RE: Plymouth Prowler (with trailer!) up for auction

RE: Plymouth Prowler (with trailer!) up for auction

Monday 9th April 2018

Plymouth Prowler (with trailer!) up for auction

Missed your chance to leap on a Prowler 20 years ago? This one has just 100 miles on it...



Yes, another auction story. Promise there won't be many more after this one. Hopefully. But when a Plymouth Prowler is coming up for sale you can't ignore it, can you?

Moreover, it's not every day that you get the chance to feature two Chip Foose-designed cars; the Prowler is one, as is our Delahaye Showpiece. It would appear Chip has a certain style...


This isn't just any old Prowler either - if indeed such a thing could be said to exist - as it's effectively brand new. Having covered just 134 miles with one owner, this Prowler is one of just 94 in red and is so unmolested that it still has its original window sticker. It's being sold at Mecum Auctions Indianapolis sale next month, without an estimate and most definitely with its trailer. At present it goes to auction seemingly without a reserve - what would you pay? Is the Prowler still a relic of 90s naffness, or has it come out the other side as a quirky and interesting classic? Over to you...

Also, while we can't look at all the hundreds of cars going under the hammer in a few weeks, it's worth highlighting a few key lots. Specifically this, the 1948 Chevrolet school bus, now with a supercharged 5.8-litre V8, 'Hot Rod High School' emblazoned down the side, dual Edelbrock carbs and chrome wheels. Of course. It apparently took seven years to build and it has flames. Anything on four wheels with flames down the side deserves our attention.


The other stuff? Well, how long have you got? There are five days of car sales and more than 2,000 vehicles, so it could take hours. We'll take a favourite from each day and leave the rest to you. This Buick Regal wagon has a 7.5-litre V8, this Ford Model A is 90 years old, this Plymouth Road Runner has a Viper V10 in it, this Dodge Challenger is purple (and therefore brilliant) and this Mustang has a NASCAR engine - God bless America!

[Source: Mecum Auctions, via Carscoops]

Author
Discussion

V8 FOU

Original Poster:

2,970 posts

146 months

Monday 9th April 2018
quotequote all
Love the Prowler - but that bus!!! Just the job for your school run.

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Monday 9th April 2018
quotequote all
The article said:
This isn't just any old Prowler either - if indeed such a thing could be said to exist - as it's effectively brand new. Having covered just 134 miles with one owner, this Prowler is one of just 94 in red and is so unmolested that it still has its original window sticker.
"Quirky and interesting classic"?
Or simply an unusable ornament?

Triumph Man

8,670 posts

167 months

Monday 9th April 2018
quotequote all
Shame the interiors in the Prowlers look like st.

Sandpit Steve

9,885 posts

73 months

Monday 9th April 2018
quotequote all
Are there people buying any slightly quirky car now, with the intention of storing it for a quarter of a century and hoping to cash in when we’re all being driven around in autonomous electric cars in 2040?

PhilboSE

4,323 posts

225 months

Monday 9th April 2018
quotequote all
Now I feel old, I remember when those Prowlers were released, I can't believe that was 20 years ago.

legless

1,686 posts

139 months

Monday 9th April 2018
quotequote all
The only thing I remember reading about the Prowler is that there was one entombed as a time capsule in Tulsa in 1998, due to be opened in 2048.

Let’s hope it’s a little more successful than the Plymouth Belvedere that they buried in the same city in the 1950s.

donkmeister

7,998 posts

99 months

Monday 9th April 2018
quotequote all
"it's not every day that you get the chance to feature two Chip Foose-designed cars; the Prowler is one,"

I think Kevin Verduyn (the designer of the Prowler) and Chip Foose (who designed similar cars that influenced the Prowler) will both disagree.

P-Jay

10,551 posts

190 months

Monday 9th April 2018
quotequote all
I think the Prowler was one of the the first cars I saw and went 'Wow' as a Kid, it seemed to be the perfect mix of 50s and slightly futuristic. Now it looks like a blobby mix of 50s and 90s - like a Ford Probe with tail fins and chromed wire wheels, okay not that bad, but it hasn't aged well in my eyes.

Paddy78

208 posts

145 months

Monday 9th April 2018
quotequote all
I'm probably going to be proven wrong instantly, but I can't think of many 90's American cars that have aged that well... Viper and Corvette may be the exceptions. 90's Mustang is pretty hideous and I can't think of anything else really... I still think this looks pretty cool.

unsprung

5,467 posts

123 months

Monday 9th April 2018
quotequote all
The PH article includes a link to 2000 vehicles that are to be auctioned in May. Some personal likes:


1933 triple cockpit V12 motorboat -- "You'll never catch me, Mr. Bond!"



2006 Ford GT with 2.3 miles -- More fun, I reckon, than the new-age V6 offered by Ford today



1973 Ferrari 365 -- Break out the orange polyester pants!



1954 Corvette -- I'd drive this from coast to coast



1959 VW 23-window bus -- "Surf's up, Dude."




Coatesy351

861 posts

131 months

Monday 9th April 2018
quotequote all
I'll take the regal

Plug Life

978 posts

90 months

Monday 9th April 2018
quotequote all
The Howler still makes me puke.

irocfan

40,153 posts

189 months

Monday 9th April 2018
quotequote all
Plug Life said:
The Howler still makes me puke.
I can see why. Back in the day I loved the Copperhead, that hasn't aged too well frown


Back on topic... just love the Prowler and would have one tomorrow, sadly the bank account says no (or should that be "hell NO!"?)

Hairymonster

1,419 posts

104 months

Monday 9th April 2018
quotequote all
Now there's a link with 'internet rabbit-hole' written all over it smile

MrV8

2 posts

75 months

Tuesday 10th April 2018
quotequote all
Don't ask me how, but i seem to remember Puff Daddy buying one of these when they came out and it being in the paper lol - think it was The Sun.

qube_TA

8,402 posts

244 months

Tuesday 10th April 2018
quotequote all
Does the Prowler come with a special front porch to protect it from the elements?


TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Tuesday 10th April 2018
quotequote all
qube_TA said:
Does the Prowler come with a special front porch to protect it from the elements?
<chuckle>
With the emphasis on "special"...

Its Just Adz

13,945 posts

208 months

Tuesday 10th April 2018
quotequote all
That school bus is ridiculous in such a good way

irocfan

40,153 posts

189 months

Tuesday 10th April 2018
quotequote all
Its Just Adz said:
That school bus is ridiculous in such a good way
is it me or is it lopsided?

J4CKO

41,287 posts

199 months

Tuesday 10th April 2018
quotequote all
Sandpit Steve said:
Are there people buying any slightly quirky car now, with the intention of storing it for a quarter of a century and hoping to cash in when we’re all being driven around in autonomous electric cars in 2040?
not sure why everyone has this dystopian vision of the future, that in 21 and a bit years 26 million cars have all been replaced by amorphous self driving pods ?

Will people stop wanting cars that express some individuality, will manufactures suddenly stop trying to provide stuff the customers want to buy instead selling upturned buckets that can drive themselves, the answer is no, it will be an evolution of what you see now, that will have an option to drive itself when the technology and legislation is ready for it.

Look back 21 years from now, 1997, are things really that much worse ? I am sure we were expecting doom and gloom then but I dont think it has happened, a lot hark back to times gone by and really, were they that fantastic, or is the past a bit safer than the future and a bit more interesting than now ?