Plymouth’s New Hot Rod Is Ready To Roll Only 2,000 Of The Roadsters Will Be Offered For Sale This Year

One of the most audacious cars ever to roll off a Detroit assembly line, the Plymouth Prowler roadster, goes into full production at the end of the month, Chrysler Corp. said Friday.

Barring problems, the purple, wedged-shaped hot rod should begin arriving in showrooms by early July. The suggested price tag of $39,000 will be more than 10 percent above Chrysler’s initial estimates.

The start of production was delayed several weeks as engineers worked out bugs with the Prowler’s all-aluminum body panels. The car is in the test-production phase now at an assembly plant that also makes the Dodge Viper sports car.

The Prowler’s list price, which includes the destination charge, is $4,000 more than Chrysler’s earlier estimate of around $35,000.

Chrysler has asked its dealers not to mark up the price. But even if you can afford a Prowler, it may be difficult to find one.

Chrysler will offer only 2,000 of the retro-styled roadsters for sale in the United States and Canada this year. Fewer than 30 percent of U.S. Chrysler-Plymouth dealerships will get one. No dealer will get more than five, and each will probably hold one as a showroom draw.

Starting next year, Chrysler plans to make 4,700 to 5,000 Prowlers annually.

The 250 pre-production Prowlers now being made will be used for promotional purposes. That is, after all, the primary objective of the model: to update Plymouth’s stodgy image and give the brand a more youthful appeal. The Prowler is the first U.S.-built vehicle that is Plymouth’s exclusively since the 1969 Barracuda.

“The Prowler is definitely unusual,” said George Peterson, an industry analyst with AutoPacific Inc. in Santa Ana, Calif. “It’s a product that’s worth its weight in gold in terms of public relations and media value, even if they don’t sell many of them or make a lot of money off of them.”

The automaker says it has received more than 100,000 inquiries about the Prowler via mail, telephone and Plymouth’s web site.

“Prowler is an unprecedented combination of an outrageous yet practical design that pays homage to the rolling art of hot rods,” said Marty R. Levine, Plymouth’s general manager.

Practical? The car has just two seats. The trunk is barely big enough for an overnight bag.

This is a car built solely for fun and getting attention.

“Street rod enthusiasts who don’t have the time or money to invest in a specially built roadster are clamoring for one,” Levine said.