It embarrassed exotics from all over the world,
while being handbuilt in the good ol’ U S of A, baby.
This is everything you need to know to get Up to Speed on the Dodge Viper.
The year is 1988, and Chrysler is in trouble. Despite surviving near bankruptcy a few years
prior, Chrysler was still trailing in sales behind their rivals Ford and Chevrolet.
What they came up with was the most
hardcore sports car since the Shelby Cobra.
Chrysler Executive Vice President Bob Lutz knew what he wanted: A two seat sportscar
in the spirit of the Jaguar E-Type and the legendary Shelby Cobra. He wanted a big engine,
manual transmission and no fancy electronic aids like traction control or anti-lock brakes
to get in the way.
He met up with Chrysler’s head of design, Tom Gale, and let him in on
the plan. There would be no focus groups,
no Chrysler suits telling Gale what to do.
He had free reign to do whatever possible to bring Lutz’ vision to life, and Gale
did just that. Gale had started his career working on the Plymouth Barracuda and Challenger,
so, uhhh, I think he knew a thing or two about designing bad-ass cars.
Their car took tons of inspiration from the sports cars of the sixties. A long hood,
short deck
And no roof. The Shelby Cobra was a huge influence on the design, and Carroll
Shelby himself was attached to the project. Even the name was taken from the Cobra. They
couldn’t call it the Cobra, obviously, and Anaconda meant Sir Mixalot's wiener...
Now Viper sounded good. It took Gale and his team less than a year to build a running prototype,
just in time for the 1989 North American International Auto Show.
Before Chrysler President Lee Iacocca had introduced the car, Down payments were being
mailed to Chrysler. People were going crazy for the new Viper. Celebrities even tried
to bribe Bob Lutz to get their way onto the waiting list; which frankly wasn’t a bad
idea because Dodge only produced 285 Vipers in 1992.
Like the Shelby Cobra, The first Viper lacked any feature that wasn’t essential in making
it go faster. Like the Cobra, There was no air conditioning, no power locks, no door
handles, and no roof or windows. The only traction control on board were your own two
feet. A lot of sports cars are marketed as “A race car for the street” but the Viper
truly meant it. It did not have words like ‘compromise’ or ‘subtlety’ in its
vocabulary. All it wanted was to go really fast.
The Viper was notoriously difficult
to drive quickly and wasn’t afraid to bruise your ego. The viper didn’t hesitate to hurt
your physically either. The side exhaust was located right under the door, leading to many
complaints of people burning themselves as they got out of the car.
That wouldn't be a problem for me
because if I owned a Viper, I'd just wear cowboy boots.
Chrysler owned Lamborghini until 1994, which meant they had access to the engineering know-how
of one of the most radical car companies in the world. The same people who came up with
the Muira, Countach and Diablo would now be helping out with the Viper. Chrysler had Lamborghini
convert Dodge’s iron-block V10, originally meant for trucks, into an aluminum design
better suited to the lightweight Viper. This 8 liter V10 design was two liters bigger than
the engine in the Diablo! At a quarter of the price! And the Lambo connection doesn’t
end there, as the same guy designed the Diablo’s exterior.
Diablo and Viper--if there were royalty checks for bedroom posters,
Tom Gale would be a f*ckin billionaire!
This combination of low weight and high power meant that that the Viper could hold it’s
own against competitors like Ferrari and Lamborghini for a fraction of the cost.
The Viper was proof that Chrysler still had some brilliance left in them after all.
The Viper lost a bit of it’s edge in 1994, when Air Conditioning became an option. Which
is cool I guess, if you’re a b*tch!
I’m just kidding-I get really sweaty.
The Viper got a few minor updates including Door handles and a real roof in 1996 with the introduction
of the GTS Coupe; The GTS was intended to be a Viper that was a little easier to live
with day to day. Then in 1999, Dodge gave the Viper it’s first serious upgrade: The
Viper ACR. ACR stood for American Club Racer, and it WAS a racer. The ACR was equipped with
one piece BBS racing wheels, Koni shocks tuned for the track, and five-point racing harnesses.
It freakin’ ripped.
The ACR had a 0-60 of 4 and half seconds with a top speed of 180
miles per hour.
You could drive 180 miles, in AN HOUR
That is faster than any animal on Earth.
