Plymouth Prowler

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Plymouth Prowler

Manufacturer	Chrysler Corporation
Parent company	DaimlerChrysler
Also called	Chrysler Prowler
Production	1997-2002
Assembly	Shadyside, Ohio Detroit, Michigan
Successor	Chrysler Crossfire
Class	Sports car
Body style	2-door roadster
Layout	FR layout
Platform	Chrysler PR platform
Engine	3.5 L EGJ V6
Transmission	4-speed 42RLE automatic
Wheelbase	113.3 in
Length	165.3 in
Width	76.5 in
Height	50.9 in
Similar	Volvo T6

Rear of a Plymouth Prowler

The Plymouth Prowler was a "retro"-styled production car, with the body produced in Shadyside, Ohio, USA from 1997 until 2002. It featured a powertrain lifted from Chrysler's LH-cars, with a 253 hp 3.5 L SOHC V6 engine occupying the usual underhood area, but with the 4-speed Autostick automatic transmission relocated to the rear; the two were joined by a flexible driveshaft which rotates at engine speed similar to the C5 Corvette and the Alfa Romeo 75. The Prowler was the first rear-wheel drive Plymouth since the 1989 Plymouth Gran Fury. It was based on the 1993 concept car of the same name.

The car featured much aluminum in the chassis. In many cases, the components were adhesive bonded. One of the most striking features of the car was the open, Indy-racer-style front wheels. The design of the Prowler was said to have been done by Chrysler engineers after they were given free rein to create whatever they wanted in a "hot rod" or "sportster" type car.

At one point or another, the Prowler was available in the following 12 colors:

Prowler Purple Metallic
Prowler Yellow Clear Coat
Prowler Black Clear Coat
Prowler Red Clear Coat
Woodward Edition (Two-tone Black/Red)
Prowler Silver Metallic
Black Tie Edition (Two-tone Black/Silver)
Orange Pearl Coat
Midnight Blue Pearl Coat - Mulholland Edition
Inca Gold Pearl Coat
Deep Candy Red Pearl Coat
High Voltage Blue Pearl Coat - Conner Avenue Edition

(only one of which was produced and auctioned at Christie's)

The Prowler was first introduced as a 1997 model, offered only in purple the first year. There was no 1998 model. After the Plymouth marque was discontinued in 2001, the Prowler was sold as a Chrysler until 2002. The model was replaced by the Chrysler Crossfire for 2004.

[edit] Production figures

1997 - 457
1999 - 3,921
2000 - 2,746
2001 - 3,142
2002 - 1,436
Total Plymouth - 8,532
Total Chrysler - 3,170
Grand Total - 11,702

[edit] Trivia

A scale model Prowler carved out of amethyst was made in 1997 to celebrate the car's launch. The finished car had about 9600 karats of jewel in it, which made it the largest cut piece of amethyst in the world. It also included 1 lb of white gold for some components. More detail can be found here. (picture and information taken from Guinness Book of Records Millennium Edition. Here is a link to the Guinness Book of Records website.)

In 1999, at the Specialty Equipment Market Association's (SEMA) annual car show in Las Vegas Nevada, Chrysler unveiled its concept for the Chrysler Howler. Inspired by Hot-Rod trucks, and based on the Prowler, the Howler featured a small, truck like bed with a tailgate and hard tonneau cover. Under the hood, an adapted version of Jeep's all new 4.7 litre PowerTech V8 replaced the production model's 3.5 litre V6. A Borg-Warner 5 speed manual replaced the production 4 speed automatic.

Among the various accessories available for the prowler, the most interested was a Prowler Trailer. This tag-along trailer, sold through selected dealerships, functioned as a "spare trunk" and was actually designed to resemble the car's back end, and featured the same styling characteristics of the car, complete with scaled down versions of the stock wheels and matching paint.

The styling behind Chrysler's PT Cruiser is thought to have been inspired in part by the Prowler. The Prowler is credited with starting the retro trend that other manufactures have since embraced with the production of various "throw back" vehicles.

In 1998, a Prowler prototype was buried along with other artifacts in a time capsule in Tulsa, Oklahoma to be unearthed in 2048, whereupon it will be returned to DaimlerChrysler[1].

Although he is officially uncredited, car designer Chip Foose's Chrysler-sponsored senior project car at Pasadena Art Center College of Design, which he dubbed the Hemisfear, evolved into the Plymouth Prowler.[2]

[edit] External links

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