If you think of original muscle cars from the 90s, only one name will come to mind. The Dodge Viper. When it finally came out in 1992, it truly set the world alight, reigniting a dying enthusiasm for American muscle cars all over the world.
Although it had two extra cylinders, everything else screamed Hot-Rod, with a simple lightweight body, no safety features to speak of and two seats, mated to a huge 8-liter V10 making 400 horsepower in stock tune. It was raw, it was totally mad, and everyone wanted one.
10 Took Less Than Half An Hour To Get Approved
Usually, it takes ages for a new car development to get approved, with much red tape to get through, especially for an all-new sports car.
It took one 30-minute test drive for Bob Lutz to convince Lee Iacocca (how many amazing cars was this guy a part of? We've lost count) this was going to be their new sports car, to say the least, it was an easy sell.
9 V10 Engine Developed And Tuned By Lamborghini
Much is said of its less conventional all-aluminum V10 engine. Although it started life in trucks, it got developed and re-tuned by Lamborghini.
It was a stroke of genius, at the time they owned the Italian brand and had little to no experience tuning V10 engines. So it made a whole lot of sense to give this one to the guys who actually knew what they were doing.
8 1991 Indy 500 Pace Car
Note the year, a full year before it was actually released. It was supposed to be the Dodge Stealth, but the fact that it was proudly made in Japan didn’t sit well.
Somehow they caught wind of the Viper being put into full development (just a prototype up to this point), and the rest is history, giving the marketing team exactly what they needed.
7 It Got its Own TV Show
Although you could argue with some conviction that the show was below par in the modern entertainment era, it still got a show, and this puts it in a very elite club.
It had a very simple plot, quite literally some “genius” converts the sports car (i.e. the Viper R/T 10 pictured above) into “A crime-fighting supercar.” What kid would not want a crime-fighting supercar?
6 Generation 1.5 RT/10
Although it got sold in the same year (1996) and got a host of updates, it didn’t get all the new kit the true generation two cars got (GTS below).
So many owners refer to it as a “Gen 1.5” or the less favorable “parts bin car” because of the mixed bag of new and old components it makes use of.
5 Viper GTS-R Won Le Mans Three Times
Strangely, its wins all came under the flags of other countries, no actual wins under the country of its origin.
Nonetheless, they are still wins for the Viper, and it will go down in history as a race car that saw international success, something to be proud of.
4 Gave Birth To The Most Ridiculous Motorcycle
As a concept, the Dodge Tomahawk (waste of a great name) did its job, it drew in people and created interest.
As a motorcycle though, it is just insane. A huge V10 that weighs as much as the heaviest motorcycle on the market all by itself, and more torque than anyone could ever realistically control.
3 Viper ACR Can Generate 1.5G Of Lateral Grip
The final production Viper is an absolute cracker of a track car, truly set up to take on any track around the world. It even hides neat little Easter-eggs in the cabin to reflect those records.
What it isn’t, is a good road car. So it is understandable that it never sold in large numbers as it targeted a very exclusive club (with an equally exclusive price tag), but any car that can generate that much G-force in the corners is something to behold.
2 Low Sales Numbers Killed The Snake
At the end of the day, the last Vipers actually cost more to manufacture than they could sell them for.
It was never a sustainable project, just a glorious send-off for one of the most impressive sports/muscle cars of all time.
1 The Ultimate Viper, Isn’t A Viper
Well, we dare you to tell that to an ACR owner with a straight face… but it is the truth.
Zagato, the famous Italian coachbuilder used some 2010 Vipers to create this masterpiece. The Alfa Romeo Zagato TZ3 takes the Viper to unimaginable heights.