Weird 1997 Chrysler Sebring Convertible Wants to Be a Challenger

An attempt was made to make this underpowered Chrysler Sebring more exiting, but it falls flat in more ways than one.

Over the years, we’ve seen our fair share of people try and make cheaper or less desirable vehicles look like something pricier or more exotic, with mostly mixed results. After all, slapping bodywork on a vehicle that wasn’t designed that way in the first place is risky business and oftentimes ends in a total disaster. On the bright side, we can point and laugh at such creations – or cringe, anyway – and that’s precisely our reaction to this 1997 Chrysler Sebring convertible equipped with Dodge Challenger bodywork that’s up for sale right now on Facebook Marketplace.

From the front, one might actually be hard-pressed to tell that this isn’t a Challenger, but once you view this abomination from any other angle, well, it become quite clear that this is no modern muscle car. The seller is rather proud of what they’ve accomplished regardless, calling this a “unique” vehicle that has received a “professional restoration.”

While our definition of restoration differs from theirs, there’s no denying that, well, an attempt was made here, at least. We can’t imagine that it was easy to graft the front end of a Challenger onto a Chrysler Sebring built years prior, though upon further inspection, there are some issues such as mismatched paint and the fact that the entire nose of the car slants downward, following the Sebring’s original lines.

From there, the seller slapped on some decals, a rear spoiler, OZ wheels, and even aftermarket exhaust tips in an effort to make this boring, slow drop top look like something a bit sportier. It may fool some, but even the casual observer is sure to realize that something just isn’t quite right about what they’re looking at.

Then there’s the matter of performance – this mismated Mopar doesn’t have some sort of Hemi powerplant under its long hood, nor even a V8 of any sort – rather, the drop top is still powered by its meager 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, which churned out a mere 150 horsepower when it was brand new – and now that it has 100k on the clock, that total has likely declined further. Thus, there’s really nothing appealing about this Sebring gone wild, even with a price tag of less than $5k USD.

Photos: Facebook Marketplace

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Brett Foote

Brett Foote has been covering the automotive industry for over five years and is a longtime contributor to Internet Brands’ Auto Group sites, including Chevrolet Forum, Rennlist, and Ford Truck Enthusiasts, among other popular sites.

He has been an automotive enthusiast since the day he came into this world and rode home from the hospital in a first-gen Mustang, and he's been wrenching on them nearly as long.

In addition to his expertise writing about cars, trucks, motorcycles, and every other type of automobile, Brett had spent several years running parts for local auto dealerships.

You can follow along with his builds and various automotive shenanigans on Instagram: @bfoote.