American Roadsters: Dodge Viper

When one thinks of a roadster they usually think of an open top car made for cheap thrills in a small package, now I can't do much arguing with that except in some cases with the cheap part and the small part, but the thrill part, no problem.. roadsters are thrill.

When it comes to the closed wheel roadsters Europe started off with items like the Sunbeam Tiger and Triumph Spitfire. Then Japan joined the party with the Mazda Miata and the later s2000. After many years of American admiration, the country know for gas guzzling muscle cars, made a few examples of the type of car that is known for a good time on a low budget, but the thing is, America forgot about the low budget part. 

Think of all the American roadsters. Is there one that gets better than 20 mpg in the city? I kindly commission you to name a few... the Corvette roadster? the Dodge Viper roadster? Both thirsty beasts. But is there a problem with this.. I think not.

The viper, has been a showcase to what American muscle really means in modern terms. The V10 in the engine bay creates massive torque and horsepower numbers in a much sought after naturally aspirated form, and is always the thought synonymous with the Viper. Think Viper, Think V10, they go hand in hand.

 

 Another thing America did different with their roadsters was raise the cost of buying one through the proverbial roof, missing in these cars (that was a joke). Again, I have little problem with this. You can start off in a European or Japanese roadster for a bit over 30K. But America had to do it different. I located this Viper at the local Dealership and found it was priced at 53K, and that is after its been on the road for over five years.

Raising the price tag on these fellers, has only made them more rare and sought after tho, not to mention the fact that they are required by the manufacturer to be sold at a certain price so money is indeed made off them, and not lost per unit sold, as is the case with Lexus and its LFA. Also raising the price has kept the faces of the drivers of these cars to sophisticated and pompous individuals, much of what America is known for, whether for better or worse.

Someone once told me to see what society looked like at a certain point in time, take a look at what the people made at that time. The Viper is one of those "made" items that will tell future folks looking back at this era, dispute the economy crashing and the middle east crisis, engineers and car designers put a middle finger in the air and produced one of the most brutal cars to hit the American market in factory form. It really speaks of Americas pride.

 Even with the Viper being relatively young in the automotive market, it has made a lasting impact on many forms of motorsport. IMSA GT Championship, 12 Hours of Sebring, Fourmula Drift, Drag strips around the country, and many more automotive scenes have seen dominance by the viper. And the original vipers are now reaching classic car status in the collector world on top of that.

Despite the Dodge and Viper split scare back in 2012 I think it is safe to assume that with the reuniting of the names America will continue to pump out this roadster and others like it for years to come, and I have to say I'm eager to see what the future holds.

Joshua Sewell

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