In 1968, Chrysler introduced the world to the craziest Dodge ever made up to that point – and probably from then on: the Charger III ‘idea car’ (the concept of ‘concept car’ hadn’t yet been coined - and the pun is intentional). If the second-generation Charger had the aura of a Mach 2 jet on wheels, then its alleged successor was a downright space rocket by comparison. While the Charger III remained a dream, it left an unfulfilled sportscar desire in the heart of Dodge - one that took a venomous V10 form twenty years later.
The Charger III it was just as practical as the space-going machine, too, but none of that mattered. The two-seater was Dodge’s first nod that the Corvette might not stay alone in the sportscar ring for long. Fatefully, that concept - see it in the gallery - never made it past the ‘show car’ stage. Dodge brooded the idea for another two decades before releasing the most American sports car ever to come out of Detroit – the Dodge Viper RT/10.
In a Corvette copycat manner, the original Viper had no solid roof – it was a pure roadster with zip-up plastic windows and a rag top. It wasn’t until 1996 that the GTS came with a proper elements-detering top. However, the roof wasn’t the car’s critical factor – the Viper coupe had a slightly different purpose than to offer weatherproofing. The original Viper with a solid permanent roof was built between 1996 and 2002, and around 6,800 were assembled.
1997 was the best year for the GTS production, with 1,671 units sent out through the factory gates. The low volumes put it right up there with another famous snake eponym two-seater – Carroll Shelby’s original Cobra of the sixties. However, the Viper was an All-American muscle machine with a touch of Europeanness: the ten-cylinder behemoth lying in wait under that long, sleek hood.
As a breakaway from the traditional Detroit pledge of allegiance to the mighty eight-cylinder god of internal combustion, the Viper was endowed with an eight-liter V10. Carved from aluminum, it was rated at 450 hp (456 PS) at a relatively low 5,200 RPM (by V10 standards) and 490 lb-ft (664 Nm) of torque at 3,700 RPM. Whether this last figure was a respectful bow to the mighty 426 Street HEMI of the sixties or just a mechanical coincidence is anyone’s guess, but let’s take it as it is.
The small-series production puts the Viper alongside its magnificent muscle forefathers from the Golden Era, at least in collectability, resale value, and investment potential. That’s what the owner of this 64-mile (103 kilometers) Viper GTS from 1997. It was a lucky twist of fate that the car – going through two private ownerships since it was new, after serving as a showroom lure for prospects in its first years – didn’t get a high-speed fate like many other of its siblings.
If you will, it was a replacement car, in case the first one the buyer ordered suddenly became unavailable. Yes, there was someone who actually bought a pair of Vipers brand new just because why not. After its showroom display career ended, the low-mile GTS (we can genuinely call it new since its odometer reads under 100 miles) was retired in climate-controlled storage.
In November 2020, a dealer bought the car, only to cash out on it in the following January after an online auction (the video shows a brief description of the vehicle and a cold start – found at the 27:48 mark). The highest bid put $111,000 in the dealer’s pockets. That’s on par with the inflation-adjusted value of the $66,000 original base MSRP from 1997 (the exact purchasing power equivalent was $111,426.98).
Still, the final price of this exact example was $72,752 due to a $3,300 gas guzzler tax, its $300 polished cast aluminum wheels, and the $700 destination charge. Per the original Vehicle Buyer's Order, the $2,725 difference was the Luxury tax and other minor bureaucratic expenses.
Whoever bought the car in 2021 (a reputed car collector, judging by its acquisition record on bringatrailer.com) got it with just 17 miles on the clock (27 kilometers). In the four years that have passed, the owner has put nearly three times as many miles on this GTS as what it had at the time of purchase. And it’s still a new car, waiting for yet another discerning buyer.
The Viper Red over black leather example featured in the gallery attached sports polished 17″ wheels, power windows and mirrors, air conditioning, and an Alpine CD player. The car was first titled in 2005, and in 2011, a Dodge dealership from Indianapolis flushed and replaced the engine oil and filter, the coolant, the six-speed manual transmission and differential oils, the clutch system, brake and power steering fluids.
The 27-year-new Viper GTS is going under the hammer again and aims for $150,000 at the Miami 2024 auction in Coral Gables, Florida. The iconic Mopar of the modern era comes accompanied by its window sticker, manuals, and a clean CARFAX report. At its previous sale in January 2021, the vehicle had a consistent documentation file, including an oil report from 2011.
At that time, the car had its original fluids (no wonder: it had only 17 miles on the clock), but the owner wanted to ensure everything was okay with its ‘reserve’ GTS. So, it had the engine lubricant (at the time, already 14 years old) analyzed by a laboratory, and the conclusion was this: ‘We don’t see anything in here that shouldn’t be present in factory oil. Check back in 14 years or the next oil change, whichever comes first.’ See that document in the gallery below.
After nearly two decades in news television, Răzvan turned to a different medium. He’s been a field journalist, a TV producer, and a seafarer but found that he feels right at home among petrolheads. Full profile
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