1995 Dodge Viper RT/10 Roadster

That a major US manufacturer could come up with such an exciting concept car was startling enough, but Chrysler's decision to put the Viper into production was nothing short of astonishing. Inspired, as its name suggests, by the legendary Cobra, Tom Gale's design study made its show debut in 1989 following discussions between Chrysler boss Bob Lutz and Cobra-creator Carroll Shelby and their decision was rewarded by queues of willing buyers waving their chequebooks.

Built around a tubular-steel backbone chassis equipped with all-round double-wishbone independent suspension, vented disc brakes and power-assisted rack and pinion steering, it did without ABS or a traction control system. Clad in lightweight resin transfer-moulded glass fibre body panels, the Targa-roofed RT/10 (Rapid Transit) weighed in at just over 3,200lbs, considerably more lithe than its US competitors. Extensively reworked by Lamborghini (another Chrysler subsidiary at the time), its 8-litre V10 former truck engine gained a new aluminium block and cylinder heads. Despite being relatively 'low-tech', the Lamborghini-developed pushrod V10 churns out over 400bhp and a brutal 460lbs/ft of torque at just 3,600rpm, figures which the Viper translates, through its six-speed Borg Warner T-56 manual gearbox, into a 0-60mph time of 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 165mph.

Dating from 1995, this ‘Generation 1 Phase 1’ RT/10 looks fantastic finished in Viper Red with white competition stripes, sitting on chrome effect 18-inch alloys shod with low profile tyres and sporting dramatic black side-exit exhausts. It’s a left-hand drive car that was imported from the US in 2020 and features a colour matched removable ‘Targa-style’ roof panel and side windows in order to fully appreciate the organ rearranging thunder as 4-litres each side of burnt fuel arrive in the outside world.

The Charcoal Black/mid-grey interior appears to be in excellent condition with the leather seating only displaying some light patination from 25 years of enjoyment and features an Alpine stereo system. The red and black engine bay is really impressive and appears very tidy and well maintained.

The current indicated mileage is just under 31,500 and the car is offered for sale with the original drivers’ pack, two sets of keys and the UK V5C. We understand that the cherished registration, M2 EKO, will remain with the car. These are rare cars with less than 100 believed to be in the UK and a classic example of a nineties American Supercar.

You may ask yourself if you really need 8-litres of V10, over 400 horsepower, tarmac-shredding lumps of torque, and only two seats, and realistically, you probably don’t, but then again, they are going up in value and you’re only young twice.