I don’t know if a person could call a car a sleeper if it’s in the brightest possible shade of red and has fancy aluminum wheels as this 1991 Dodge Spirit R/T has, but hey, it’s a four-door and sleeper it is. These cars surprised many folks in the early-90s. The seller has this rare sedan listed here on eBay in Harrisonburg, Virginia and the seller is asking $12,500 or you can make an offer.
There it is in all its glory and it’s gloriffic. Is that a word? It is now. Some of you would call it horrific since it’s gotten a bad rap for being a mere K-car, one of the most-hated series of vehicles among car guys and gals, for some odd reason. I think that as the Mustang II saved the Mustang name for Ford, the K-car saved Chrysler – and they weren’t really bad cars despite some horror stories. The Spirit R/T was reportedly the fastest American four-door sedan at the time or at least that’s what Chrysler marketing execs were saying in ads. A 5.8-second 0-60 time is fast even in 2022 let alone in 1991.
The Dodge Spirit R/T was a rare model with fewer than 1,400 of them reportedly being built in two model years, 1991 and 1992. I saw one in a dealership in 1991 when I was buying my first of two regular Dodge Spirits that I owned – both 1991 models – and it seemed so much nicer than my first bare-bones Spirit.
I don’t see any big flaws at all with this car inside or out but the seller mentions some slight hail dings and there are a couple of chips and dings. I know that a four-door sedan with a four-cylinder engine isn’t exactly a favorite configuration for most Barn Finds readers but we have seen a few of these cars over the years and they’re always interesting to see. They came in white, silver, and red. Make mine silver, please, but good luck on ever finding one in that color. The interior looks great with nicer seats and full power features. The back seats should pull down for access to the trunk, a nice feature that my standard Spirit didn’t have.
The engine was a 2.2L inline-four Turbo III engine with a 16-valve Lotus-designed head which may or may not have caused some issues for a few owners. They only came with a heavy-duty 5-speed manual transmission with Getrag gears which is a fun fact. It sounds like it runs well but the seller just isn’t using it anymore. Have any of you owned or driven a Spirit R/T?
years ago,I stopped by and visited with a friend of mine,
who told me about his son’s car.Told me it was a “Dodge,with a-
Lotus engine”.I couldn’t figure out what it was,until I looked through
my car brochure collection & found one on this car.
Had a 91 Red car was fast 1/4 mile run was 14.08 @97 mph. Had no traction and in 91 they only came in Red or White they added the Gray in 92. Top speed on my car was 147 in 4th this car surprised a lot of people especially getting rubber in 3rd
scotty whether this is “horrific for BF viewers” or not keep them coming, I like seeing cars from when I grew up. So many mustangs… who cares (jk)!! give me more 80’s 90’s and 2000’s (and yes keep the others too!)
Agreed, As Gen Xers, these are our “classics” keep bringing on these 80s and 90s beauties SG!
Interesting little car. I had a friend with a first generation S95 Mustang GT, and one of these Spirit R/Ts (white-you don’t forget these things) took him off the line. Albeit the stang was an automatic (blasphemous!), but were still stunned and mortified. Agree with nycjbr, keep the 80s and 90s coming. You have many readers who grew up in that time and these are our “classics”. Thanks Scotty!
Had a 1991 one in 1996. As nobody here in Europe knew this version (Spirits and Acclaims were marketed as Chrysler Saratoga over here, and only 2,5 and 3L versions), I was able to buy it cheap. This one had come over with a removal. Actually it was a steal. There were a few things with the suspension, which I had repaired. The car was ridiculously fast and only the Porsche Carrera 4 could keep up without problems. After 8 or 9 months and several offers, I sold the car with a big profit, the new owner totalled it after 4 months. The car was dangerously fast. I found out that the Chrysler GTS Shelby had the same engine, so again, I bought one quite cheap and again, sold it with a profit within a year. The GTS Shelby was only available in black, white and red. The black and white ones had all the Shelby skirts and stripes, but strange enough, the red ones hadn’t. It looked like a grandpa car and sometimes you were able to race with an Audi RS4, a BMW or a Porsche. The owners of these cars were all in shock after racing. Fuel economy when driving “normal” was also exceptionally good. Had fun with these cars, but was also a bit afraid (as with all fast cars) of it. I learned to drive “normal” with these cars and only when it was really possible (no heavy traffic, straight and clear motorway)I raced them.
