As common as much in the USA, but there are a handful here in the UK, with the government deciding that they were unsafe after a few were imported. Unsafe meaning exposed wheels, etc..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hairydalek/4878764909/http://www.flickr.com/photos/hairydalek/4878764909/
We were at Billing Aquadrome on Sunday as part of the PT Cruiser’s club annual bash - they are opening up to Crossfires, as well as other MOPAR vehicles. There was a Prowler there. I have never seen one up close before.

 

It's interesting that they would deem the Prowler unsafe, yet give lavish praise to the Caterham Super 7.

Both have "open wheels"...

And what about the Exige 111R? It doesn't even have a windshield, right?

 

I know - it doesn’t make much sense. It would be possible to get trapped between the wheels and the bumpers - which may be the reason. Mind you, if you were that close to any moving car’s wheels, you’re not going to come out of it too well.

The Exige 111R does have a wind screen (shield).

Here in the UK, there are a lot of small car builders - usually from kits (the Caterham is effectively a kit car based on the Lotus 7), and each has to go through a “small vehicle test” to determine its safety. It is very, very tough and rigorous.

Production models will usually go through a similar kind of test, but that is handled differently - with each model configuration requiring certification. This is a costly process, and if the SVC were not available, companies like Caterham and Morgan would be shutting up shop.

Imported cars also have to undergo a test. It’s more likely that the Prowlers were imported individually, which would mean that rules at the time of import would have allowed them in. When the rules were changed, the import of Prowlers would have stopped, and there would certainly have been no chance of them being sold here by Chrysler without modifications.

So what we have here is a rarity in the UK. There are, I am lead to believe, about 12 in the country, and you could look to pay around of £30,000 for one second hand. I have no idea how this compares to prices in the USA, but I would think that it’s quite a lot.

 

That IS a pretty penny. Haven't checked lately but I remember seeing some around $20K USD...

Then again, over here they're considered more of a show car than a sports car.

 

Always quite liked the look of them, but aren't the wrong wheels driven? ie fwd - really should be rwd looking like that

 

It makes perfect sense, The Caterham and Lotus are English vehicles and the Prowler isn't.

 

They are RWD cars.

 

My mistake - I'll go and get one in the am

 

get an engine conversion while you're at it ... they should have at least 400hp

 

And be a V8?

 

Hairy - I'll have to send you some pics from our local cruise in. We get 3-4 of them in various stages of customization. Not as many at Carlisle this past year but that may have more to do with the weather over that weekend than anything else. I'll see if I can find some pictures and post them, always been one of my favorite cars.

 

I have a couple of friends, twin in fact, that both have prowlers. One is bright red, the other dark blue...plenty of custom work, chromed most of the suspension...I saw a beefed up V-8 conversion in Detroit, at the WDC...not that was a real prowler....lol

 

Proud owner of a prowler we purchased new in 2002. It's an awesome ride, fun, quick ... in spite of all the (it shoulda had a v8 stuff) and lots of 'looks' no matter where we go.

It's a blast and to underscore that fact, it is the longest we've ever owned a car, and we've had over 100 (cars)... ! !

You either get it...or you don't

 

that prowler in the first pic lives only a couple of miles from me, the owner dave actually came round my house in it a couple of weeks ago to pick up some bits and pieces i was selling, it certainly got the neighbours hanging out their windows, dave has also built a small trailer that replicates the shape of the prowler..

 

He didn't build it, he bought from Chrysler. They were sold as an accessory.

 

i`ll bow to your superior knowledge, but as he works in the fibreglass and carbonfibre industry i assumed he had built it..

 

The profile of the Prowler reminds me of the profile of HR Giger’s Alien. There’s that lip just under the radiator which is the trigger for that particular association. It’s a rather scary car to look at.

 

Sorry I didn't mean to come off as an @ss lol. Did it look anything like this?

 

Did it look like what? Nothing there.

 

That's strange, How about now? Should show two pics