Here's a bit of trivia. Did you know the very first Chrysler V8 engine used in a Bristol was actually a Canadian engine, not an American one? It was the 313cu in A-Series 5.1-litre V8 that found its way into the 1961 Bristol 407, a fine engine that naturally shared a lot with the iconoclastic Chrysler Hemi but was sensibly modified for mass production in the more everyday Dodges and Plymouth cars. Such were the vagaries of measuring power in the US in those days that the quoted 245hp figure could safely be ignored. More realistic was an output of around 200hp - in those days, just about enough.
So it came as something of a disappointment when, many years later, that stunning concept-car-made-good the Plymouth Prowler went into production with a mere homegrown V6 under its extraordinary bonnet, rather than a hulking V8. Imagine what wonders it might have achieved with a pumped-up Hemi under there, pushing out enough heave-ho to get this pseudo-hot rod from New York to LA in the blink of an eye? Indeed at 214hp from its 3.5-litres it wasn't even in an extravagant state of tune, and all told it wasn't even much more powerful than that first Bristol/Chrysler V8 had been back in the dark ages.
However, thanks to its extensive use of aluminium, the Prowler weighed in at a mere 1,280kg, and as a result performance was just about decent enough. This is especially so in the post-1999 uprated 253hp versions, where the 0 to 60mph sprint can be dismissed in a very lively 5.6 seconds.
But maybe the engine isn't the important bit here? After all, there are modded Prowlers with after-market Hemi V8s fitted, if you really wanted such a thing. No, it's not the performance everyone's talking about here - just look at the damn thing. Of course such head-turning looks can be horrendously divisive, but there's probably no finer way of standing out from the crowd than in this retro-roadster, especially with this car's rather, er, individual paint job. There are those wonderfully open front wheels, for starters, and the pinched nose and extraordinary bumpers. Indeed after the extravagance of the exterior it comes as a minor disappointment to find that inside is a rather ordinary interior, including luxuries like air-con and airbags, and even steering wheel-mounted audio controls.
If you do encounter a bend there is at least the promise of 50/50 weight distribution, too, and enormously wide rear tyres. This one claims to be the only one on sale in the UK at the moment, so if you want to release your inner Danny Zuko you'd better hurry.
SPECIFICATIONS: PLYMOUTH PROWLER
Engine: 3,518cc V6,
Transmission: Four-speed semi-auto, rear-wheel drive
Power(hp): 214@6400rpm
Torque(lb ft): 255@3950rpm
MPG: Not many
CO2: Quite a lot
First registered: 2005
Recorded mileage: 23,000
Price new: Umm...something in dollars
Yours for: £27,490
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