BF Auction: 1991 Dodge Spirit R/T

• Seller: Matt S ims
• Location: Factoryville, Pennsylvania
• Mileage: 114,000 Shown
• Chassis #: 3B3XA66A8MT599674
• Title Status: Clean
• Engine: 2.2 4-cylinder Turbo III
• Transmission: 5-Speed Manual

If you came of age and were perhaps enrolled in driver’s education classes in the 1990s, this car may look familiar. Its spirit twin, the Plymouth Acclaim, was the car I drove to earn my learner’s permit, and I can tell you from experience that its 100-horsepower 2.5-liter four was less than thrilling. Wearing the same body style as that milquetoast family sedan, however, was this little-known and rarely-bought rock star on wheels, the Spirit R/T. Offered for only two model years, only 1,399 were built, this ’91 model is one of them, and you can own it. The seller is offering it and their Daytona Shelby, which you can find here, as Barn Finds Auctions!

This is what made the Spirit R/T one of the fastest sedans on the road in 1991, a twin-cam, 16-valve variant of the Chrysler 2.2. With 224 horsepower, it accelerated from zero to sixty in 5.8 seconds, according to Car and Driver. And it didn’t stop there: it dragged the quarter-mile in 14.5 seconds at 97 mph, which was 5.0 Mustang territory (and the Spirit might have gotten the Mustang by a fender). The Spirit you see here has had some modifications for a little extra juice and a little extra durability, just in case you needed to crack 100 in the traps: it has a Cometic head gasket, 40-lb. injectors, a stronger clutch, 2.5-inch exhaust, and a tune. The owner says it “runs excellent.”

The interior is extremely clean for a car that has seen 33 years and 114,000 miles. The seller bought the Spirit from its original owner, and both owners clearly loved this factory sleeper. The striped velour seats make me a little nostalgic for those summer days watching ’70s “rules of the road” films with the gentle clicking of a 16-mm film projector. Of course, “our” car didn’t have a manual transmission like the R/T did (or, now that I think of it, cool seats).

It also didn’t have a tach, let alone a tach with a 6,500 rpm redline. Or a 150-mph speedometer. It’s clear that Dodge put the money where it counted when it released the R/T: Its base price at the time was under $18,000, about $4,000 less than a comparable Taurus SHO (and many thousands less than a BMW or a Mercedes).

This Pennsylvania-based Spirit R/T has new shocks, struts, and no ’90s clearcoat fade. It’s a well-maintained example of a good old-fashioned American sleeper that most of us have forgotten. Maybe it’s the perfect ride for you; after all, duping some unsuspecting Fox-Body Mustangs at the strip never goes out of style.

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