The ACR wasn’t the only Viper Dodge cooked up for the track. The Viper GTS-R debuted
in 1999, and was an immediate success on the track. Dodge had teamed up with the french
Team Oreca
to develop the Viper into a serious GT contender, and they succeeded. In two years,
the GTS-R won 16 out of the 18 races it entered. That is pret-ty good.
They entered 18, won 16. Only lost twice.
The Viper underwent it’s first major facelift in 2003. *just like my dad*
The headlights got a little angrier *just like my dad*
And the Viper itself got a bit bulkier. *just like my dad*
But just because it was bigger doesn’t mean
it was slower. *just like my dad*
Despite the husky appearance, the Viper actually lost 100 pounds and gained
50 horsepower, making 500 horses at the crank.
From 2003 to 2005, the Viper was once
again only available as a convertible. The GTS coupe returned in 2006 but only for one
year, because in 2007 the Viper disappeared from the showroom.
Let me show this Viper, it's right here in the...
Dan!!
What happened to the Viper?
No I'm in the showroom!
Dan, I'm in the showroom, it's not here!
Well I think I would see it if it were in here Dan!
Dan why--
Dan why dont---
By 2007, Chrysler once again found itself in dire straights. Sales had plummeted and
the company was operating at a loss. Chrysler’s parent company Daimler Benz saw the writing
on the wall, and sold off Chrysler to an investment fund at a huge loss. Daimler had purchased
Thankfully the Viper was only on hiatus for a single year. The Viper returned in 2008
with a fresh face featuring a bigger mouth and headlights, as well as MORE horsepower.
600 of them to be exact. The ACR was back too, with new aero bits that generated one
THOUSAND pounds of downforce. The Viper was still the real deal.
But like all good things, including every single one of my beautiful hamsters, The Viper’s return was to be short-lived.
I mean is it the food? I clean their cages..
I try not to handle them too much, just enough so that they know that they're loved..
uh, if you guys know why my hamsters keep dying, please let me know in the comments..
When Fiat bought Chrysler in 2009, there was some speculation that the Viper might get
some tech from Fiat’s crown jewel, Ferrari. But this rumor stayed a rumor, because one
morning in July 2009, Dodge announced the end of Viper production.
Dodge CEO Ralph Gilles stated that Dodge wanted to “preserve the value” of the current cars by not building
them indefinitely. THAT’S NOT A REAL REASON, RALPH.
That's like saying, oh, I wanna break up with you because I like dating you so much..
Luckily for Viper fans, Gilles also announced that the Viper would return with an all new platform.
Kinda like yeah, we're breaking up, but we can do it one last time..
The Viper returned in 2013
The so-called Phase 15 Viper had a more aggressive face, 640 horsepower, and somehow became sleeker
and more dignified than the previous generation. The sweeping curves and long hood stayed true
to the spirit of the original Viper and other driving legends before it. In an age when
throwbacks manage to ignore everything that made the original great, Dodge deserves credit
for keeping true to the original vision set forth by Bob Lutz and Tom Gale.
With this second revival of the Viper came the familiar trims, the GTS was back, and
Dodge introduced a new Time Attack edition featuring track tuned suspension, lots of
carbon fiber bits, and an exclusive Orange color option. Dodge also had something very
special in store, the return of the ACR.
And just like Chris Christie on Thanksgiving, Dodge left nothing on the table
The new ACR produced one thousand and seven hundred pounds of downforce thanks to the
carbon fiber body kit. The rear wing is exactly 1776 millimeters across because, America
was founded in 1776. That’s a little history lesson for you, ya fkn Philistine!
The Viper was now the sixth fastest production
car ever around the ‘Ring, putting foreign supercars to shame with nothing but a manual
transmission and a really, really big wing. It was a fitting send off for one of the greatest
American cars in recent memory.
A Send off? Yeah, the Viper was killed off. AGAIN.
Sure, it isn’t
a recent development, Fiat Chrysler told us they were gonna do this back in 2015. BUT
IT STILL HURTS, OKAY?
The last Viper rolled off the assembly line on August 16th, 2017, wearing the same red
paint as the very first Viper 25 years ago. As we say goodbye to the Viper, we have to
remember that not all hope is lost. The Viper has come back
from retirement two times now, proving that it’s spirit can’t be killed forever. I
wouldn’t be surprised if it returns to us once again when we need it most.