In 1991 Dodge released the Spirit R/T. This car was a completely in-house product; in other words there was very little (if any at all) Shelby influence on this model. The R/T was created mainly as a competitor to the Ford Taurus SHO which was more or less alone in its class of $20,000 15.1-second ET sports sedans.
The R/T was based on the Spirit ES Turbo. Not surprisingly, the interior is identical to the ES. The suspension had been beefed up and modified somewhat. The alignment was altered, spring rates were raised, tighter shocks were installed, and some steering components were redesigned as well. Four-wheel disc brakes were standard equipment. The car wore 15-inch aluminum "snowflake" wheels which were wrapped in 205/60VR-15 Michelin XGT V4 tires. On red cars, the wheel inserts were painted red as well; the wheels were either white or unpainted on white R/Ts.
Underhood, as always, is where the biggest changes were made. The engine is a 16-valve intercooled 2.2 liter, known as the Turbo III. The head was jointly designed by Lotus and was Chrysler's first four valve configuration. The bottom end is carried over from the 'true' Turbo II, but balance shafts were added to reduce buzziness and shakes. Maximum boost was set at 11 psi. The result of this hardware is a smooth 224 hp at 6000 and 217 lb-ft at 2800. Redline is set at 6500 with a fuel cutoff at 6700. The engine was backed by a 5-speed which was redesigned for increased smoothness; an automatic was not offered.
With all this hardware underhood the R/T was certainly a surprise at the stoplights. Weighing in at just over 3150 pounds, the R/T could scorch from 0 to 60 in 5.8 seconds. The quarter mile flashed by in 14.5 seconds at 97 mph; top speed was 141. This performance gave Dodge some impressive bragging rights!
On the outside, the 1991 Spirit R/T was available in only two colors - white or flame red. The color you chose was applied to just about everything; there remained a very small amount of chrome trim around the windows and along the bottom of the taillights and that was just about it. As for badging, there were 'Dodge' and 'Spirit R/T' decals on the trunk lid and a subtle 'DOHC intercooled multivalve' decal on the front door bodyside moldings.
As for production numbers, 1208 were built in 1991: 774 red and 434 white. Option breakdown: 326 featured the anti-lock brakes, 766 had the power driver's seat, 643 received the Infinity sound system upgrade, 877 had power windows and 1020 had power door locks, 1206 (all but 2) had header-mounted reading lamps, and 152 featured the Overhead Convenience Package (console, illuminated visor mirrors, reading lamps, outside temp readout, and sunglasses storage).
The R/T model was continued into 1992, but that was the last year of its production. Few changes were made; new standard equipment for 92 included five-blade wheels, a 150MPH speedometer, woodgrain on the dash, blackout treatment on the grille, and an extra-cost option of a third color: silver. Production in 92 was only 191 cars: 92 red, 68 white, and 31 silver. 1992 option breakdown was as follows: 183 had Dual Road Fog Lamps, 171 had power windows and locks, 117 featured anti-lock brakes, 115 had the Illumination Package (entry lights and lit visor mirrors), 114 had the Overhead Convenience Package, 93 had the Infinity sound system upgrade, 77 had header-mounted reading lamps, and 123 were equipped with the power driver's seat.
All of the above option breakdown information comes from Clifford Ramsdell of the Spirit R/T registry. In fact, if you send your VIN to the Spirit R/T registry, they will return to you a function 69 for your car, which lists all the factory-installed options your car received. To contact Cliff, surf on over to the R/T Registry or email him at MOPAR1MAD@aol.com.
Modified on 9/9/02.