Photo: Helio Queiroz via Instagram
Looking at this very extreme creation, the first thing that pops into mind is the long-gone Plymouth Prowler, the model engineered by Chrysler in the late '90s as an ode to the hot rod scene that, somewhat predictably in retrospect, never enjoyed the success envisioned by its maker.
The people who were into hot rods must have considered the Prowler to be nothing more than a pretender, whereas the people who weren't into hot rods probably looked at it in disbelief, wondering where the rest of its body panels were. That left a very narrow market for the model, which probably explains why only 11,702 (according to Wikipedia) units were ever sold during the five odd years of its lifetime.
Could GM be mad enough to sanction a somewhat similar model in 202x, despite there being no reason to assume the market would respond any better now than it did back then? In fact, if anything, we seem to have moved even further away from open-top sports cars than ever, with the emphasis being on SUVs, EVs, or a combination of the two.
Well, fret not; this is just a sketch penned by a designer that happens to work for General Motors, so it's not indicative in any way of a potential future product. Not that we would mind, especially since after closer consideration, we realize the concept has a lot more in common with the bonkers (it's British, so the adjective is fitting) Ariel Atom—pictured in the gallery—than the Plymouth model we mentioned earlier.
Both cars have a two-seat, open-top, open-wheel configuration, but despite its hot rod inspiration, the Prowler is immensely more geared toward day-to-day driving than the Atom, and this Chevrolet rendering appears to favor the track over public roads as well.
The renderings include a barebones version of the racer that leaves most of the chassis exposed, much like you get with the Ariel Atom. It also sits very low, much more so than the Prowler, and it lacks any means of covering the cabin, which means the only way to keep water from getting in if it starts raining would be to keep the car going above a certain speed.
Even though we lack any technical information about the vehicle, judging strictly by its appearance, we doubt that would be a problem. Since it's so small and lightweight, this unnamed roadster wouldn't need a big engine. Even though it has a pretty long hood, given how laid-back the driver and passenger sit, we doubt there is much room left for anything larger than a 2.0-liter unit.
However, with these engines routinely going over 400 hp these days, it should be more than enough to make Ariel Atom's American cousin one of the most exciting cars to drive. Does that sound like the kind of thing that GM would do? Exactly, but a cool rendering nonetheless.
Could GM be mad enough to sanction a somewhat similar model in 202x, despite there being no reason to assume the market would respond any better now than it did back then? In fact, if anything, we seem to have moved even further away from open-top sports cars than ever, with the emphasis being on SUVs, EVs, or a combination of the two.
Well, fret not; this is just a sketch penned by a designer that happens to work for General Motors, so it's not indicative in any way of a potential future product. Not that we would mind, especially since after closer consideration, we realize the concept has a lot more in common with the bonkers (it's British, so the adjective is fitting) Ariel Atom—pictured in the gallery—than the Plymouth model we mentioned earlier.
Both cars have a two-seat, open-top, open-wheel configuration, but despite its hot rod inspiration, the Prowler is immensely more geared toward day-to-day driving than the Atom, and this Chevrolet rendering appears to favor the track over public roads as well.
The renderings include a barebones version of the racer that leaves most of the chassis exposed, much like you get with the Ariel Atom. It also sits very low, much more so than the Prowler, and it lacks any means of covering the cabin, which means the only way to keep water from getting in if it starts raining would be to keep the car going above a certain speed.
Even though we lack any technical information about the vehicle, judging strictly by its appearance, we doubt that would be a problem. Since it's so small and lightweight, this unnamed roadster wouldn't need a big engine. Even though it has a pretty long hood, given how laid-back the driver and passenger sit, we doubt there is much room left for anything larger than a 2.0-liter unit.
However, with these engines routinely going over 400 hp these days, it should be more than enough to make Ariel Atom's American cousin one of the most exciting cars to drive. Does that sound like the kind of thing that GM would do? Exactly, but a cool rendering nonetheless.
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