2000 Dodge Viper RT10

Wonderfully politically incorrect, the Dodge Viper was launched in January 1992. A pure American muscle car, it was conceived by Bob Lutz, Tom Gale, Francois Castaing, and Carroll Shelby. 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. 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. Early cars were quoted as developing some 400bhp and 465lbft of torque, although these numbers would rise over time (the 2000 car featured here produces just north of 450bhp) and the efforts of all these horses were corralled through a beefy six-speed Borg Warner T-56 manual gearbox. Clad in lightweight resin transfer moulded glass fibre body panels, the Targa-roofed RT/10 boasted a 0-60mph time of 4.6 seconds and a top speed of 165mph. Only just out of production, the Viper has long since attracted a cult following which will only continue to gather pace.

This 2000, left-hand drive, Dodge Viper Roadster 8-litre, SRT10 is a Generation 2 model and is one of only 840 produced. It's finished in its original factory colour, the evocatively named Steel Grey Metallic with Viper Stripes, and a smart two-tone interior. In addition to the convertible soft-top, there is a colour-coded hard top (hard to find now as they were a £6,000 option at the time) and rear exhaust outlets were originally specified. The cars original equipment level is too long to list here but it includes an uprated stereo system with iPod and Bluetooth connection, Cat 1 alarm system, and a battery conditioner.

Enjoyed by two previous owners in the UK, the odometer currently indicates 15,514 miles and the car has been fully serviced including all transmission fluids in preparation for sale. The current owner has owned the vehicle for three years and maintained it to a high standard with a specialist (Falcon Performance UK Ltd.) based in Teeside. There are no outstanding issues and we understand the car runs faultlessly. It was recently fitted with two new rear tyres and a new battery and will be accompanied by 12 months MOT and both sets of keys. There is a fair amount of history with the Dodge including a Carfax vehicle history report showing two California owners and its USA service records (it left Los Angeles at an indicated 7,571 miles), the History File, and a very helpful build-spec document.

You may ask yourself if you really need 8-litres of V10, nearly 500 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 are only young twice!