- A barely driven Dodge Viper was listed on Craigslist, giving someone the chance to savor its V10.
- This example is one of roughly three dozen built in 2002 with a Cognac leather interior.
- The seller is asking $100,000 for the car but is open to trades, including for a hot rod.
Nowadays, most carmakers are downsizing their flagship engines and routinely ditching naturally aspirated mills for smaller-capacity ones with forced induction. It’s in times like these that we remember how things used to be, with gas-guzzling N/A engines that didn’t care at all about efficiency or emissions and were all about things like performance, sound, and excess. The Dodge Viper is the epitome of this.
Dodge built the original Viper between 1991 and 2010 before it returned for a four-year stint from 2013 to 2017, badged the SRT Viper. Power rose through the years, as did the size of the car’s monstrous V10, slowing growing from 8.0 to 8.4 liters. An engine like this would be unthinkable in the modern world for a mainstream carmaker, making pristine Vipers like this all the more special.
Read: Brand New Dodge Viper Spent 28 Years On Top Of A Dealer Sign
What you’re looking at is a 2002 Viper GTS fitted with the 8.0-liter version of the V10. When new, it delivered 450 hp at 5,200 rpm and 490 lb-ft (664 Nm) of torque at 3,700 rpm. Sure, Mercedes-AMG’s current flagship 2.0-liter turbo four has more power, but totally lacks the sheer character and, most notably, sound of the Dodge’s V10.
This Viper was listed for sale on Craigslist (deleted by the time we published this article) in Phoenix, Arizona, with a $100,000 asking price. Beyond it simply being an awesome piece of American performance car history, it’s special because it’s only been driven 523 miles (841 km). It retains all of the original parts, still has plastic on the seats, and is one of roughly three dozen Vipers built in 2002 with a Cognac leather interior.
The seller said they purchased the car from the original owner several years ago, and it has absolutely no scratches or scuffs on it. Given how pristine it looks, you could be excused for thinking it had just rolled out of the factory.
The mighty V10 is mated to a six-speed manual transmission driving the rear wheels. The car was being sold with the original window sticker, dealer sales brochure, and manuals. However, the listing didn’t provide any details about the car’s service history. Sure, it has barely been driven, but it’s always important for a buyer to ensure that a car’s mechanical components are in tip-top condition irrespective of mileage, price, or brand, even if it’s parked in a collection.
H/T to Jalopnik