The Dodge Viper: America's Sports Car

The Dodge Viper GTS is one of the most stunning and incredible pieces of automotive machinery ever created. As you walk up to this wicked reptile, its sleek and seductive bodylines quickly capture your attention. Its sculpted curvatures appear to be the automotive equivalent to a toddler’s T-shirt stretched over a heavyweight boxer’s frame. While staring at the Viper, you can’t help but notice its Carroll Shelby derived DNA, as it resembles the legendary Cobra of the late ‘60s. Its roof has a slight Zagato-style double bubble, and its brushed aluminum gas cap sits close to the sculpted rear end. The Viper’s huge, polished 18 in. wheels rest on steamroller-sized tires that can only attempt to harness the engine’s explosive power. Through those wheels you will see large 13 in. ventilated disc brakes, which also make a futile attempt to control this beast. Sweeping back to the rear, you will see two large center-mounted exhaust tips, which stem from the Viper’s dual exhaust system. The hood shares the same dual humps as the roof, along with an NACA air intake and two ventilation shutters at either side. After viewing this plentiful visual eye candy, one can only wonder what resides under the long hood.

The monster that lives under the Viper’s hood is its trademark. The massive, 8-liter all-aluminum, OHV V10 with its bright red intake manifold is what makes the Viper the beast that it is. This powerplant, at 488 cubic inches, is a wonderful tribute to the muscle cars of the 1960s, although it does have thoroughly modern technology. This engine is the beating heart of the Viper, and produces an awesome 450 horsepower along with a stump-pulling 490 lbs-ft of torque. This gives the Viper an uncanny power to weight ratio of 7.5 lbs. per horsepower. Linked to a 6-speed manual tranny, the Viper can rocket to 60 mph from a standstill in about 4 seconds, sprinting the quarter mile in just over 12 seconds at almost 120 mph. If you are brave enough to keep your right foot to the floor long enough, you will see a top speed of just over 190 mph. Long, smoky, Top Fuel dragster burnouts and eye-watering power are just a stomp of the throttle away. Few cars in the world can match the Viper’s neck-snapping acceleration. However, the Viper can also handle the road when it gets twisty. Its double front and rear A-arm suspension and massive, sticky Michelin tires help it to run through the 600 ft slalom at over 70 mph, and circle the skidpad at 1g of lateral acceleration. Again, as with its amazing ability to go fast, few cars in the world can match the Viper’s handling performance. In addition, the Viper’s under $70,000 price tag makes it a wholesale performance bargain.

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