This hardtop supercar has better handling than the roadster version, due to increased inflexibility. Initially only offered in the electric blue with racing stripes, the Viper has a wonderfully raw appeal.
The Dodge Viper was conceived as a modern interpretation of the classic muscular American sports car. Debuting as a concept in 1989 to huge consumer enthusiasm, everything about the production Dodge Viper was perfectly over the top, including its cartoonish styling, giant 335/35-series rear tires and thumping 400-horsepower V10 engine.
With lots of tail-wagging power and no face-saving electronic driving aids, the original RT/10 Viper roadster was certainly a supercar that didn't suffer fools graciously. Eventually, however, minor concessions to "luxury" appeared in the second-generation Viper roadster, such as real windows that replaced the clear vinyl side curtains.
But Viper fans had nothing to fear, for the Dodge sports car remained obnoxiously loud and fast. And despite the release of a GTS coupe and simultaneous upgrades for the entire line, the first two Viper generations represented much the same car for an entire decade.
The Dodge Viper's next era kicked off in 2003 with a third-generation redesign of Chrysler's icon -- the SRT10 roadster became a true convertible with a folding top, and the Viper SRT-10 coupe returned a few years later featuring the previous coupe's "double bubble" roof and dramatic rear styling. An astounding amount of power is delivered over a broad range -- 600 horsepower and 560 pound-feet of torque to be exact -- and to handle it the Viper uses a beefed-up transmission and massive brakes. Compared to the original, newer Vipers have a longer wheelbase, a stiffer chassis and revised suspension tuning, which give the car greater dynamic precision. That doesn't mean the Viper has lost its raw edge and lack of polish. For the Viper enthusiast, there's no other way it should be.
