You Can Buy An OG Dodge Viper For The Price Of A New WRX

What car did you have on a poster as a kid? Chances are it was Modenese, or from Sant’Agata, or even Stuttgart. For a number of reasons, Europe has historically dominated the world of high-performance icons, producing such machinery as the Ferrari Testarossa, Lamborghini Countach, and Porsche 911 Turbo. However, in the early 1990s, America gave the world an all-time great. There will never be another car quite like the original Dodge Viper, an all-American take on a mass-produced supercar.

Sure, the Viper might not have its engine behind the driver, and it might not be made of carbon fiber, but are you going to tell it that? We’re talking about a minimalistic slab of all-American beef that sported biblical performance, developed an unforgiving, spine-snapping reputation, and paired the exotic nature of having more than eight cylinders with 488 cubic inches of good ol’ displacement.

Add in the fact that the Viper had its own TV show, and it’s no surprise this entity of speed became an icon. However, unlike a Lamborghini or a Ferrari of the period, you won’t be forking out brand new luxury car money on a 30-year-old supercar. In fact, you can still buy a Viper for the price of a new Subaru WRX, rendering this dream car still within reach.

What Are We Looking At?

Back in 1988, then-Chrysler president Bob Lutz approached head of styling Tom Gale with an idea — what if Chrysler was to make a modern Cobra? Something extreme, something out there, little more than a massive engine under compound curves with virtually no concessions to creature comfort. The result was a concept car that instantly ignited desire, leading to one path only — just build the damn thing. With then-Chrysler subsidiary Lamborghini on engine development and a small team in charge of the rest of the car, the Viper was born on a shoestring budget of $70 million.

The result? One of the greatest dream cars of all time. We’re talking 400 horsepower and 465 lb.-ft. of torque, that’s more power than than the Porsche 911 turbo of the time and more torque than a Lamborghini Diablo. Oh, and it all came from big cubes, thanks to an eight-liter V10 up front, and the lack of side windows, exterior door handles, air conditioning, ABS, and airbags meant that the stripped-out Viper RT/10 was one of the quickest, fastest, most insane production cars available for 1992. Indeed, Car And Driver lit the fuse and clicked off a 13.2-second quarter-mile pass when the original Viper was new. That’s not super shocking by today’s standards, but what is shocking is the magazine’s report of reasonably mannered handling, considering these early Vipers are known as widowmakers.

During our test on California Route 33’s fast sweeps north of Ojai, the big car felt secure, and predictable for the most part. It is nicely balanced, with a little polite understeer most of the time, and the Michelin XGT-Zs’ breakaway is not particularly sudden. Aside from initial steering response that at first seems a bit abrupt, there is no trick to making this car do what you want. It even rides well, with minimal harshness and a sense of tremendous structural rigidity.

Which is not to pretend that no one will fall behind a Viper and be bitten. The engine makes so much power and the tires generate so much grip that the car can work up tremendous speed without sweat or drama, and that could prove deceptive. High limits, once they’re exceeded, mean big trouble.

Indeed, the worst trait Car And Driver picked up on was tramlining from the huge tires, and inexperience combined with huge-for-the-time speeds and tramlining could certainly catch out unwary drivers. However, that only fuelled the Viper’s poster car reputation, although in the years since, it may have also worked to depress pricing.

How Much Are We Talking?

Let’s start with the 2024 WRX everyone actually wants — the enthusiast-focused TR model. With Recaro seats, retuned suspension, Brembo brakes, and a price tag of $42,775 including freight, it’s as close to a new STI as you can get for now, but it isn’t even the most expensive WRX on sale. While you probably aren’t scoring a first-year 1992 car for that sort of money, it’s downright easy to score a later original Viper RT/10 for well under this price cap, such as this 41,000-mile 1994 RT/10 model that sold for $37,000 on Bring A Trailer. With a clean Carfax, the only catch for this one is that it’s located in Canada, but as a 1994 U.S.-spec car, repatriation wouldn’t be too hard.

