Now that you know how this legendary supercar came to be, let’s get into the nitty gritty details of each generation. Excited by these parts’ potential, Lutz talked to his head of engineering and got a concept car started.Īlthough he initially disliked the early takes on the new muscle car, Lutz says that “ All my doubts were erased when I saw the first clay model, with its powerful, bulging surfaces and heroic proportions.”
#LAST YEAR OF DODGE VIPER MANUAL#
Lutz recounts in the foreword to The Viper Buyers Guide that Chrysler was planning on building a new V-10 engine and five-speed manual transmission, along with independent front suspension parts that had enough strength for a muscle car. He wished that a Chrysler car could offer him the same thrill that the Cobra was currently giving him.Īll of a sudden it hit him – all of the parts necessary for a true American muscle car were available at Chrysler. They didn’t have a rear wheel drive car that was competitive with the Corvettes and Cobras of the world.Īnd so here Lutz was, driving a Ford car with the Ford emblems removed, enjoying his driving experience but feeling guilty for doing so. Having just switched to Chrysler from Ford, Lutz felt a pang of guilt for enjoying the Cobra so much given that it represented his current competitor.īut there was just no way around the fact that at the time, Chrysler/Dodge didn’t make cars that were as exciting to drive as the Cobra.
Lutz was having a hell of a time driving his customized Cobra around twisty Michigan back roads. On a Sunday afternoon in 1988, Bob Lutz reflected on how much he loved his Ford Cobra. If you want to dive deep into the Viper’s incarnations over the years, look no further – your ultimate buying guide awaits. The Viper has always been known for its power, torque, top speed, and acceleration, with later models incorporating more and more upgrades in these areas and others. There are five generations of the Dodge Viper. 2017 was the last year of production after a 25-year run from 1992-2017. No prizes for guessing the model’s time around the circuit.The Dodge Viper is one of the most iconic All-American muscle cars ever built. The rarest final – sorry, commemorative – edition will be the 28-unit Viper 1:28 that pays tribute to the current production car record held by the car at the Laguna Seca Raceway, featuring black exterior and rear wing, red stripes and even the customer’s name written above the driver’s door. It scores a white exterior and white/blue stripes (not unlike the US flag, we note…)
It features a black exterior and grey stripe with red outline.Īnother 31 units of the Viper Snakeskin Edition will likewise form a homage to its 2010 model of the same name with green paint, custom snakeskin patterned stripe, ‘advanced aero’ package and even a custom car cover, and a 33-unit Dodge Dealer Edition will be sold only in outlets with the highest Viper volume – Tomball, Texas and Roanoke, Illinois. In a bittersweet moment for US muscle car fans, the torquiest naturally aspirated passenger vehicle in the world celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2016 with five commemorative limited editions announced to farewell the biggest of big guys.Īll will be produced in ACR specification that launched in 2016 with the 481kW/813Nm rear-wheel drive “ultimate street-legal race car” scoring significant aero and suspension upgrades.Ī 100-unit Viper GTS-R pays tribute to the 1998 model of the same name with white exterior, blue stripes, ‘extreme’ aero package and carbonfibre styling bits, while the 31-unit Viper VoooDoo II presses fast forward to give a nod to the 2010 model with one less letter in its name – VooDoo. The Dodge Viper officially dies this year when the final 8.4-litre V10 coupe is scheduled to roll off the Detroit production line.
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