are definitely there, but they won't upset the occupants.

Get onto some clear roads, and the SRT reveals the other side to its personality. Slam the accelerator and the gearbox kicks down happily, putting the engine smack in the middle of its powerband.

At first it can be deceiving: the power delivery is so linear, from low rev torque to high end whip, it feels quick, but not really rapid.

Then take a peek at the speedometer, and the headline figure of 168mph tells its own story.You can get there quickly too: thanks to some conveniently located German autobahn, 150mph was within easy reach.

Just seconds later, some crazy German driving showed that the brakes are up to the job. 150mph to 70 in a handful of seconds is impressive, especially in a car that weighs 2340kg.

Hooligans will be disappointed that the ESP system can't be fully switched off, but even so, a committed right foot will discover that there is more than enough power to overwhelm the rear tyres.

The SRT is a faithful companion on a twisty road, keeping its weight mostly in check and soaking up bumps without deviation.

Drivers looking for the last degree of finesse and sports car response would be happier with a BMW M5, but they would also be £23,000 poorer. And there's the rub.The 300C SRT-8 is possibly the performance car bargain of the year. It does all you could possibly ask of it and even a little bit more, but all it asks is a not unreasonable £39,040.

Just be sure to treat it right, and don't forget to wave at those literally and metaphorically poor saps in their German machines.

THE CHRYSLER 300C SRT-8

PRICE: £39,040 on the road.

ENGINE: 6.1-litre V8 petrol unit producing 425bhp.

PERFORMANCE: 0-62mph in 5.0 seconds.

TOP SPEED: 168 mph.

ECONOMY: 20.2mpg combined.

CO2 EMISSIONS: 330g/km.

INSURANCE GROUP: 20.

WARRANTY: 3 years/60,000 miles.

WEBSITE: www.chrysler.co.uk