Here is something you don’t see every day. The Plymouth (and later Chrysler) Prowler is not quite as rare as I first thought. Not quite 12,000 of them were made between 1997 and 2002. We will have to do a full CC on a Prowler some time (I actually have pictures of a different one), but for now, let’s take in this brilliant yellow version caught through my windshield in an Indianapolis intersection. I can understand the original owner’s desire for this bright color. Otherwise, people might never notice a car like this.
One of my favorite cars of all time!
Around 1999 or so, I was on the Cape and someone had crashed a yellow one like this while out on a test drive. The front wheel pod had broken off in the collision. Can’t imagine that conversation once they got back to the dealer.
I had the reverse CC effect, I forget exactly where I was, but somewhere in the Seattle Area, but was behind a bright yellow Prowler myself.
It made a left turn and went on its way though.
I’m not a fan of yellow anything but I like this a lot,I’ve only ever seen a purple Prowler but this one looks much nicer.
I think they only came in 2 colors, yellow and purple. Looking back on the Prowler mania that lasted for a minute or two many years ago, I can’t recall ever seeing one in another hue.
Can somebody remind me again why Lutz greenlighted this with a V6 in it? I think it was (and still is) The Worlds Only Hotrod With A V6.
This car belongs on a list of orphan/niche cars including:
T-Bird 2 seater based on the Lincoln/Jag platform
Chevy convertible pickup truck
Dakota convertible
Crossfire
XR4ti
Sterling 825/827? Maybe that’s a stretch.
V6? Really?
They came in purple only for 1997. No ’98s, but for ’99-on they came in a number of colors that changed annually including yellow, silver, red, and then more adventurous colors like Inca Gold and Midnight Blue.
They also did a couple 2-tone paint schemes. There was the “Woodward Edition” in black over red and the “Black Tie” edition in black over silver. The last 300 Prowlers made were painted in a candy apple red.
I agree, and thought that the use of the V6 engine hurt sales among the only demographic that might potentially buy this car. A Magnum V8 with a bunch of chrome on it would have done wonders for sales. This thing was more of a fashion item than a serious car, and it would have been very hot for a couple of years with that V8 power.
That said, I understand that the 3.5 V6 put out close to the same power as the then-current V8, and made this lightweight Prowler quite quick. Still, the lack of that V8 soundtrack sucked a lot of the magic out of these.
your missing the greatest Maserati ever built- the Chrysler TC
Plus the Allante and Reatta.
yuck! Underpowered , rough riding, poorly built, tacky vehicle for old people who want to be noticed. It’s an excellent companion vehicle to a Chevrolet SSR. Meant for parades and Driving to the country club going half the speed limit wearing a Titleist hat. And its not a hot rod, factory or otherwise…
Considering the rubbish Chrysler had been building this was quite amazing it made headlines even out here and we didnt get any only shitbox Neons and prehistorically powered jeeps
says the man who doesn’t ever drive on paved roads
Wow, I thought they were only made in purple…
Ugh…these were nothing but a glorified kit-car with a warranty. I had a 2001 or so Plymouth brochure back when these came out and like others have stated, did a double take when I learned that the 3.5L was the sole mill.
Didn’t one of the guys from Orange County Choppers floss his ego with one of these?
The comments so far have really slagged the Prowler. I like the styling, but not having a V8 meant I didn’t have much respect for the car in its day. I would own one of these over a Chevy SSR, retro T-bird or a Crossfire though.
One has to give Chrysler credit for making the Prowler. They came as close as possible to recreating the look of a chopped and channeled 30’s coupe, with modern creature comforts and within the constraints of modern safety regulations.
I loved these and dreamt about owning one if I had the financial means, but one thing always annoyed me about them: They looked as fragile as a model airplane – one hard landing and that’s it. Those so-called front bumper “pads” – those made me laugh!
That’s really what these were – models – for the well-off, just like the SSR – I liked those, too, and got to ride in my neighbor’s a few weeks ago. His is merely a toy as well, and he keeps it in storage. Trouble is – and I’m sure it’s the same with the Prowler – they are used so infrequently that they deteriorate. I saw this first hand on my neighbor’s, but said nothing, because he was aware of it.
The first mass-produced hot-rod ’32 Ford roadster!
I’ve never seen a yellow Prowler. Very cool, though my favorite is still the purple one – something like that would have been one of my favorite Hot Wheels cars on Christmas morning back in 1968.
I had the pleasure of working on the OBD2 system on the Prowler as they were being developed, and that meant I had a prototype that I could drive on the street after they were announced, but before they were officially for sale.
For a 27 year old engineer I was in heaven.
I would get shouted at everywhere I went, and quickly learned not to go anywhere in it if I needed to get somewhere.
Don’t forget the Prowler was a Chrysler engineering exercise to work on mass-producing aluminum vehicles. So it borrowed heavily from other models (the 3.5L V6 from the Intrepid) and I know the V8 didn’t fit, and probably would have overstressed the rest of the driveline.
It really should have had a V8, but then again it never should have been built.
V6 not withstanding, I have to admit I thought the Prowler was cool. I remember the concept very well (saw one at my first ever visit to CAS) and between it and the Viper I fell in love with Mopar during this time period.
I have to imagine the V6 was used over the LA V8 simply because they wanted the car to be “high tech” and sort of showcase the company’s prowess. The OHC V6 was new with the Prowler concept and on paper probably fit that image better than the ancient V8. Of course when you hear one woosh away from a stoplight making the same sound(and/or lack of) as a Town & Country, it’s like a dagger at the heart.
As always, perfect candidate for a LSx swap 😀 ….That is of course unless the current Hemi fits, I just fear that engine compartment might might be a bit too narrow for it.
As the above poster notes, an LSX would likely twist up the driveline.
Well if you use the stock drivetrain, yeah, but throw in a Tbird 8.8 in the back and good to go. The trans would have to be one that would match the LS motor anyway, so no issues there. If it takes a little hot rodding to make a faux hot rod fast, that’s a good thing 🙂
These cars use transaxles in the rear, like a Corvette. Lingenfelter had a LS1/corvette transaxle package for Prowlers almost immediately after they came out.
So, no traditional “axle swaps” available in this case, and the standard modern GM small block definitely fits.