As a successor to the Dodge Aries (K-Car), the 1989-95 Dodge Spirit was just another 4-cylinder, front-wheel drive sedan. But when the R/T version was added with its 2.2-liter turbocharged engine designed by Lotus, it became a rocket ship. This 1991 Dodge is just such a car, one of just 1,208 built overall and 774 finished with red paint. Located in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania, this interesting product of the ‘90s is available here on eBay where active bidding has raised the ante, but only to $3,250 so far.
The Spirit was a mid-size car though a few years earlier it would have been tagged as a compact. In the Spirit’s third year (1991), Dodge rolled out the R/T as a nod to some of those hot Dodges from the 1960s. What differentiated it from an ordinary Spirit was the use of a 16-valve, DOHC (Lotus) engine with an intercooler for the turbo and fuel injection, rated at 224 hp. With a 5-speed manual transmission, the Spirit R/T could do 0 to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds. After a limited run in ’91, less than 200 more copies were built in ’92 before the R/T was discontinued.
We’re told this Dodge is collector-owned, but its surroundings suggest it may be on consignment with a dealer. There seem to be no mechanical issues and the body looks good, though the hood has lost some of the clear coating that the buyer may want to consider getting redone. It’s a fully equipped car with power this and that and has factory air conditioning which will need recharging. The interior presents well enough although the driver’s bucket seat looks as though it needs cleaning.
When these cars were new, Chrysler advertised them as the “fastest sedans made in America”. Motor Trend was impressed enough to anoint the 140 mph auto as “Domestic Sport Sedan of the Year”. At just 68,000 miles, this appears to be a fast and interesting vehicle that could raise an eyebrow or two at Cars & Coffee. Is this Mopar right for you?
Perfect for Radwood. I like it!
To paraphrase a saying of Carrol Shelby, these things were stronger than chicken manure. Torque steer was scary, but manageable if you expected it. One of my favorites!
Much nicer than last week’s car.
Gawd that interior is filthy. Hope the owner took better care of it than that would indicate.
You think the interior looks filthy??? The interior looks clean to me. Maybe what you’re seeing is the “grain” of the fabric going one direction vs the other. It creates dark looking spots that you are mistaking for “filty”?
Yup, with Jim on this that interior is in great shape. The material of that era could look like that in certain light. I see some mild wear and otherwise a great interior.
The turbos blew every couple miles and the head gasket was next. Front CV’s very common. Fun to drive when they weren’t in the shop. Dealers were very afraid of these cars. A well earned reputation.
I think Dallas was referring to the car from last week. It was filthy – this one looks pretty good.
It’s the color as well. That grey mixed with brown is a dirty looking duo. At first glance it got me too.
Alright, let’s address this interior color. The seats were shared with the R/T. These are various shades of 1990s gray with accents of red to spice up the pattern. The driver sent may well benefit from a shampoo but there is no brown in the interior.
Love this Turbo Dodge era. Only downside to that listing, no engine bay shots. That motor is a gem and not to include is more than a little sad.
Reminds me of a Dodge minivan blowing my Jetta’s doors off from a stoplight in the early 1990’s.
I was stunned until I heard the waste gate blowoff valve pop as it soared away from me..
This car is an exceptional example of the Spirit R/T.
224 HP was amazing from a domestic four cylinder back in ‘91.
It’d be a hoot at the car shows.
If I had the room I’d park it next to my old red ‘74 911 just for some good contrast.
Unlike most of these we see here, this one is in great shape.
It might not have much value to most, which makes it possible to pick one up for a decent price.
My ’86 Omni GLH-T only had 146 HP and that was a handful. This is a bit heavier, and Dodge probably had a handle on the torque steer by this time. What a blast this car would be!
Yes these were pretty heavy considering the small size. 142mph top speed lol. That’d be a bit scary up around 140mph in this automobile lol. Such cool cars.
I drove a K-car at 140 mph with a Chrysler engineer in the passenger seat. When saw my eyes getting big, he said not to worry. The moving around I was experiencing was from the soft stock seat that was feeding hand movements input into the steering. It doesn’t take much at at 140 mph.
The good thing is that we were on the “black lake” at the Chrysler proving ground and there was a lot of room to move around.
This would be a fun one. Can’t you imagine Ward Cleaver driving one? I wrote it up a while ago and here with the moderator’s forebears is a link: https://rememberroad.com/what/dodge/1991-92-dodge-spirit-r-t-delightfully-wicked/
SOLD for $5,501.
That’s a LOT of fun for very little money.