Photo: Seller on cars&bids
The year was 1997, and the Chrysler Corporation had just started building a retro-styled roadster that was preceded by a wild-looking concept car first shown in 1993. An example with less than 1,000 miles (ca. 1,609 km) just popped up for sale.
But first, a little bit of history. The company had launched the incredible Dodge Viper just a few years earlier, and it seemed that a modern car that would look like a 1930-s era roadster would be its next big hit. As you know by now, the Prowler was not exactly a success story.
Instead, it only managed to produce 11,702 units, out of which 3,170 were badged as Chrysler models because the Plymouth brand was discontinued in 2001. The marque was absorbed by Chrysler and Dodge. Mind you, the last Plymouth built for the U.S. was a Neon, but the last in Canada was a Prowler.
That happened around the same time the PT Cruiser was launched, another model that seemed to be a good idea but had a significantly larger audience. It was also supposed to be a Plymouth, mind you.
To this day, the Prowler has not been replicated in its front wheel design, and its shape will draw looks almost anywhere. On paper, the vehicle sounded like a great idea, as it had 50-50 front-rear weight distribution, double-wishbone front suspension, an aluminum construction, was assembled by hand, and had a 3.5-liter, 24-valve, V6 motor under its hood. Earlier models had a V6 that made 214 horsepower, which was more powerful than the V8s made by the Chrysler Corporation at the time, but with less torque and econobox-roots, as it was shared with the Chrysler LH cars.
There was one caveat, though, as its trans-axle transmission was a four-speed AutoStick transmission, an automatic transmission with a torque converter that could offer a manual selection of gears. Unfortunately, with just four gears available and longer gearing, the acceleration did not match the look, which resulted in disappointment.
It sounded like a great idea, but people did not like them. Many years later, various people decided to fit a V8 and even manual transmissions in the Prowler, and only then was the vehicle as close to the idea of a hot rod as originally intended.
Now, someone listed a 1997 Plymouth Prowler on Cars&Bids. The vehicle is entirely unmodified, and it has less than 1,000 all-original miles, despite having two owners in its time.
As the website notes, the vehicle comes with the famous Prowler Trunk Trailer, which was a $5,000 option at the time, and was color-matched to the car it was sold with. As you can observe, this one is exactly in the most desirable shade for a Prowler, which is “Prowler Purple Metallic.”
If you were to get this vehicle, with all of its original documentation, window sticker, and all, you would have a collectible that will turn heads wherever you take it. Especially with its matching trailer, which is tough to track down, by the way. Even if you could get one, it would not be color-matched to the car.
This accident-free car has low mileage, its original factory tires (we suggest changing those if you want to drive it on the road), and a clean CarFax report that shows multiple vehicle services over the years, with reasonable increments in mileage. The current seller has only driven 160 miles (ca. 257 km) in it since April 2014. The highest bid at the time of writing is $5,000, but the auction has seven days left to go.
To end this on a pun, as one commenter pointed out in the auction’s comments section, "if you win the auction for THIS Prowler, you won’t have to Bring a Trailer." (emphasis ours)
Instead, it only managed to produce 11,702 units, out of which 3,170 were badged as Chrysler models because the Plymouth brand was discontinued in 2001. The marque was absorbed by Chrysler and Dodge. Mind you, the last Plymouth built for the U.S. was a Neon, but the last in Canada was a Prowler.
That happened around the same time the PT Cruiser was launched, another model that seemed to be a good idea but had a significantly larger audience. It was also supposed to be a Plymouth, mind you.
To this day, the Prowler has not been replicated in its front wheel design, and its shape will draw looks almost anywhere. On paper, the vehicle sounded like a great idea, as it had 50-50 front-rear weight distribution, double-wishbone front suspension, an aluminum construction, was assembled by hand, and had a 3.5-liter, 24-valve, V6 motor under its hood. Earlier models had a V6 that made 214 horsepower, which was more powerful than the V8s made by the Chrysler Corporation at the time, but with less torque and econobox-roots, as it was shared with the Chrysler LH cars.
There was one caveat, though, as its trans-axle transmission was a four-speed AutoStick transmission, an automatic transmission with a torque converter that could offer a manual selection of gears. Unfortunately, with just four gears available and longer gearing, the acceleration did not match the look, which resulted in disappointment.
It sounded like a great idea, but people did not like them. Many years later, various people decided to fit a V8 and even manual transmissions in the Prowler, and only then was the vehicle as close to the idea of a hot rod as originally intended.
Now, someone listed a 1997 Plymouth Prowler on Cars&Bids. The vehicle is entirely unmodified, and it has less than 1,000 all-original miles, despite having two owners in its time.
As the website notes, the vehicle comes with the famous Prowler Trunk Trailer, which was a $5,000 option at the time, and was color-matched to the car it was sold with. As you can observe, this one is exactly in the most desirable shade for a Prowler, which is “Prowler Purple Metallic.”
If you were to get this vehicle, with all of its original documentation, window sticker, and all, you would have a collectible that will turn heads wherever you take it. Especially with its matching trailer, which is tough to track down, by the way. Even if you could get one, it would not be color-matched to the car.
This accident-free car has low mileage, its original factory tires (we suggest changing those if you want to drive it on the road), and a clean CarFax report that shows multiple vehicle services over the years, with reasonable increments in mileage. The current seller has only driven 160 miles (ca. 257 km) in it since April 2014. The highest bid at the time of writing is $5,000, but the auction has seven days left to go.
To end this on a pun, as one commenter pointed out in the auction’s comments section, "if you win the auction for THIS Prowler, you won’t have to Bring a Trailer." (emphasis ours)
Google News