This wild roofless race car is actually a Volvo

This absolutely wild speedster inspired by the Chrysler Prowler is actually a Volvo.

Most people who are into cars might be able to see the resemblance with the classic Prowler.

But you’d have to be a tarot reader to be able to detect the Volvo underneath the body.

It doesn’t have a roof or windows, but it does have a V8 and chrome wheels.

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Why Volvo built this car

The Speedster was built by Swedish company Caresto, but Volvo helped with a few bits, including the engine.

And, like most speedsters, this vehicle doesn’t have a roof, windows or wheel arches, but it does have a V8.

The Volvo Caresto V8 Speedster, to give the car its full name, uses a 4.4-liter unit, putting out 340 horsepower on Ethanol, or 315 horsepower on regular unleaded fuel.

And it only weighs 2,646lbs – equivalent to 1,200kg.

For whatever reason, Volvo and Caresto decided to build this car for the SEMA motoring trade show.

It’s one of only two that exist in the world.

But it’s also a tribute to an iconic vehicle that’s rare in the U.S. and even rarer than a sunny day in Hawaii everywhere else.

Officially, at least, although you could of course buy one and import it.

The vehicle in question is a Plymouth/Chrysler Prowler which, despite looking very similar to the Caresto you see here, was actually a production model anyone could buy.

The Prowler was a Plymouth and a Chrysler in different markets

The vehicle you see below sold as both the Plymouth Prowler and the Chrysler Prowler across different markets.

In aviation terms, we could probably call this code-sharing, which is what happens when you book a flight on, say, American and it says ‘operated by United’ or something like that.

Automakers have been doing this for a long time, and they do it simply because some brands are not particularly palatable in some markets and vice versa.

Outside of North America, most people would probably raise their eyebrows and say ‘what?’ if you tried selling a Chrysler model under the Plymouth brand.

This is the same reason why some Ford models were sold under Lotus, and why some ‘hot’ Hondas are sold as Acuras in the U.S., including the iconic NSX.

The Saturn Sky, above, is another interesting example.

It was designed by Franz von Holzhausen, current head of design at Tesla, and sold under four, yes, four, different brands and namesakes: Saturn Sky, Opel GT, Daewoo G2X and Pontiac Solstice.

This must be a record.