Designer Chip Foose not too long ago stopped by Jay Leno’s Storage to pore over one of the vital controversial tasks he is ever been concerned in: the Plymouth Prowler.

The Prowler shocked the automotive world when it entered manufacturing as a 1997 mannequin. Whereas Plymouth had telegraphed the two-seater with a 1993 idea automobile, it was nonetheless stunning to see its hot-rod-inspired styling on a automobile really being bought at dealerships—significantly these of then-declining Plymouth. That styling was positively of the love-it-or-hate-it selection, however the Prowler lasted till the 2002 mannequin yr, ending its manufacturing run as a Chrysler following the loss of life of Plymouth.

Whereas he did not design the completed product, or have any affect on the choice to get the automobile into manufacturing, Foose helped lay the groundwork for the Prowler’s design. Then a scholar at California’s Artwork Heart, Foose offered the thought of a retro mannequin to then-Chrysler design boss Tom Gale, in response to a immediate to create a brand new area of interest car.

Within the video, Foose says his rationale was that many scorching rod and muscle automobile fanatics wished to mix the basic appears of older vehicles with new expertise that will permit them for use day-after-day. One among his proposals, based mostly on a Thirties Plymouth scorching rod, caught the attention of Gale, who pushed for the Prowler to develop into a manufacturing automobile.

The manufacturing automobile saved most of the wilder components of Foose’s proposal, together with cycle fenders masking 20-inch wheels that had been gigantic on the time. Nevertheless it was let down by uninspiring mechanicals, together with an computerized transmission and three.5-liter V-6 shared with different Chrysler fashions. The V-10 from the Dodge Viper additionally being bought on the time in all probability would not match, however there’s room for a V-8 underneath the hood, Foose notes.

The driving expertise would not present the identical stage of pleasure because the styling, however the V-6 gives an affordable 253 hp, and Leno was impressed by the dearth of cowl shake. It is laborious to say if the Prowler is sports-car-level enjoyable, however the cramped cockpit and tiny trunk are positively sports-car-level impractical.

These components, mixed with a comparatively excessive value (about $32,000 within the late Nineties) restricted the Prowler’s enchantment, however the lack of a V-8 was probably the most important turnoff, Foose believes. Attitudes could have modified over time, although. The stigma towards V-6 engines has abated considerably, and the Prowler has even been tipped as a strong collector-car funding by insurer Hagerty.