In the late 80s, Dodge was perceived by the US public as being outdated and unglamorous. It did not boast much of an international reputation either. To rejuvenate the Dodge brand image, the Viper concept car was designed and presented at the 1989 Detroit Auto Show.

The enthusiastic welcome urged the manufacturer to launch production. The Viper immediately became a symbol of the modern American sports car, a reincarnation of the legendary muscle cars of a bygone age. The spartan interior with big dials focused attention on the performance of the aluminium 8-litre V10 engine producing 450 horsepower. Less than four seconds were needed to accelerate from 0 to 100 kph (62 mph), and 13.8 seconds to reach 200 kph (124 mph). American automotive designer and former racing driver Carroll Shelby – the creator of the mythical Shelby Cobra – was brought in to work on the Dodge Viper. This proved to be a smart choice that gave the Viper the bite to slay rival sports cars.

The first production model, the Viper RT/10, was followed by a variant, the Viper GTS. Whereas the Viper RT/10 was a short convertible roadster with a sharp rear end, the GTS was a hard-roofed coupé with more rounded lines. Although clearly inspired by the Cobra Daytona of the 60s, the Dodge Viper GTS embodied the spirit of renewal. And usually dressed in a blue livery with bold white stripes, it certainly stood out from the crowd.

The Viper RT/10 and GTS were genuine road-legal sports cars. It therefore came as a surprise to no-one when they were converted to the race track, especially at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 1994 running of the legendary race saw two Dodge Viper RT/10s on the grid, entered by Rent-A-Car Racing Team/Luigi Racing. The #40, with René Arnoux, Bertrand Balas and Justin Bell at the wheel, finished in 12th place – a performance that did not go unnoticed on the other side of the Atlantic. The decision was taken to produce the Chrysler Viper GTS-R, a race version of the GTS. The car, developed by French outfit Oreca with support from Dodge’s parent company, Chrysler, proved to be a fantastic success capped by outright wins in the 24-hour races at Daytona, Spa-Francorchamps and Nürburgring. The Viper was never in a position to battle for overall victory at Le Mans, but did take the GT2-class title three years in a row from 1998 to 2000.

The @TI_Racing Viper GTS-R SRT is at Le Mans.Tingles,as the arrival of the American car is highly anticipated #lemans pic.twitter.com/rgFvQ7oSOd

— 24hours_Live (@24hours_Live) June 8, 2015

A second-generation Viper was introduced in 2003, and a third generation ten years later. Although the SRT Viper produced since 2013 has not met with commercial success, race versions did appear in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2013 and 2015.

Geoffroy Barre
Translated from French by David Goward

Photo: The first Dodge Viper coupé was the GTS, pictured here in its iconic blue livery with white stripes. Its aerodynamics were very similar to the GTS-R, three-times GT2 class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans at the end of the last century.