The Dodge Viper: Terrifying, Yet Irresistible

White knuckles, burning rubber, and top speeds of 180 miles per hour all complimented by the roar of a V10 8.0 liter power plant. For 25 years, the Dodge Viper has been representing the USA as one of the most unique supercars in the world. The year 2017 was the final year for this beloved icon. So as we wave goodbye, let’s take a look back upon the lifespan of Dodge’s V10 champion.

A Legend Is Born

The 1980s were not exactly Dodge’s claim to fame. While GM and Ford continued to produce icons like the Corvette and Fox body cars, Dodge was in an uphill battle to return to profitability after a recent bailout. Their cars were bland and economical, lacking in just about everything but comfort.

By the year 1988, Executive Vice President Bob Lutz said he had enough. Lutz put the Chrysler Lead of Design, Tom Gale, to the task of designing a high-powered two door sports car that was crude and to the point. With Gale’s track record of being involved with the design of some of the coolest cars in history, he was undoubtedly the man for the job.

A team was assembled to put together a car that was quite different from anything else at the time. They delivered–with an open roof roadster-esque design, featuring a manual transmission, and no exterior door handles or safety features. It was powered by a V10 engine with an aluminum block designed by Lamborghini. When Dodge showcased this car at the 1989 Detroit Auto Show, the world seemed to stop and a legend—the Viper—was born.

Imitation with Innovation

The first generation of Vipers was clearly inspired by the Shelby Cobra—the looks, the name, and the project itself was even endorsed by Carrol Shelby. Perhaps the most astounding part of the car was the fact that it was powered by a 400hp 8.0 liter V10. For the year 1992, that was pretty radical—especially coming from Dodge. It was exactly what they needed as a company to step back into the game as a performance competitor once again.

Throughout the first and second generations, little would change aside from a roof being added and comfort features being introduced. Some even consider the model years running from 1992 to 2002 as one single generation, with a little bit of fine tuning being done in 1996.

While the Viper certainly made an impression, it didn’t exactly have a place on the street. Its track capabilities were taken advantage of around the same time the roof was added, which is when the ACR and GTS-R were introduced. Despite the level of difficulty that was associated with driving one of these beasts at high speed, the Viper busted onto the scene as a serious contender setting track records all over the world.

Bigger and Badder

In 2003, the Viper would undergo a true redesign for the first time. It was shaped into a bigger, more aggressive looking platform. It was lighter and more powerful and prepared to continue on its reign of glory. Unfortunately, there was trouble ahead.

Dodge’s sales were once again beginning to plummet, and after a change in parent companies, the Viper would go on hold for the year 2007. Luckily, when it did return after just a year break, it came back with a vengeance. It received another facelift and 100 more horsepower. This Viper was big, bad, and (sadly) short lived. After the great recession, Dodge was again in financial trouble and the Viper plant in Detroit had been put on idle—naturally the Viper went with it.

The Viper Bites Back

This, of course, wasn’t the death of the legendary monster. The Viper would be reintroduced for its final run starting in 2013. Ralph Gilles, SRT CEO, stated at the New York Auto Show that “the history of Viper runs deep. The private equity guys tried to snuff it out, but it’s like the weed that keeps growing back.”

Of course, this wasn’t your daddy’s Viper. It came back with an all new look and even more poison in its bite. This model was producing over 640 horsepower. And the Viper ACR’s design allowed it to produce 1100 pounds of downforce at speed. When American professional sports car and stock car racing driver, Andy Lally, test drove the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR for a car review for Jalopnik, he said he was instantly impressed.

“The downforce created by this car is enormous and confidence inspiring. The ACR makes WAY more downforce than the car that I am currently racing in the TUDOR United Sports Car Championship. The rules in modern GT racing make it difficult to fully exploit the technologies out there, so not having to build to a rules package meant the engineering department could take full advantage of what they had.”

The End of an Era

With its final breath, the Viper did exactly what it did best—pummel the competition. For the final four years of its life it continued to break and set track records all over the world. However, the fateful day came on August 16, 2017 when the final Viper rolled off the assembly line and the 25 year run had come to an end.

With news of the Viper’s life coming to an end, Bob Lutz, now known as the father of the model, made an interesting statement. In an interview with Road and Track he told the publication:

“The Viper ran out of good reasons to live: The original premise was ‘more power and speed than anyone else’. But the Viper was, in recent years, trumped by the Corvette ZR1 and Z06 and even in its own family by the Hellcat.”

Though this statement holds water, the truth is the sales just weren’t there to back it. Dodge even tried to lower the retail cost to keep it alive and failed. But the Viper has died on us twice already, and each time been resurrected more extreme than before. So for us wishful thinkers, we’ll watch the supercar ride off into the sunset, reflect upon its lifespan, and think that maybe this isn’t actually goodbye—just farewell for now.

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