The Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore ute rival you never knew you wanted! Say hello to the Chrysler 300 ute - but there is some assembly required

The Chrysler 300 - the same big brash and predominantly V8-powered American sedan that managed to outlive the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore in Australia - ended its run in 2021, having never been offered as a ute.

Now, thanks to American kit car manufacturer Smyth Performance, the 300 can finally be made into a ute with a fabricated kit with the help of 3D designer Oscar Vargas.

Costing from USD$4490 (AU$6919) the kit applies to any 300 from 2011 to 2021 and replaces everything behind the front doors with a custom six-foot-long aluminium tray, complete with rear glass and tailgate, fibreglass panels and interior carpets, or as Smyth Performance says: "Everything you need except the donor car and paint."

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The replacement rear light fittings are sourced from a Dodge Grand Caravan while the rear glass is from a Chevrolet Colorado. The company also notes the 300 has custom rear fender flares which are not present on its Dodge Charger conversion which uses most of the same parts.

Notably, the cost is for parts only, so unless the buyer wants to get extremely hands-on, there will also be an associated labour cost. It is also unclear whether the kit would even work for the Australian-delivered right-hand-drive cars, although Smyth Performance also notes the kit requires the fuel door and filler neck from a Dodge Charger, which would add to the cost and complexity for a prospective installer.

Smyth Performance also does ute kits for the Volkswagen Golf, Jetta, and New Beetle, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and the Subaru Impreza. It will ship overseas, even having a UK-specific Beetle kit, although the company estimates shipping to be around AU$10,400 (more than the kit itself) to get one to Australia.

Costing from USD90 (AU19) the kit applies to any 300 from 2011 to 2021 and replaces everything behind the front doors with a custom six-foot-long aluminium tray.

While the brand primarily markets V8 models (specifically, the 300 SRT), technically V6 models can also be swapped as there are no mechanical changes other than the fuel filler. Smyth Performance estimates the payload (at least legally in America) to be around 408kg.

Chrysler effectively exited Australia when right-hand-drive production of the 300 ended in 2021, with registrations that year dropping to a low point of 151 units. Its primary customer for much of the final few years on sale was the New South Wales highway patrol, which at its height reportedly fielded roughly 300 examples of the V8-powered SRT as a shoo-in replacement for the outgoing V8 Holden Commodore SS fleet that ended its run in 2017.

The brand's position in the market looks to be usurped in the coming years, as its American rival, Cadillac, announced its intention to launch in Australia with a factory right-hand-drive version of its Lyriq EV in 2024.