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2008 Dodge Viper SRT10
2008 Dodge Viper SRT10


Base Price: $83,895

As tested: $89,045

8.4L, 600HP, V10

12 city/21 highway

More info:
www.dodge.com/viper



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The Dodge Viper, which debuted in the early 1990s, has always been a terrifying looking beast. And now the fine folks at Dodge have ramped up the fright factor with a bigger hood scoop, more dramatic heat-dissipating vents and some truly intimidating, funky new colors (our fave is Snakeskin Green). It comes in hardtop and no top, but the latter looks nowhere near as classic and it just might tear the hair out of your head at its top speed of 200 mph. This car is not for everyone. And that's a good thing, because if it were, pedestrians everywhere would be walking around in awe and fear.

This has to be of least concern to anyone buying this fanged monster. On the upside, there are two huge speakers between the front seats, which you can actually hear because the cockpit is unexpectedly quiet. You can also choose from five cool interior colors. On the downside, the racing seats confine the shoulders a bit and visibility out of the rear view mirror is limited.

When are 510 horses not enough? When you can get 600. That ridiculous round number in the 2008 8.4-liter V10 Viper will pound your friends into complete submission, which is what it's all about anyway. We were surprised at how balanced the rear-wheel drive, front-mounted power plant, six-speed manual supercar was careening around the winding Virginia International Raceway. And as for pure power? We wanted to get checked for internal bleeding after our rocket ride around the track (zero to 60 in less than four seconds). The best part? At about $84K for the base model, it has to have one of the best horsepower-to-dollar ratios ever.

-- by John D. Thomas

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