In the 1990s, Chrysler was dreaming up the best design concepts coming out of Detroit. Better yet, it put some of these wild creations into production. The craziest was the Plymouth Prowler, like the one just sold on eBay in San Antonio, Texas.
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Dipping Into Design History
Chrysler Ghia D’Elegance
Chrysler’s concepts in this era drew from a long history of automotive design.
- The glamorous Chrysler Chronos was a throwback to the Chrysler Ghia D’Elegance luxury coupe of 1953.
- The 1999 Dodge Power Wagon recalled a series of post-war trucks.
- The idea of reviving the now-popular Dodge Charger as a sedan evolved from a 1999 show car of the same name.
Many concepts were not specific to the brand, like the fantastical art deco Atlantic, a tribute to the Bugatti Type 57S, and the Dodge Viper, an homage to the Shelby Cobra. What’s even crazier is that Chrysler put some of these creations into production, giving us street cars like the PT Cruiser, Crossfire, and Prowler.
At first glance, the Prowler evoked hot rods of the 1950s, which were based on cars built in the 1930s. But it is more accurate to say that the Prowler, with its sculpted nose and sweeping trunk area, was based on street rods, the type popularized by celebrity builders Boyd Coddington and Chip Foose. In fact, the latter lent a hand in ideating the Prowler while a student at Art Center College of Design as part of a Chrysler-sponsored competition.
Street rods were a natural evolution of hot rod culture, but they were built more for show than speed. Taking the essence of hot rods to the nth degree, they often had heavily modified bodies and bright paintwork that prioritized form over function. The Prowler absorbed street rod elements like flush headlights, a body that was wide at the rear and tapered to a point at the front, and staggered wheels that were 17 inches at the nose and an enormous 20 inches out back.
The V-6 is Meh
The biggest downside of the Prowler was its powertrain. Instead of a traditional V-8, Chrysler used a 3.5-liter V-6 for packaging purposes. The fact that it saved money by being shared with other products like the Concorde sedan probably didn’t hurt either.
Though 1999 and later models made 253 horsepower—pretty good for a 2,800-pound car—the only transmission available was a four-speed automatic. It negated what would otherwise be performance advantages, like its 50/50 weight distribution due to the transmission being at the rear. The powertrain decision painted the Prowler as a car more for baby boomers looking to relive their youth rather than as a serious performance car.
The amazing thing about the Prowler was that its street rod elements—from the open-wheel design with exposed suspension to the thin outboard bumpers—were completely road-legal. Like all new cars, the Prowler met the era’s federal safety and crash standards.
A Mulholland Driver
The car just sold is a 2001 Prowler Mulholland Edition, named to evoke the famous mountain road in Los Angeles, the site of many street races back in the day. According to a Prowler enthusiast site, the Prowler Midnight Blue paint was offered for one year only, with just 1,281 examples built.
Each one was individually pinstriped by hand by Dr. Ru in a nod to the traditions of hot-rodding. Unfortunately, the auction car seems to have had this detail removed at some point during its 76,000-mile lifetime.
However, the Prowler is still a fascinating machine that looks like nothing else on the road. It would be inconceivable for a car company to produce something like it in today’s crossover-dominated market. At $20,000, the asking price sits at the low end of the Prowler market, which might explain the quick sale. That’s a bargain for a car the likes of whom we will probably never see again.
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