This LS V8-Swapped 1999 Plymouth Prowler with a 5-Speed Porsche Manual Is Finally a Real Hot Rod
Destiny fulfilled.
It's been nearly 20 years since Chrysler killed off the Plymouth Prowler in 2002. Today, its reputation is mixed—it was an audacious attempt at capturing a modern factory hot rod that handled legitimately well, but it was stuck with an underpowered 3.5-liter V6, an automatic transmission and those terrible front bumpers. Everyone wanted two more cylinders. Two decades later, you finally have a chance to snag a V8-powered 1999 Plymouth Prowler on Bring a Trailer that's benefited from an LS swap and the addition of a Porsche five-speed manual transaxle.
There are probably some angry Prowler diehards out there right now, but come on, this is what it should've been all along: a real hot rod.
This '99 Prowler is the work of Canada's Legendary Motorcar Company, who dropped a 7.0-liter LS7 V8 from a Corvette Z06 under the Plymouth's pointed hood. It's as tight a fit as you'd expect. A modified five-speed Porsche shifter assembly is connected to a Porsche G50 transaxle that transmits power to the rear wheels.
The car sits on a set of Foose Nitrous wheels wearing Kumho Ecsta rubber and hiding a set of Wilwood brakes. The LS7 exhales through a set of Corvette Z06 catalytic converters before singing via a custom mandrel-bent cat-back exhaust system. The whole car is done up with charcoal silver exterior paint with an orange accent, making the Prowler look like it's wearing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle mask (good luck unseeing that).
Underneath, the black-powered coated chassis supports a modified suspension with Koni adjustable coilovers that drop the ride height by three inches. It's unusably low at this point, especially the dangling transaxle, but at least it looks the business. As for how it drives? Squirrelly, I'd guess. But it's probably a hell of a lot of fun.
The interior has been heavily modified with a Corvette sourced bucket-seats, a Kenwood Excelon stereo, custom fabricated center console, keyless entry, and Stewart-Warnet instrument gauges rolling all the way to 160 mph and 8,000 RPM. The actual mileage is unknown since the restoration, but the odometer currently reads 3,800 miles. You get all this under a clear Pennsylvania title.
At publication time, the auction bid currently sits at $26,000 with six days left. Besides the recognizable body shape, name, and title, does this 1999 Plymouth Prowler still count as a Mopar? Or does the wicked GM powertrain mean its destiny of being a throwback hot rod has finally been achieved?
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