About this Collectable

The Dodge Viper: an icon of the 90s and one of the most brutal supercars ever built. No luxury, no safety systems, just an 8,0 liter V10. This Viper Red example is one of the 166 'Ketchup & Mustard' limited edition, has covered 26.700 miles and recently received a major service by a Viper specialist.

Building supercars has always been mainly a European affair, but in the 1990s Dodge also entered the supercar realm. And how, the Viper was nothing short of sensational. Not only to see, it was also spectacular to drive.

Chrysler CEO Bob Lutz - a true petrolhead - came up with the idea of ​​building a new sports car in the spirit of the Shelby Cobra. So that became the Viper, which was drawn by Tom Gale. Gale was also responsible for the design of another iconic 90s supercar: the Lamborghini Diablo. The first Viper was used as a pace car during the Indianapolis 500 and was driven by none other then Carroll Shelby.

For the engine a V10 was chosen, which was developed for the Dodge Ram. This cast iron block could not just be put into a sports car, so the help of Lamborghini, then owned by Chrysler, was called in. They made sure there was an aluminum version of the V10. The technology turned out to be incredibly durable. Variations on the coupe version introduced in 1995 won the 24 hour races at Le Mans, Daytona and the Nurburgring.

The 8,0 liter V10 initially delivered 406 hp and 630 Nm of torque. These were already very impressive figures for the time, but in 1996 Dodge went even further. Then the exhaust system was modified. The sidepipes were replaced with rear-exit exhausts. Which was also nice when getting out of the car.

The result is that the V10 in this Viper delivers 421 hp and 662 Nm of torque. These numbers are especially impressive when you realize that the Viper has no safety systems. ABS or traction control? No need for that. In the Viper you are on your own.

In addition to the exhausts, some subtle changes were made in 1996. For example, there are five-spoke wheels instead of three-spoke wheels and 27 kg in weight has been saved by using extra aluminum components. Because this 1996 Viper actually sits between the SR I and the SR II generation, it is sometimes unofficially called the SR 1.5.

As mentioned, the Viper has no safety systems, but it didn't have any luxury either. There are not even door handles to open the car from the outside and the side windows were supplied separately and must be secured with a zipper. In short: the Viper is a very basic car. And that's exactly what makes this car so desirable. If you necessarily want to have something above your head, there is an original soft top and a hard top included with this car.

This particular car was delivered as one of the 166 limited edition 'Mustard and Ketchup' version. This meant: a red exterior and red accents in the interior (like the steering wheel and handbrake), combined with yellow rims and logos. This version was only available in 1996 and only a handful of examples were delivered. As with most Vipers, the yellow rims have been replaced by chrome ones. There is such a thing as too much mustard.

This generation Viper was never delivered in Europe, which means that this car was imported from the USA. In 2009 this Viper made the crossing to The Netherlands. It currently has covered 26.800 miles (43.130 km). The car received an extensive service this month at a Viper specialist.

Equipment

None. A Viper only has a heater and a big stereo with huge speakers between the two seats, so you can still hear the radio above the wind noise and the V10 even without the roof.
This Viper also comes with a factory soft top and hard top.

Modifications

The original yellow rims have been replaced by chrome ones (see 'About this Collectable').
The orange side indicators in the front bumper have been replaced by white ones.
Apart from that, this car is completely original.

Remarks

There are some minimal signs of use:
Peeling paint on the inside of the left front wheel arch
Spots on the paint on the front of the left door sill
The door sills have recently been resprayed because of some minor damage to the paint.

Service history

This Viper hasn't been driven since 2018 so no maintenance has been carried out during that period. The Viper therefore received an extensive service this month prior to listing (€4.561,15) at Viper specialist 'Viperwizard'. This included the replacement of the head gasket, valve cover gasket, inlet manifold gasket, exhaust manifold gasket, cylinder head bolts, thermostat, coolant reservoir and spark plugs. The Dutch maintenance history with invoices is present.

Included with sale

Two keys
Original soft top with zippable side windows
Original hard top

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