Classic cars with history: Plymouth Prowler

This time we bring you another instalment of Classic Cars with History, to talk about a legendary, American, large and powerful model. And it’s certainly not the same seeing it in photos as on the street. I had the luck to see a unit in black and, truly, its size and dimensions are impressive, as is its look.

But let’s get to the history of the model. Plymouth was an American brand linked to Chrysler that was created in 1928 as a low-cost brand, and that finally ceased operations in 2001. Until 2001 it had sold several well-known models of the Chrysler Group under the Plymouth brand, such as the Neon, and indeed Chrysler after the launch of the Prowler it planned to expand the brand’s own models and present the second Plymouth model, the PT Cruiser (a model that shared a certain resemblance in the front end with the Prowler, and both had a retro look).

But with the arrival of the agreement with Daimler, the Plymouth brand was relegated to second place and definitively ceased. Eventually the PT Cruiser was presented as a Chrysler model, and the Prowler was renamed Chrysler and was manufactured from 1997 to 2002. The Plymouth Prowler is a two-seater convertible with a retro design and its most notable feature is the front wheel arches.

The Plymouth Prowler (or Chrysler Prowler) is said to have been the way the designers of Chrysler envisioned a Hot Rod of the future, and it featured a 3.5 V6 SOHC engine with 253 CV paired with a four-speed automatic gearbox. In total, around 11,000 units of the model were sold, and many components, such as the chassis, are built in aluminium. Another curiosity is the price: the last units sold in 2002 cost 44,625 dollars (around 31,100 euros at the exchange rate), a not very high price given the exclusivity of the model.

As a final curiosity, in 1998 a Prowler unit was included in a time capsule in Tulsa (Oklahoma) and will be returned in 2048 to Chrysler. Also, if there is any fan of the legendary Gran Turismo (the PlayStation game), you may remember seeing it in the game too. And despite the retro design, as you can see in the photos, inside it had all kinds of comfort and safety features, including even dual airbags.

More information/Source | Wikipedia
Photos | Motorpasion and Wikipedia