The Dodge Viper may have only been around for a little over 20 years, but, in that time, it has reached legendary status. The Viper was born as a revisioning of the AC Cobra. The concept – brutal power and minimal creature comforts which would result in a pure sports car. Carroll Shelby himself was involved in the early design stages of the Viper.
The Viper debuted at the 1989 North American Autoshow with a Lamborghini version of Dodge’s V10 truck engine. The car was such a hit that it was Oked for production a few months later. It went on to serve as the pace car for the Indy 500 before finally reaching dealerships in early 1992.
The RT/10 was designed to be a no frills sports car. It had very little in the way of comforts. In fact, the car did not have side windows, a roof, air conditioning, or even door handles. The car was notoriously tricky to drive, earning it a reputation for making unskilled drivers look like a fool. However, in capable hands the car was quite a machine. The quarter mile was run in 12.6 seconds and the car could pull nearly 1g on a skid pad. This was on par with the best super cars of the day.
The second generation Viper would be produced starting in 1996 featuring a coupe model called the GTS. This new Viper saw a lighter, more powerful engine now producing 450hp. The chassis was also lightened some, improving the quarter mile time to 12.3 seconds, and the skidpad to over 1g. The performance was now truly world class. The second generation also saw the inclusion of more amenities, such as leather, AC, premium radio, and others.
By the end of the second generation Viper the car had not only earned a reputation as a street car, but was also tearing up the race car world. We will take a look at the Viper’s racing heritage at a later date.
The third generation Viper would see a major update. All new body styling, a bigger engine at 8.3L, and more refinements helped give the Viper a very new feel. It was extremely well received amongst journalists and car fans alike. The car now served up a massive 510hp and it was almost 80lbs lighter then the previous generation. This meant a noticeable difference in performance with 0-60 now under 4 seconds, the quarter mile in 11.7 and 1.05g on a skid pad.
In 2008, the Viper would receive a refreshing. The engine was reworked to include variable valve timing and it now produced 600hp. Other improvements included Tremec’s TR6060 transmission, and beefier drive line components. These changes resulted in a 0-60 in 3.5 seconds and a quarter mile 10.9. The new Viper was ready to do battle with anything in the world, and was released just in time to go toe to toe with Nissans GT-R and Chevy’s ZR-1. The three cars asserted their place in the supercar world for half of a supercar’s price.
In 2010, the final Viper rolled off the assembly line….. for now. Due to restructuring, mergers, and market factors, the Viper was not produced in 2011, but an all new Viper is said to be ready for debut at the New York Autoshow in 2012. The powers that be have promised it will be easier to drive and more accessible, leading some to question if it will break tradition of Vipers past. All in all, a little over 27,700 were produced in various trims and editions.