It’s been over seven years since the world waved goodbye to the Dodge Viper and its Texas-sized V10 engine. Despite that, though, somebody bought a brand new one in 2024. Hang on, what?
Yes, Dodge has just released its US sales figures for the year just gone, and among some much-needed positive news for the Stellantis-owned brand (sales of the Durango were up by 40 per cent, and the Alfa Romeo Tonale-based Hornet by some 120 per cent) were some curiosities.
Dodge Viper – engine bay
Namely, someone bought a third-gen Viper that had been sitting in a dealer somewhere since the second half of 2017 at the very latest, Viper production having wrapped up in July of that year. According to Jalopnik, the car was sold in the first quarter of last year, although where and to whom we don’t know.
What we do know is that the third and final iteration of the Viper, launched in 2013, was an absolute beast. Powered by a frankly hilarious 8.4-litre V10, the biggest-capacity engine fitted to any postwar road car, in standard SRT guise it churned out 645bhp and 600lb ft of torque, all channelled through a six-speed manual. This allowed it to hit 60mph in around 3.4 seconds, and a top speed of 206mph.
Dodge Viper – rear
It’s hard to imagine a car like this still having unsold examples sitting around for years after production ended, but it’s a recurring theme with the Viper, small handfuls of which remained sitting in dealers for years after production ended. In fact, 2024 represented a dramatic 50 per cent decline in sales for the car, after a grand total of two were sold in 2023.
It’s also not the only front-engined V10 supercar to experience this phenomenon: the Lexus LFA went out of production in 2012, but a previously unregistered one was sold in Australia as recently as 2023.
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