Alright, so let’s say you’re looking for something that’s already in the lower 48. How about this yellow 1995 Viper RT/10 that hammered for $35,750 on Cars & Bids back in August? Sure, it might have 46,500 miles on the clock and a rather distinctive color combination, but if that’s your sort of thing, this sure looks like a ton of car for the money.

Alright, let’s say you’re shooting closer to the top of the market, looking at a low-mileage car with all the big maintenance items done. Well, this 4,000-mile 1993 Viper RT/10 hammered for $42,000 on Bring A Trailer earlier this year, and while the wheels could use a respray to their original silver, the bill sheets look all up to date. A likely headache-free Viper for $775 less than a new WRX TR seems like a solid proposition, but in case you aren’t looking at something with this level of history, what could go awry?

What Could Go Wrong On An Original Dodge Viper?

Well, there’s the chance you could wrap it around a tree, and the possibility of theft from the cabin since the original Viper doesn’t even have exterior door handles, but let’s focus on mechanicals for now. Surprisingly, these cars are known to be robust, as even some of the teething issues on early cars turned out to not be world-ending ordeals. For instance, weak head gaskets.

Yes, early Vipers did develop a reputation for occasional head gasket failure due to degradation of the original composite head gaskets, but plenty of owners report being able to simply replace the gaskets with multi-layer steel ones without having to resurface the block or the head. What’s more, Gen 1 Viper head bolts weren’t torque-to-yield, meaning they’re reusable. Want a pro to tackle the job? Expect 8.8 hours of billable labor, around $500 for a new pair of multi-layer steel head gaskets that solve the issue once and for all, and $150 or so for new intake manifold and exhaust manifold gaskets. Alternatively, all the gaskets you need are available in a $624.90 bundle from Viper Specialty Performance.

A more common failure is a loose harmonic balancer. The bolt holding this special pulley onto the crankshaft is known to come loose, so it’s a good thing to replace preventatively rather than once it’s already failed. A new SFI-rate ATE harmonic balancer is $370.95 from Summit Racing, a new bolt is $35 from Viper Parts Depot, and labor is a reasonable 2.2 hours.

So far, these expenses don’t seem particularly supercar-like, but there is one that’ll make your wallet tremble, and that’s a set of replacement tires. We’re talking massive 335/35R17 steamrollers out back and sizeable 275/40R17 units up front. Currently, only Michelin makes replacement sets that aren’t effectively slicks, and a new set of Pilot Sport 2s in early Viper sizing lists for $1,696.12 on Tire Rack. Ouch. Still, in the world of exotic cars, if that’s your biggest routine expense, that’s not too bad, right?

Should You Buy A Dodge Viper For Subaru WRX Money?

Look, a first-generation Viper isn’t a car for everyone. It’s not refined, it’s not economical, it actively wants to burn you if you aren’t careful getting in and out, and when things go wrong, they go wrong quickly. However, if you find most of those things endearing rather than diabolical, yes, buy one, so long as you keep a slush fund around for tires and head gaskets.

The first-generation Viper RT/10 is more than just an icon, it’s as close as an exotic car gets to being a car of the people. Because of its relatively robust nature and fearsome reputation, it’s still within reach of mere mortals to buy and run. Although quicker cars are out there for the money, we often buy cars for the experience, and driving an original Viper is simply unforgettable.

(Photo credits: Bring A Trailer, Cars & Bids)

Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.

• This Classic BMW 325i Has A Freaking Waterfall In The Trunk

• This Humble 12-Year-Old Mercedes-Benz GLK Crossover Just Sold For A Whopping $38,000

• Can’t Wait For The New Scouts? You Can Buy A Classic Scout For Less Than $20,000

• Someone Just Sold A Pontiac Sunfire On Fancy Car Auction Site ‘Bring A Trailer’

• Here’s Why You Probably Shouldn’t Buy A Cheap McLaren 12C

Got a hot tip? Send it to us here. Or check out the stories on our homepage.