The Civilized Viper- complete with side windows, exterior door handles, Air Conditioning, and non-2nd degree burning exhaust. That is to say that the 1st Viper had none of those. Other than that- this 2nd generation car looks very similar- and they are Hot Wheels come to life. A massive 10 cylinder engine that Lamborghini (then part owned by Chrysler) developed, with a body from the Lamborghini designer of the Diablo. The reality is a lot of people crashed and worse with these early cars as 450hp and no safety systems met with drivers who had the money, but not suitable experience (that includes self restraint) crashing 2 miles after leaving the dealership. Not too many cars scare me- this one does, as does the 2014 Viper in my collection. They feel alive- there is not a much more visceral driving experience. Vipers are often compared to Corvettes, and I would argue that the Corvette is hands down the best value, and can be called America's Sports Car- but the Viper is not a comparison. They are purpose built for performance, much like the Cobra's of the 60's. They are almost totally hand built- when my son and I visited the factory there was only one robot, and that checked the tolerances of the frames on the 2-3 cars built per day. There have also been fewer Vipers produced in its entire 92'-17' production than a single year of Corvettes produced. It is, in my opinion, the American Supercar.
- 450 HP
- 8L V10
- Curb Weight 3,375 lbs
- 0-60 4.3 Seconds... in 1999!
- Top Speed of 193 MPH