(first posted 11/19/2012) My mother has always had pretty nice cars. As I mentioned in previous CCs, her first and second cars were a ’59 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer and a ’60 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe, respectively. Later on she had a ’68 Mustang, a ’73 1800ES and a ’74 Capri. After my arrival, Volvo 240DL and 740GL wagons became the rule, followed by a series of Grand Caravan ESs and Durango R/Ts. After a decade of Dodges, she went back to Volvo, and now has a black XC90. Still, there was one more Dodge, one that only recently departed us. Yes, folks, my mother owned–and drove–a Dodge Viper GTS.
Clearly, the Viper was a bold move for a company fresh from having teetered on the brink, but the gamble paid off handsomely; it announced, in a way impossible to ignore, that Chrysler Corporation was back. Not all that many were sold, but that wasn’t the point. Its mission was to be a ‘halo car’ and a showcase of the company’s capabilities. That it also sucked the doors off the ’92 Corvette was a bonus.
Nevertheless, it was primitive, and most certainly was not a car for everyone. Early models had only a rudimentary “toupee” canvas top, no exterior door handles or side windows (side curtains were provided for inclement weather), or any other concessions to comfort or convenience. Although most Viper owners didn’t mind, Chrysler did make their snake a bit more livable in 1996, with the introduction of the GTS. The fixed-roof GTS sported power windows, outside door handles, and even a rear hatch. Ol’ Shel himself drove one in the 1996 Indianapolis 500. We were there, and I remember the impression it made on me–so, so cool! I got myself a Maisto 1/18-scale version a short time later.
The Viper received only minor refinements after the coupe’s debut. By 2001, the classic, original roadster remained available alongside the GTS, but with power windows and outside door handles now standard. Its handsome, dished chrome wheels had come along a year earlier.
The 2001 Vipers got a revised engine with a milder cam and updated lifters. The changes were mostly due to stricter emissions regulations, but the 8.0-liter V-10 was still very brawny, developing 450 hp at 5,200 rpm, and 490 lb-ft of torque at 3,700 rpm. It would still blow away a Corvette, but the far more civil and civilized C5 Corvette handily outsold it. They were both sports cars, but still very different.
My mother always liked the looks of the GTS coupe, but you’d have to know my Dad to understand how we wound up owning one. Although he is one of the most generous people I know, he often acts impulsively and gets caught up in what he considers a cool idea.
In 2005, unbeknownst to my mother, he decided to get her a second-hand Viper for her birthday. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if his idea was going to fly; in fact, I tried to talk him out of it, but to no avail. Dad found the yellow 2001 coupe on a certain ubiquitous auction website and had it delivered from Houston to his office in Rock Island, IL.
On the night of Mom’s birthday we all went out to dinner to celebrate. As we were leaving, Dad said we needed to stop by his office. We kids were in on the ruse, but Mom just thought he’d forgotten something. We pulled up just as this gonzo automobile was being unloaded off the flatbed. Mom immediately knew what was up. “What did you do?” she said, in her ‘what’s Dad gotten into now‘ voice. All the same, it was still a pretty neat unveiling. I still remember Mom’s first comment: “Well, we don’t need it, but it’s cool.”
Believe it or not, Mom actually drove the Viper, albeit not on a regular basis. She knew how to drive a car with a manual transmission, but the Viper truly was a bear to drive around town. She much preferred her Durango R/T or Jag XJS. Dad often commented at how easy it was to break the tires loose, even at 25-30 mph. Four hundred-fifty horses will do that.
We talk a lot about center consoles taking up ever more interior room in modern cars, but I submit that the Viper’s takes the cake. It’s even bigger than it looks in the picture; the passenger could play solitaire on it. At least it was huge for a reason: The Viper’s mighty V-10 and six-speed transmission, both originally designed for the Dodge Ram, were not exactly petite.
Inside, the Viper was all business with its attractive, black-on-white gauges. Unlike early Vipers, this one had both driver- and passenger-side airbags.
Although the glove box had been replaced with a passenger-side airbag and the steering wheel was a newer design, the rest of the 2001 interior was much the same as in ’92–right down to those parts-bin A/C vents. I remember that Mom’s ’92 Grand Caravan ES had the same ones.
