After showing the prototype of the Dodge Viper all the way back in 1989, and delivering the first cars to customers in 1992, the car became both a “talkie” and a legend from the very beginning.
This is partly due to the spectacular appearance. The large V10 engine of 400 horsepower – and thus extreme performance – is also an important factor, of course.
The car is built according to a classic American sports car recipe: Large engine under a long hood, two seats and the drive wheels at the rear. Simple, straightforward and efficient.
– The Dodge Viper was also the car that gave the good old-fashioned speed strips a new spring. “Viper stripes” became a new trend.
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Raw car
With an unladen weight of 1,490 kilos (the engine accounted for 323 kilos of this), the car made 0-100 in just 4.2 seconds. The top speed was over 260 km / h. In other words, the car was one of the roughest there was.
The price for the glory was $ 52,000 in the United States. Expensive, but not spiny in terms of performance. Thus, one would think that success was a fact.
But the car sold worse than Dodge expected and hoped for. After the first “hype” was over, sales fell quite quickly. Dodge did what they could both to promote and to develop the car. It is available in several different generations and countless special editions.
It also did well – and had record lap times on several courses around the world. Without the sale loosening for that reason.
– Porsche and Tesla – they can not be compared
– The interior is not particularly exclusive and lavish in the earliest cars.
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Made a comeback
In November 2009, Dodge Brands President Ralph Gilles announced the model’s departure in 2010.
But that was not exactly the case. Because in 2013, after a three-year break, the fifth generation of the Dodge Viper appeared.
By then, the V10 engine had grown to an insane 8.4 liters – and the power was 640 horsepower. 0-100 km / h smoked away in just 3.5 seconds and the top speed passed 330 km / h. We are talking really wild achievements here…
The car was true to the original concept, but had been honed along the way. The very first Vipers were very simple and relatively heavy. Now the car had more equipment, better weight distribution and more modern assistant systems. It was simply a much better car. At least on paper.
Rudskogen is imposed “quiet days” – reacts with shock, disappointment and disbelief
– In 2013, there was a comeback and Viper appeared in the fifth generation. Still true to the original concept.
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Heaped up with cars
But the world is not always fair. This also applies to cars. New, nice and good car notwithstanding. Sales did not loosen, this time either.
In October, production was reduced to 1/3 of capacity. In 2014, a production break was taken. Cars piled up in stock – even though prices were reduced.
In October 2015, it was announced that Viper production would be stopped in 2017. This is how it turned out.
How many cars they had of the model in stock then is not known. But there must have been some. For even now – five years later – you can buy a “new” Viper. In Viper’s home country, the USA, brand new Vipers were registered in both the first and second quarters of this year.
This was how it was to meet Porsche for the first time – in the 80’s
– Do you dream of a Viper? That dream can come true for less than 500,000 kroner for the first generation of the car on the used market.
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The second-hand market in Norway
Also here at home, there are Vipers for sale. Ten pieces to be exact. Not new though, but there is not much to do. The most expensive is a 2015 model, ie the latest generation, which has not traveled more than 3,500 kilometers. It costs almost 2 million kroner.
While the cheapest, which costs less than 500,000 kroner, is a 1994 model that has traveled only 48,000 kilometers.
Regardless of sales figures. The Dodge Viper is definitely a car icon. But there is clearly a difference between that and sales success.
We have driven a Dodge Viper, read more about it here:
Video: Is it possible to drag ladies with red Ferrari?
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