Lot 311: 2003 Dodge Viper GTS

Conceived as a modern take on the classic American muscle car, the Dodge Viper is a two seater sports car, possibly the most powerful production car produced by Dodge. The dream behind the design of the Dodge Viper was directly inspired by Carroll Shelby, one of the automotive industry's greatest legends. The Viper first appeared as a concept to test public reaction at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 4th 1989. Receiving enthusiastic public acclaim as orders began to flow before the show even ended, the 'go' was given to develop it as a production car. 'Team Viper' was organized with a group of 85 engineers that began development in March the same year. Its primary goal was to construct a vehicle that concentrated on performance above all else, the benchmark: being to produce a car capable of accelerating from zero to 100mph and back to a standstill in 15 seconds. The body of the Viper was a tubular steel frame with resin transfer moulding fibreglass panels but the centrepiece of the car was its 8.0 litre engine. Recasting the block and head in aluminium alloy gave the engine a significant power boost as Dodge's cast-iron block V10 was revamped. Typical of American performance car design, the Viper had a front-mounted engine driving rear wheels with a kerb weight of 1,488kg and lacked many modern driving aids such as traction control and anti-lock brakes. In straight line performance, the Viper completed the standing start quarter mile in 12.9 seconds and had a maximum speed of 164mph - no surprise considering the engine produced 400bhp at 4,600rpm and 450ft/lb at 3,600rpm. Due to the six speed manual gearbox's long-gearing, allowed by the abundant torque available, the V10 also provided surprising fuel economy at a claimed 21mpg if driven sedately. Even more potent was the Viper GTS which, with the 7,990cc engine now producing 450bhp at 5,200rpm and 490lb/ft @ 4,600rpm, reduced the 0-60mph sprint to just 3.9 seconds, the standing quarter mile time to 12.2 seconds and increased the maximum speed to over 175mph. This British registered Viper GTS is believed to be the only right-hand drive example in existence, having been converted in 2003 by a Chrysler main dealer in Australia. Finished in orange with grey interior, and with a mere 5,000 miles recorded, it is thus presented in very good condition. Highly desirable, this is a genuine modern day American muscle car that delivers all the performance that its looks suggest.