In lieu of the now-missing glove box was a small storage compartment at the end of the center console. You can just make it out between the inboard seat belts, another Viper peculiarity.
Here’s what the Viper was all about: A giant engine, and brakes and tires to match. I happen to believe the Viper V-10 was the most aesthetically pleasing engine of the 1990s. No silly plastic covers on this one; you can actually tell it’s an engine!
Many times during the mid ‘oughts, Dad took his 356 to a big Porsche show in Effingham. One year we took the Viper along as a display-only car. I rode in it with Dad on the trip back to the Quad Cities, and for such an uncompromising speed machine, it rode quite nicely on I-74. We were going 65-70 mph most of the way, and that was in third gear. Watching all the double-takes from passing cars and trucks was fun.
But ultimately, it just didn’t get driven much. We used it as the “limo” for my sister’s wedding, in 2010, but otherwise the Viper basically became a stationary object. It was a shame for such a cool car to go unused, and it had been around 2009 that Mom first talked about selling it. At the time, what would turn out to be a long and ongoing recession was just getting started, so I advised her to hold off a couple years and get more money for it when the economy improved. That worked–at least for a while.
Earlier this year, a friend of Dad’s who owns a car lot made him an offer on the Viper. I thought it a bit low, but after a little negotiation and a slightly better offer, Mom okayed the sale. Actually, I think she was relieved: One less car to insure!
I literally took these pictures the very morning it was sold; in fact, as soon as I was done Dad drove it, for the last time, off to Jeff’s lot. I was sad to see it go, but it quickly found a happy new owner. These days it’s up in Carroll County, being pampered along with a bunch of other specialty cars.
Only 291 2001 GTSs were painted yellow. A 2001 GTS in any color is rare, as only 650 were built. And while that spoiler is a factory-installed accessory, it is seldom-seen, as very few were actually ordered. It kind of reminds me of two other Mopar supercars, the ’69 Charger Daytona and the ’70 Road Runner Superbird.
Yes, my Mom had a Viper. Too bad it was about a dozen years after my middle school days. It sure would have been cool to get picked up in this thing!
Viper brochure images are courtesy of lov2xlr8.no.
You go, Mama! What a great story, which sounds true (but after the piece on Mr. Niedermeyer’s 61 Starliner, I have to wonder just a bit.) This is certainly not something that most middle aged ladies would choose, so your mom sounds like she has a bit of a wild streak, which is in no way a bad thing. This beats my old memory of my next door neighbor’s mom with the series of 3 GTOs with 4 speeds between 1966 and 1971. Your mom never had to compromise with a back seat in this one.
I am not sure that I have ever seen one of these in yellow. I only remember seeing the red and blue ones.
You tantalize us, Tom – did you ever get to take if for a spin? I would imagine that it would be a uniquely thrilling experience. I’ll bet that V10 has a one-of-a-kind engine note.
C’mon JP, you should remember that Tom doesn’t do the three-pedal thing. 🙂 Although this would be a hell of a car to learn on – you’d need to start in fourth to avoid laying rubber for blocks!
I was fifteen when the original Viper show car came out in ’89. I was obsessed, but didn’t really pay attention when the real ones came out. I have to say the styling holds up pretty well among jellybean-era sporty cars.
I assure you JP, this really did happen. As I mentioned in the post, you’d have to know my Dad to understand how this happened.
And sadly, no, I never drove it. My brother did though!
With a car like this in the garage I can’t believe you never learned to drive a stick!
Agreed – with all of the torque on tap, the car should have been quite forgiving of a newbie’s clutch technique. Then again, my thoughts go back to Mr. Niedermeyer’s mythical 4 speed Starliner. That thing in the snow would probably be like a Viper on dry pavement. 🙂
At first glance, the top photo looked like a toy car cleverly photographed, such as those for Paul’s article on the Peugeot 404. The Viper being what it is, I was only wrong about the size of the toy. This reminds me of when Dad was shopping for a new car back in the spring of ’64, when he and Mom had gotten tired of obsessing on their Corvair’s tire pressure. Dad was sorely tempted by the new Barracuda, but ultimately practicality won out, and he came home with a Rambler American station wagon.
