The 4 th -gen Dodge Viper has, you guessed it, more power. The V10 displaces 8. It also has a new 6-speed manual, upgraded suspension, and a standard limited-slip differential. The Viper also has a new exhaust design to lessen the heat coming into the cabin, Driving. The 2 nd -gen version has less weight, more power, BBS wheels, stiffer suspension, and brake-cooling ducts.
The 4 th -gen ACR follows a similar route. This generation is the most civilized, offering features like leather upholstery, backup cameras, power-adjustable pedals, as well as standard stability and traction control. The 5 th -gen Viper is also even lighter, thanks to greater use of carbon fiber and aluminum.
And, yes, its 8. The 5 th -gen Viper also features some hard-core variants. His goal was to build a flagship sports car with extreme proportions and a big engine up front, inspired by the Shelby Cobra.
Chrysler designer Tom Gale put together a clay model, engineers devised a high-performance V to power it, and CEO Lee Iacocca gave the idea the green light. When the Viper was in the planning stages, Dodge's truck division was hard at work on a heavy-duty iron-block V engine for and series Rams.
Thus, the sports car team chose an engine with the same displacement and layout, though the Viper engine does not share any parts with the truck engine. Lamborghini did, however, use its connections in the aluminum industry to help Chrysler develop prototype castings for the aluminum-block Viper engine, according to The Drive. The Italian company also helped graft a Formula 1-style external cooling manifold onto the block to keep temperatures down, along with adapting new technology including sequential multipoint fuel injection and dual throttle bodies, each with their own intake plenum.
The engine was rated at horsepower and lb-ft of torque from the factory—big numbers now, and positively jaw-dropping in the early Nineties. Redline was rpm. Early Vipers are exceedingly hardcore cars, with no air conditioning, no ABS, and no traction or stability control. The lack of creature comforts undoubtedly helped performance—we measured a sub-five-second and a quarter-mile time of just over 13 seconds during our first drive. Underneath the body sits a fully independent suspension with Koni coil-over shocks with eight inches of travel.
Interestingly, the lower control arms and the rack-and-pinion steering were taken from the Dodge Dakota pickup. Dodge made air conditioning optional in , and gave the Viper a light overhaul for the model year. Updated roadsters got new rear-exit exhausts to replace the infamous side pipes, which had a habit of burning unsuspecting passengers' calves.
Other updates included a horsepower increase, an optional fiberglass snap-on hardtop, a stiffer tubular frame, cast aluminum rather than steel suspension components, and a new five-spoke wheel design in place of the iconic three-spokes. Sure, it has a clean title and just 28, miles, but there's some serious body damage throughout. Body repairs are never cheap. Obviously there's front-end damage but everything else seems to look pretty solid. Seeing it in-person with a trusted mechanic friend on hand is definitely recommended, though.
The hood looks like it's been damaged, too. But our concern would be the engine condition after what was likely a front-end collision. Of course you'll need the right Viper specialist to bring this thing back to life. It has just 30, miles on the clock. Your first warning here should be the driver's side airbag; it's been deflated.
Ratings above 50 show above-average interest; vehicles with a subpoint rating are lagging. If we were analyzing the three generations purely based on their condition-appropriate values, the second generation arguably the most desirable of the three would be king. According to that metric, and despite its technological advances and higher power figure, the third-gen Viper is still waiting for its turn in the limelight. Along with their aesthetic and mechanical tweaks, —06 Vipers which are also known as the ZB I generation also received a nomenclature change.
The third-gen roadster finally ditched the targa-style, canvas-and-vinyl contraption of the first two generations for a folding soft-top. That unit tucked neatly behind two hoops, rather than a single unit, behind the two seats.
The truly convertible top made the roadster much more practical and allowed Dodge to wait until to roll out the hardtop. The Mamba edition arrived in , but that package was purely cosmetic.
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