One Owner Hero: 1995 Dodge Viper RT10
In the world of automotive, there are a few sounds that get the heart racing. The rumble of a naturally aspirated V8, the whoosh of a turbo spooling up, and the thunk of a well-made car door on a German luxury barge. One of those iconic sounds belongs to the V10 engine, which has a distinctive sound compared to the V8 and V12 engines of the time. Looking at F1 cars from that era, they had unmistakable unique sounds. So how can you get into a V10 without laying down a considerable chunk of change? Well, that’s where the Dodge Viper came in, with its good looks, ferocious driving experience, and all for a reasonable price. These are now gaining quite a following, so our low-mile example – having only covered 12,000 of them – comes at us from Charlotte, North Carolina for $52,000. For those who are interested, it’s available here on Craigslist and a big thanks to T.J. for this tip!
The Viper was one of the last ‘supercars’ from the 1980s, with development starting in 1988 on a ‘modern cobra’. Interestingly, at the time, Lamborghini was a subsidiary company of Chrysler and they helped to develop the V10 lump. The car was eventually ready for production in 1991 with the first cars arriving in customers’ hands for $52,000, exactly the same price as our car here today. Our 1995 model here was from the first generation of cars, with the car able to go from 0-60 in just 4.2 seconds and without any driving aids or traction control. This is why there are fewer and fewer that are left, and why they are low-mile examples, as it’s a real handful.
Our 1995 model here has been well cared for, with only one owner. Being able to keep a black fiberglass body in good condition for 25 years is no mean feat but the owner has tried to keep this as original as possible. The side pipes are the originals, and they have a new top and side glass available for the car, which is ready to be installed for the next owner. Engine wise we can see the massive V10 lump pumping out over 400hp mated to its extremely wide rear wheels. You will need to check with the owner if it has AC, as the original models did not come with this as standard, but a few of the dials on the dash would point to it having AC.
Our interior is unfortunately in a very bland grey which affected all cars of the time and doesn’t really speak of the incredible performance of this machine. But when you are rocketing down that quiet country road, hearing the burble and bark of the V10 engine, I don’t think you will worry too much about what the interior looks like.
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Comments
I’d buy it,but then I’d probably have my license revoked.
Another great example of “get a chair and a beer and just sit and look at it”.
The baddest car on the planet when I was a teen and it was new. Now I haven’t a clue what I would even do with it besides stare at it.
Who knew a lame 318 cut in pieces and welded back together to make a 10 cylinder could sound so nice and make good power?
Chrysler when it still really Chrysler had it going on. One would have been locked up at predicting or even the thought of a limited production V10 sports car from Cryco in 1979. The lights were flickering at the plants combined with all the bad press. Very bad time. Even worse now. Cryco is a foreign company.
I remember being at NY coliseum Auto show when the Viper first appeared in New York. It was four rows deep of people around that vehicle taking pictures that was the badass car of the times. I remember reading articles they had a 360 mule running around to check everything out on this vehicle before they drop V10 in it. I also remember when people bought this car they were plenty of accidents because this car was an animal on the road. And people will complaining about no side windows it was too loud and then you asked them why did you buy it? This is a beautiful example of a great American machine good luck to the next owner..🇺🇸🐻🇺🇸
This was a badass car in 1992. Good times, very good times
compared to the actual hype of electric wheelchairs. For
this one i wouldn’t mind too much about its interior as some
soap and shine makes it sparkling.
The important favour of this was the engine was derived
from a truck diesel and it can do about 2G of earth lateral
acceleration. No other car at that time surpassed this.
Beautiful machine, who wouldn’t want this beast in their garage!!?
This was a badass car in 1992. Good times, very good times
compared to the actual hype of electric wheelchairs. For
this one i wouldn’t mind too much about its interior as some
soap and shine makes it sparkling.
The important favour of this was the engine was derived
from a truck diesel and it can do about 2G of earth lateral
acceleration. No other car at that time surpassed this.
Houston, we have no problem.
Either before these were for sale,or shortly after, the California Mille
came to Eureka.It was sponsored by Chrysler,& they had a couple of
these that they let some automotive journalists drive.
It was kind of funny to watch people gravitate to them,passing by
some rare (& incredible) cars.
One of the stories that I heard there was while in Trinity County,one
of the journalist passed a Government vehicle on the right.Seems that the
driver of the Government vehicle got on the radio,& informed the CHP.
After that,they started pulling over a number of the Mille cars.
They forgot that rule about when you’re in a rural area –
“DON’T TICK OFF THE LOCALS WHO HAVE AUTHORITY”.
Comments on the Exhaust sound out of a Viper?
Horrible = 1
Good = 0
I also have a stock 95 and it is one of the worst sounding cars I have ever heard. It sounds like a big fan when revving hard…. I liked the care much more before I bought it…. Now I would rather have a nice old Charger or Roadrunner.
Slap-on windows, side pipes, no exterior door handles and cloth top. First year for the one piece cast intake manifold. Great color combo instead of the Ketchup and Mustard color combo. Performance Stats were better than a Lotus, Ferrari and Acura NSX-T. Great car for someone. I looked at a few over the years. First two items that shows neglect are front spoiler area and rear tires.
I’m with fran…..not impressed at all by the exhaust sound. A well built V-8 is much better any day.
Well I could certainly live with the sound. To think Chrysler begged the government for money in 79, paid it back early. Later came up with a concept with an all new engine something no one had. It is one of the proudest moments in American automotive history. I think many forget how special these were at the time. When on the road out in the wild is a very special event to see.
When I hear the sound it tells me that 10 is better than 8.