I agree, it does look like a toy car in the first shot — or something out of a Pixar film.
The only thing that stops me from believeing this is a true story is the fact that it took so long for the story to come out.
I think any true car guy would instantly blurt out “my mom drives a viper” in just about every car related conversation. At least that would be the first thing I’d say…haha…I’d sound like Rainman…mom drives a viper, mom drives a viper…wopner at 4….
It’s true. When I met Tom a few months back he told me about it and promptly barred me from guessing on the Clue.
Ha-ha! +1 My sister was born in ’57: I was born in ’71. When I was seven or so, she bought a white ’77 Corvette. She lived in FL while I lived near Chicago so I only rode in it a few times. She then replaced it with an ’82 Collector’s Edition which got replaced by a white ’85 after being stolen.
In my case it was, “Hi, I’m Joel. My sister drives a VETTE.”
I just about snorted coffee thru my nose onto the keyboard, monitor, and morning cash drawer when this one came up.
The reason: I was listening to Jan & Dean’s “Little Old Lady From Pasadena” when I brought it up. Honest.
I’d trade in my Porsche for one of those. Ragtop, however.
you sir are a true car guy….I can’t think of any porsche owner I have ever met that would admit to wanting to trade a porshe for a viper.
you deserve greater respect from the community just because of this statement!
I love my Porsche, don’t get me wrong. And when I finally get a ragtop, a Boxster is first on my list. However, I’m not a devotee to any specific marque. And there’s a lot of cars I’d still love to own, while time is starting to get short.
I do have my dedicated fanboy side – but that’s Triumph motorcycles.
Not to hijack the thread, but I saw a rather cool Norton Commando over the weekend (and I’m not really a motorcycle guy).
Tom, just because I told you that my father bought my mother a Viper on impulse one day doesn’t mean you can run with the story as if it’s true….
Seriously, your parents are the Not-Niedermeyers. I had a hard time believing it when I first saw this, but knowing you, it must be true. Your ability to hold this close to the vest is admirable. It would have been the first story I ever wrote…of course, it would have been about how I crashed it doing 160 on the Beltway.
Probably why I never attempted to drive it–fear of crashing!
Just goes to show, it takes Niedermeyers AND Not-Niedermeyers to make the world (and CC) go ’round.
I’m happy to say I have a few hours of “stick time” myself behind the wheel of a red 1997 Viper GTS.
The Albuquerque businessman I sold a C5 ‘Vette to in March 1997 wound up trading in that car for the Viper not even six months later; I found out when the Dodge dealer brought the C5 to our dealership for a trade appraisal. As with the C5, the owner allowed me to drive the Viper on several occasions, the only cost being a quick detail of the car after I was done.
Really, the only fun to be had in a Viper comes with mashing down the throttle… well, that, and the envious stares you get from many of your fellow motorists (the latter was the reason Mikey traded in the ‘Vette… and is likely why he STILL owns the Viper.) What fun that is, though!
Living and working in the heart of Silicon Valley since, well before people called it Silicon Valley, until last year (and still living close by), I’ve always been amazed that two of the most exciting supercars were very rare sights there …. the Viper and the NSX. In the mid-’90’s to mid-2000’s, I’d honestly see more Ferraris or Lamborghinis, even Unimogs, and more recently, Tesla Roadsters, than the Dodge or Acura. So this always made them exotic to me. I don’t know if the brand name made these cars too ordinary for rich SV folks to buy, though Corvettes, AMG Mercedes and even Escalades are everywhere. About the only mainstream branded car less common than a Viper was the Cadillac XLR.
It’s amazing that Mustangs and Corvettes with 400+ HP are manageable…….surprisingly so! Technology keeps ’em out of the weeds 😉 Still as fast, but you need to find it through traction control and other assists. I haven’t driven a 650 HP GT500, but I hear it could be a daily driver.
Vipers seem more “old school” and raw. Gotta like that!
I remember the early Vipers and Prowlers having huge dealer markups, like $60K or more.
I’d personally rather go for a C4 ZR1 or the later Ram SRT10, even if they are slower than the Viper.
The worst mark-up I ever saw was on one of the last Prowlers, a ‘Woodward Edition’ with black over red paint. It had a cool $100,000 ADM. Needless to say, it sat on the showroom floor for a long time, and the Chrysler dealer itself went belly-up not too long afterward (it’s now a Fiat dealer).
