Insanity is never a surprise from Dodge! But they took an eye-popping turn during the early 1990s with the launch of the Dodge Viper. As cool as the name sounded back then also, this mental muscle car was a dangerous machine. What made it dangerous, you say?! Well, for starters, it came with a 400hp naturally aspirated V10 up front, and no safety features; not even airbags or ABS. And bluntly, 400 hp was a serious figure in the early 1990s.
For reference, the 1990 Lamborghini Diable packed a 485 hp V12, but at least had standard ABS and optional airbags. But this unruly behavior is what helped the iconic first-gen Viper to be jotted down in history as one of the most insane cars of the time. This car came out at a time when Lamborghini was owned by Chrysler (Dodge's parent), and yes, the Italians did help the Americans sort out its fire-breathing V10.
The Viper was all about raw unadulterated power, and it will still make you shiver, to this very day with excitement and sheer fun. People, including Doug DeMuro, have stated this bad boy as the modern-day Shelby Cobra, and we couldn't agree any less.
Updated August 2022: An American hooligan with a sprinkle of Italian engineering - this is the gist of the iconic 1992 Dodge Viper. We have updated this article with more information on the beast
The 1992 Dodge Viper packed a 400hp V10 that was designed with the help of Lamborghini, and had no safety features, at all!
1992 Dodge Viper Had A V10 With Lamborghini Genes
You would never get weary of even looking at this monster of an engine. The 1992 Dodge Viper packed an 8.0L Naturally Aspirated V10 that was co-developed with Lamborghini. The inception of Viper was with 400 hp @ 4,600 rpm and 465 lb-ft @ 3,600 rpm. It was coupled to a 6-Speed Manual gearbox and sent all those ponies to the rear wheels only.
The formula was simple and something that was also used in the iconic Shelby Cobra. Take a 2-door roadster layout, a lightweight chassis, and slap on a larger-than-life engine (V10 here) upfront. You get the perfect recipe for mischief and insanity! the Italians did a great job in making this engine as lively as possible, and that remains the original Viper's strongest hold.
1992 Dodge Viper Did 0-60 Mph In 4.5 Seconds
When you add an insanely larger motor to a form factor that weighs in at under 3,500 lbs, you get a pretty fast machine. The 1992 Viper despite having very long gears, managed to do 0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds, and the quarter-mile would come in a swift 11.9 seconds.
It had a top speed of 165 mph and the open-top experience made it feel much faster than that. By today's standards, these are throwaway figures, but it should be noted that this was a pretty light car for its time, and didn't pack any sort of driving assistance features. It was the purest connection between man and machine, and people still crave it today.
The Coolest Looking Viper Of All Time
Dodge didn't put any effort to badge the 1992 Viper attentively. The sleek and excessively long front end just had the rather interesting 'Viper' badge with the snakeskin pattern imprinted inside. For the insanely wide rear end, the badging continued, but there weren't any easily visible name badges.
That's because both 'Dodge' and 'Viper R/T10' were embedded, way down, on the rear bumpers and in the same color as the body. But that was barely a bummer as there would be no one who wouldn't identify this bad boy by its iconic 3-spoke wheels, that ankle-burning side exit exhaust, and that bright red paint job.
Dodge was pretty vocal on the fact to give this then-$52,000 sportscar no locks at all. This car could be stolen without breaking a sweat. There were no locks, and it thus flaunted a clean side profile with no keyholes or handle-bars as well. You had to open it up from the inside, which again wasn't an issue at all, as the 1992 Viper didn't have rollable windows.
1992 Viper Interior Was Shared And Full Of Cheap Bits
It was a visible fact that Dodge had invested too much on the mechanical front, as the interior didn't quite go in sync with the persona it possessed. The dashboard was fairly laid out, with vital dials for the fire-breather upfront. A sporty 3-spoke steering wheel made the drive involving, and the 5-speed manual had a lot of drama, despite throwing in long ones. There wasn't any air-con system because, duh, no roof!
It did come with an audio unit but was taken off from a standard Chrysler. The seats were comforting and supportive, but still couldn't hold back all the rumbles from the engine. This was not a comfort machine, but one that wanted you to focus solely on the driving aspect and feel every ounce of it. There weren't any open storage bins, and the only option you had was the fairly large glovebox.
1992 Dodge Viper Was As Raw At It Could Get
And this is the scariest part of them all. The 1992 Dodge Viper didn't pack any safety features. And by any, there wasn't even ABS or a driver airbag, even as an option. Later models did catch up on this shocking bit, but we still are baffled by how Dodge was given the green light to bring out such a ferocious machine onto public roads.
Despite being a roadster, it didn't even pack a roll-bar and would pretty much be fatal, if you ever had a rollover. The Original Dodge Viper remains an iconic analog modern muscle car, and we would never get over those kick-ass wheels!
Sources: Dodge, Mecum Auctions