FINAL-YEAR VIPERS: Two very special low-mileage examples poised to strike in Las Vegas

September 4, 2019
Posted by Barrett-Jackson

Written by independent automotive journalist Tom Jensen

Two low-mileage Dodge Vipers from the last year of production are headed to Las Vegas: Lot #767 (top), a GTC, and Lot #757, a GTC ACR.

Under the hood of Lot #757: the 8.4-liter V10 engine.

When you talk about iconic American high-performance cars, the Dodge Viper is certainly at or near the very top of the list. Championed by former Chrysler president and high-performance enthusiast Bob Lutz (aka “Maximum Bob”) in the late 1980s and approved for production by then-Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca in May 1990, the Viper was Chrysler’s take on a contemporary version of Carroll Shelby’s original Cobra from 1962.

The recipe for the Viper in broad terms was pretty much like that of the first Cobras: Stick a big engine in a lightweight chassis topped with a roadster body, give it two bucket seats and a stick shift, make it fast and thrilling to drive, and then go haul asphalt on the street or on the track. In fact, so true was the Viper to the original Shelby philosophy that Carroll Shelby himself agreed to be the pace-car driver in the 1991 Indianapolis 500, where he piloted a bright red Viper roadster.

The Viper’s legendary performance capabilities have made it an instant classic and highly prized among collectors. Naturally, because Vipers have a huge enthusiast following, you’ll find some beautiful examples of them for sale at the Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas Auction, Oct. 3-5 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

The two Vipers presented here, like the overwhelming majority of cars at all Barrett-Jackson auctions, will be sold at No Reserve, meaning they will go to the highest bidder, regardless of the dollar amount of the final bid. Serious Viper fans should take note of these rare and special cars.

First, a quick history lesson. Dodge and its parent company Chrysler produced five generations of Vipers between 1991 and 2017, all two-seaters, all with V10 powerplants, ranging from 400 horsepower in ’91 to 645 ponies in the final year of production. At various times, Vipers were produced as roadsters or coupes or both. Regardless of body style, all Vipers were equipped with their V10s mounted in front of the cockpit but well back of the nose for excellent balance front to rear. And every Viper featured rear-wheel drive.

Both Vipers featured here are from 2017, the final year of Viper production, and they each are very unique.

The first is a 2017 Viper ACR coupe (Lot #757), with ACR standing for American Club Racer. This Viper model was a street-legal sports car built for maximum on-track performance. Power comes from an 8.4-liter V10 engine that pushes 645 horsepower through a 6-speed manual transmission. The key features that differentiate a Viper ACR from other Viper models are all performance-related.

This car comes with something Dodge called the ACR Extreme Aero package, which generates incredible amounts of downforce through the combination of a massive rear wing, rear diffuser, fender vents, detachable front splitter and front dive planes. The ACR Extreme Aero rear wing is so big that it cuts the Viper’s top speed from 206 miles per hour to 177 mph. But the tradeoff is it produces 1,720 pounds of aerodynamic downforce on the rear of the car. That allows the Viper ACR to corner at more than 1.5 Gs, a truly astonishing level of grip.

Lot #767, a GTS Blue stunner, has less than 20 actual miles on its odometer.

And that’s just for starters. The ACR package also includes special 10-position setting suspension and Kumho Ecsta high-performance tires unique to the ACR package. There’s also an SRT carbon-fiber hood, lightweight battery, finned differential cover, Brembo/Viper carbon-ceramic matrix brakes with red calipers, specially built Bilstein racing shock absorbers, carbon-fiber structural X-brace, extreme brake duct work and exterior carbon-fiber package.

The interior sports the full ACR package in black high-grip Alcantara leather seats with Header Red stitching, carbon-fiber black interior accents and a Harman Kardon 18-speaker high-performance audio system.

The most interesting part of this car, though, might be something Dodge did for the Viper’s final year of production. The company launched a bespoke program called “1 of 1” that allowed buyers to choose from 80,000 different exterior paint colors, 24,000 hand-painted stripes, 16 interior packages, 10 different sets of wheels and seven aero packages, among myriad other choices. Viper buyers worked with an individual Dodge concierge to come up with the specs for his or her 2017 Viper. Once those specs were submitted for production, no one else could build a Viper with the exact same specific colors and options.

This 2017 Viper has just 395 actual miles from new and is in pristine condition, having spent its life in a climate-controlled collection. When it was assembled, all the factory employees who hand-built the Viper signed the trunk lid at the factory. The sale includes two 4-inch by 6-inch custom color sample panels with paint codes, mini Speed Shapes from the Viper concierge team and prefix coatings, which were used for the final color approval, and a Speed Form painted with the exact custom color.

The Viper ACR delivers true supercar performance: According to the Sports Car Club of America, Viper ACRs hold more than a dozen track speed records at road course venues in the United States.

Also selling at No Reserve at Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas will be a gorgeous 2017 Dodge Viper GTC coupe (Lot #767); this one virtually brand-new, as it has less than 20 actual miles on the odometer. It still has the protective plastic seat covers on the twin bucket seats.

A look inside the cockpit of Lot #757, which features a GTS Laguna interior package.

With custom GTS Blue paint and factory white stripes, along with Rattler Black Viper wheels, this 2017 Viper looks just as good as it runs. Options include an aerodynamic front and rear spoiler/splitter package, plus the stylish GTS Laguna interior package.

These cars were legendary for their performance: A 2017 Viper could bust off 0-to-60 mph times of about 3.5 seconds and traverse a quarter-mile drag strip in 11.5 seconds or so at about 130 mph. And given that Vipers are no longer in production, their rarity is ensured. These are legendary automobiles, ready to be driven and enjoyed by new owners.

Remember, these highly desirable 2017 Dodge Vipers will sell at No Reserve at the Barrett-Jackson Las Vegas Auction, Oct. 3-5. Don’t miss out on your chance to own one or both of these iconic American sports cars.

For up-to-date information on these and other vehicles on the 2019 Las Vegas Auction preview docket (with more vehicles being added daily), click HERE.