Plymouth Prowler

Plymouth Prowler
Overview
Manufacturer	Plymouth (1997-2001) Chrysler (2001–2002)
Also called	Chrysler Prowler
Production	1997–2002
Assembly	Shadyside, Ohio, United States Detroit, Michigan, United States
Body and chassis
Class	Sports car
Body style	2-door roadster
Layout	FR layout
Platform	Chrysler PR platform
Powertrain
Engine	3.5 L EGG V6
Transmission	4-speed 42LE automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	113.3 in (2,878 mm)
Length	165.3 in (4,199 mm)
Width	76.5 in (1,943 mm)
Height	50.9 in (1,293 mm)
Curb weight	2,800 lb (1,270 kg)
Chronology
Successor	Chrysler Crossfire

Purple

Rear

Purple Metallic

Black

Bright Silver Metallic

Inca Gold Pearl Coat

The Plymouth Prowler, later the Chrysler Prowler, is a retro-styled production car manufactured and marketed from 1997 to 2002 by DaimlerChrysler, based on the 1993 concept car of the same name.

The Prowler was offered in a single generation in a front-engine, rear-drive, rear-transmission configuration — with an overall production of 11,700.

Design

Chrysler engineers were given free rein to design whatever they wanted in a "hot rod" or "sportster" type vehicle. Thomas C. Gale, Chrysler's design and international director "love for 1930s-era hot rods inspired Chrysler's latest design triumph, the retro-styled Plymouth Prowler."^[1] Gale, "who has a hotted up 1932 Ford in his garage, ... [approved] the rod-inspired Plymouth Prowler as the company's follow-up show-stopper to the Dodge Viper.^[2] An early influence is credited to a Chrysler-sponsored project at the Art Center College of Design that resulted in a thesis by Douglas "Chip" Foose that included drawings of a retro-roadster.^[3] Foose "designed it as a coupe for Chrysler to begin with but modified it to a roadster version."^[4]

One of the most striking design features of the Prowler are the open, Indy racer-style front wheels. The Prowler featured a powertrain from Chrysler's LH-cars, a 24-valve, 3.5 L Chrysler SOHC V6 engine producing 214 hp (160 kW; 217 PS) at 5850 rpm. For the 1999 model year, the engine was replaced with a more powerful, aluminum-block, 253 hp (189 kW; 257 PS) at 6400 rpm version of the engine. Both engines were coupled to a four-speed Autostick semi-automatic transmission. The transmission was located at the rear of the vehicle and joined to the engine by a torque tube that rotated at engine speed, an arrangement similar to that used by the C5 Corvette, Porsche 944, and Alfa Romeo 75, and helped to facilitate a desirable 50-50 front-rear weight distribution. The Prowler was the first rear-wheel drive Plymouth since the 1989 Plymouth Gran Fury and would stand as the last Plymouth model with that layout. While criticized for having only a V6 engine, Chrysler's High Output 3.5 had a horsepower rating similar to (or higher than) the company's Magnum V8s of that era. While not making nearly as much torque as a V8, Prowler's light weight helped to achieve rapid off-the-line acceleration.

The car prominently featured aluminum construction, in many cases adhesively bonded, chiefly in the chassis. The body was produced in Shadyside, Ohio, and the car was assembled by hand at the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant (CAAP) in Detroit, Michigan.

Performance

• 1997 model
• 0-62 mph (0–100 km/h): 7.2 seconds
• Top speed: 118 mph (180 km/h) electronically limited
• 1999–2002 model
• 0-62 mph (0–100 km/h): 5.9 seconds
• Top speed: 126 mph (190 km/h) electronically limited

Production

The Plymouth Prowler was produced for the 1997 and 1999-2000 model years. After the Plymouth brand was discontinued in 2001 the Prowler was sold as a Chrysler Prowler for the 2001 and 2002 model years. However, DaimlerChrysler marketed the Prowler as a Plymouth in Canada for the 2000 model year; the Prowler was the last Plymouth sold in Canada.

The last Prowler was built on February 15, 2002, and the model niche was later filled by the Chrysler Crossfire in 2004.

Colors

Across the two production runs, the Prowler was available in 12 colors:

• Prowler purple metallic (only color available in 1997)
• Prowler yellow clear coat
• Prowler black clear coat
• Prowler red clear coat
• Prowler bright silver metallic
• Woodward Edition (two-tone black-red)
• Black Tie Edition (two-tone black-silver)
• Prowler orange pearl coat
• Midnight blue pearl coat - Mulholland Edition
• Copper - Copperhead Edition
• Inca gold pearl coat
• Deep candy red pearl coat
• High voltage blue pearl coat - Conner Avenue Edition (only one produced, auctioned at Christie's)

Other features

• Wheels front: 17"x7"
• Wheels rear: 20"x10"
• Tires front: 225/45 HR17
• Tires rear: 295/40 HR20
• Brakes F/R: composite 11" vented disc / 13" vented disc

Pricing

The original manufacturer's suggested retail price (in US$) for each model year for the Prowler:

• 1997 - $38,300
• 1999 - $39,300
• 2000 - $43,000
• 2001 - $44,225
• 2002 - $44,625

Due to limited trunk space, a $5,000 Prowler trailer option was available from Chrysler dealers. These trailers resembled the back end of a Prowler and had smaller versions of the five-spoke wheels found on the car. They could be ordered to match a car's factory color.

Legacy

A 1999 Plymouth Prowler at the Vintage Grill & Car Museum in Weatherford, Texas

Other retro-styled vehicles followed the Prowler, including the Chrysler PT Cruiser, Chevrolet's SSR, HHR, and the 2010 Camaro, Ford's 2002 Thunderbird and 2005 Mustang, as well as the 2008 Dodge Challenger.

In 1998, a Plymouth Prowler was sealed in a mausoleum as a time capsule in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While similar in concept to the buried 1957 Plymouth Belvedere that formerly resided near the courthouse, the buried Prowler was sealed in Centennial Park in an above-ground vault and sealed within a plastic box instead of plastic sheets that covered the Belvedere. Experts believe the Prowler has a better chance of looking how it did when it was sealed when the time capsule is opened in 2048, when it will be returned to Chrysler.^[5]

In 1999 at the Specialty Equipment Market Association's annual car show in Las Vegas, Nevada, Chrysler unveiled the Plymouth Howler concept. 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 new 4.7 L PowerTech V8 engine replaced the production model's 3.5 L V6. A Borg-Warner five-speed manual replaced the production four-speed automatic.

Chrysler Corporation hosted a 10th-anniversary celebration on August 16, 2007, at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, Michigan, to commemorate the production of the Plymouth Prowler in 1997.

References

External links

• Media related to Plymouth Prowler at Wikimedia Commons
• Media related to Chrysler Prowler at Wikimedia Commons