Strip the Dodge Viper back to its specification sheet and the character is already there: 8.0-liter (488.1 cu in) odd-firing Viper EWA V10, 400 hp. Dodge built from 1991 to 1995, when airbags, anti-lock brakes and Japanese build quality became the world standard. The shape is credited to Tom Gale (1990).
The background
The Dodge Viper (SR I) is the first-generation Viper sports car, manufactured by American automobile manufacturer Dodge. It was originally tested in January 1989 as a prototype, then later introduced in 1991 as a pace car for the Indianapolis 500, then finally going on sale in January 1992. The SR I began the Dodge Viper model lineup, which would continue on until 2017, consisting of five generations. The SRI was replaced by the updated SRII after a series of updates in 1995.
The engineering
The engine is 8.0-liter (488.1 cu in) odd-firing Viper EWA V10; the output is 400 hp. On the scales it comes to 1490 kg. That is roughly 268 horsepower per tonne: genuine supercar pace. Drive goes through a 6-speed BorgWarner T56 manual. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 2446 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Where it sits
In the Dodge line-up the Dodge Viper has a clear place: it handed the line to the Dodge Viper (SR II); the factory was New Mack Assembly, Detroit, Michigan, United States. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Lexus LS, the Jaguar XJ220, the Bugatti EB110. Its Dodge stablemates include the Dodge 1500 and the 1955 Dodge.
Owning one today
Buying one now means $27,800–$40,100 for a typical example, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $6,665–$7,735 a year. Insurance sits around $1,940–$3,140 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.