That cant possibly be true. I keep hearing that American cars are all junk and could never have decent performance especially compared to the mechanical marvels from Europe. Surely you’re kidding. Sarcasm intended
Sharp car. I didnt pay that much attention to these when they were new but should have.
You can make a profit selling your used car?
I buy low,put a lot of money into it,& then sell low.
Of course I buy what I like,rather than an investment.
These along with the later turbo neons and calibers were all pocket rockets manual only 💪👍cool cars.
Had a Daytona with that motor- when the stars were aligned it was crazy fast. Unfortunately not enough R&D done and it was in the shop a lot. Still wish I had it!
Great comments! I’m glad that I’m not the only Spirit R/T fan here, not by a long shot it sounds like.
Always liked these, I think Spirits get a bad rap, but I’d take a Spirit over a Tempo any day of the week!
Spirit R/T has been a dream car of mine for along time. Heck, any of the turbo Dodge’s from back in the day would be welcome in my garage. I should have jumped on a local Turbo manual transmission Dodge Caravan here a few years ago, wish I had. :)
Know what you mean about the 5 speed Turbo Caravan… I’ve got one of those along with a pumped up GLH.
My local dealer had 2, one of the red and one of the white. I drove them both and was really impressed with the performance, it really was a fun car to drive! I had too much brand bias to buy one and ended up buying a Taurus SHO. It was an entirely different driving experience, in many ways I regretted not having bought the Spirit.
Price dropped $11,750 for a car that books out to $3500 on NADA Should be easy enough to explain
Troy, NADA price guides don’t mean anything for a collectable car, and this one definitely is a collectable car. It’s rare and in great condition, with low mileage. Also the owner seems to be a serious car guy judging by the write-up, as he has added/updated the suspension and brakes. Perhaps whoever priced this car at $3500 got their information from Consumer Reports, who hated Chrysler when this car was built and would never say anything positive about Chrysler.
That kind of stuff doesn’t increase the value you pay $12k for it and it gets totalled in a accident you will be lucky ever $5k will what you call upgrades from the insurance company
Troy, that’s why you insure any collectable vehicle with a collector car insurance company. You state a value and that’s what you get if the vehicle gets stolen or totaled in an accident.
What a beauty!
My daily driver for many years, 220,000 mi worth, was a garnet red, 94 Chrysler LeBaron, with a 3.0. Best car I’ve ever owned. Very comfortable, powerful, economical, & reliable. I bought it with 60,000 mi & finally let it go when it suffered a head gasket leak at 280,000.
This one really tempts me.
That sure sounds like a honest listing.
Ok for the year and times not a bad car, I bet you that if some Honda loving kid would take it and start ripping around in it sooner then later it would probably have a following, these are just the times. One kid thinks it’s radical and that would be it instant following if it isn’t already. Just a question does anyone know the horse power out of these cars?
My apologies, charlie, and everyone: this one would have had 224 horsepower.
On the other hand I didn’t see a mileage or did I just read over it. Again nice little car but is the price just seems a bit high anyways I wish the seller the best either way
The mileage is listed in the FeeBay ad.
Advertised as the ultimate 90s sleeper sedan. I’m just not sure I’m buying that and I’m not sure I’m digging this car. Don’t send me hate comments to me, it’s just one old guys opinion.
I second your opinion
And you are allowed your opinion
These malaise era cars don’t do it for me either , had these things on lease and hated all of them
Im not partial to any specific brand but the dodge/Chrysler is low on the list
Thank you I appreciate it
These things, in the words of Carrol Shelby, were “…as strong as chicken shi#”. I drove one after picking up my 1991 5.0 LX Mustang, and came close to trading. Glad I didn’t as this one isn’t near as collectable or modifiable (is that a word?). The pull in third gear at 65 mph from these cars is intoxicating.
Auction update: this one ended with no sale and it gives a price of $11,750, so the seller must have lowered their asking price?
My Dad bought a 92′ in silver. I would borrow it and go Corvette hunting all the time. I hung with a Testarossa getting on the freeway once, he didn’t appreciate that. The 92′ had different gears than the 91′, so 0-60 was 4.9. 1/4 times sucked as traction was a serious problem. I pushed it to 150 once, a bit scary for a box going down the road. Not a fun car, but a blast to toy with just about anything on the road in 1992