About fifteen years ago, I worked for a repo outfit out of Birmingham, AL & we got an order to pick up a wrecked Viper.
“Billy-Bob” the owner as desribed by the guys at the body shop, was your typical Alabama redneck, rough-shaven, rebel-flag, etc who ran into some money. He used it to put money down on a brand new last-generation Thunderbird. He drove the car a few months & traded it in on a new Excursion. After adding chrome/wheelz/etc. on it, he traded that in on a new red Viper. He had it about a month or two & put about 6K mies on it.
Then he put it in some farmer’s field after losing control: it screwed up the front fascia, one-piece front hood, scratched up the sides, & knocked the tire loose from the frim. He had the car towed to the body shop & just left it there without telling anyone. I snuck a peak at the papers we were given & he owed $95K on this wrecked Viper. This was due to the creditors rolling his debt from Mistakes #1 and 2 into Mistake #3.
Anyway, the guys at the body shop said the car would probably still drive so we towed it a block away to Firestone & paid them $20 to remount the tire. We both figured two hours in a Viper was worth $20! So at the request of the guys at Firestone, my partner did a huge burnout on his way out & away we went.
I got to drive it down I65 a few miles. What an experience. These things really are Supercars — I was immediately at 105mph in 3rd gear and there were three more gears left to go! I chickened out after parts in the front started making noises & flapping around. My partner…well, he was a little more brash & got in the 160mph range.
I’m thankful for getting the unforgettable opportunity to pilot one of these but never got past the ugly-factor. The stuff I already own is probably too fast for my own good anyway. Nice writeup!
“This was due to the creditors rolling his debt from Mistakes #1 and 2 into Mistake #3.”
Gotta love the American Way. Even with that credit report I bet someone also gave him a million-dollar subprime mortgage.
What an amazing story! I can’t imagine my wife driving a car like this. Though she did drive a ’90 Honda Civic SI coupe with a five speed. I taught her how to drive a manual transmission with that car. Now she is stuck driving my ’96 Mustang GT convertible, though she doesn’t really like it.
What a fun story! It reminds me a bit of my Mom. Not one to simply follow the rules, she refused to be boxed in by the expectation of others. That’s why her first car was a ’69 Road Runner 440 six pack. And why she joined the Military (in the 1970’s, no less). And had a constant stream of motorcycles up until she had us kids. Needless to say, I have a lot of admiration and respect for her. Love you Mom!
Very appropriate CC as the final Vipers are being built (or may have already been built).
I never thought the Viper was that great (if I were in the market, I would have bought a carefully optioned Corvette). In fact, something I never understood at all was why Chrysler stuck with that silly V10 engine for the Viper’s entire run. If they had been able to put one of the highest-horsepower V8 engines in a less expensive model, it would have gotten more sales, as well as a potentially better driving car that might have given the Corvette more sales competition.
Yeah, it would have been akin to the days of Chrysler terminating the 300 letter series cars in lieu of the much more mainstream non-letter 300, something that purists, to this day, decry. But it was the smart move by Chrysler for the long-term, and could have potentially saved the Viper, as well.
OTOH, the way it panned out, the Viper did, indeed, end up pretty much like a latter-day Superbird. The only difference was there was no production requirement so Chrysler could keep production low, building just enough for the very low demand.
This is one of the Koolest Klockau stories in the archives.
And look, it’s got an Acustar steering column—the same one as my ’91 and ’92 Spirits, Acclaims, and LeBarons had. Same turn signal switch, same ignition switch.
But wait, there’s more: the defogger ducts atop the dash trace their origin all the way back to the 1963 Valiant and Dart. They were used on the Dart, Valiant, and Baccaruda through ’66, then snoozed for a few years and returned on the new ’71 Dodge B-series vans, where they remained all the way up through 2003 or so—not to mention the Viper applications.
Cool cars alright Ive hardly ever seen any though one was imported to Australia and was raced in the showroom showdown standard production series it didnt really shine, plenty of power and acceleration but poor brakes and cornering ability saw it rarely on the podium, .
Still one of my favorite CCs.