1997 Plymouth Prowler: Fast Car History Lesson

You might recall the wild Plymouth Prowler concept of the mid-1990s, a retro throwback to hot rod culture. Except the Prowler wasn’t a concept, it was a fully fledged production car, of which 11,702 were built between 1997 and 2002.

It’s remembered as a bit of a flop, critically and commercially, but there’s more to the story than that.

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Let’s start with the bad. The bold design successfully paid homage to cars like the Ford Model A, but many hot rod enthusiasts were left alienated by Chrysler’s decision to use a V6 engine and four-speed automatic gearbox. The V6 was chosen to improve efficiency and meet crash regulations.

Despite weighing just 1280kg, the Prowler, initially at least, wasn’t particularly quick. The 3.5-litre SOHC V6 produced 160kW/300Nm for a 0-60mph (97km/h) claim of 7.2sec. Plymouth claimed an electronically limited top speed of 190km/h, which was academic because during testing Car & Driver found the Prowler was aerodynamically limited to 188km/h, though it beat the 0-60mph claim at 7.0sec.

A little more potency arrived in 1999 with a high-performance aluminium block version of the 3.5 producing 189kW/339Nm. This cut the 0-60mph claim to 5.9sec and lifted the top speed to 203km/h.

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However, Chrysler itself addressed the Prowler’s criticisms with a concept unveiled at the 1999 SEMA called the Howler, which packed a 4.7-litre V8, five-speed manual and elongated tail for luggage.

Boot space in the Prowler was virtually non-existent, a problem partially solved by the option of a matching trailer. Trouble is, the trailer added another USD$5000 to a car that already cost more than a Chevrolet Corvette.

While not particularly successful, the aluminium-intensive Prowler was an important research and development tool, parts of its chassis being adhesively bonded like a Lotus Elise. To Chrysler, the lessons learned about lightweight construction were more important than sales figures.

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1997 PLYMOUTH PROWLER SPECS
Engine: 3518cc V6, SOHC, 24v
Power: 160kW @ 5850rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 3100rpm
0-100km/h: 7.4sec (est)
Price: USD$43,000