DRIVEN: 2005 Dodge Viper SRT10

Story by Mark Atkinson
Photos by Mark Atkinson and Michael Banovsky

The Dodge Viper, in all its iterations over the last 16 years – RT/10, GTS, ACR, SRT10 – has garnered a mixed reputation by automotive journalists and enthusiasts alike thanks to the combination of massive power and ‘right now’ handling with very little else to show for it.

Since its introduction, the Viper has been at the top of the North American performance car pile; the last generation Corvette Z06 came the closest, but wasn’t quite powerful or brutal enough to knock it off its perch, while any version of the Ford Mustang – supercharged or not – was just too far away to begin with to offer any real competition.

The only real ‘homegrown’ talent to take away the crown of American Bad-Ass is the new Ford GT, which easily mixes it up with the Ferraris and Lamborghinis of this world, but hasn’t been available in Canada to this point.



So that leaves the Viper SRT10 in a curious position as the not-quite-at-the-top-but-still-somewhat-reasonably-priced-two-seat-blow-your-doors-off-sportscar, which it holds quite admirably.

While the Viper SRT10 was completely overhauled for the 2003 model year, the new look still surprises, mainly because there seem to be so few of them out there. The design certainly retained many of the original’s styling cues, however the new look really does away with the original’s dramatic curves and bulging fenders. Spend enough time poring over the second generation, and you’ll discover it really does look sharp.

The Viper badge has been updated, while the cross-hair front fascia remains. The rear lights mimic the earlier generation’s, and the rear bumper sports a working diffuser.



But really – let’s be honest here. The body panels, chassis and everything else are simply built around the SRT10’s engine, which we all know is an 8.3-litre all-aluminum, pushrod V10 that unleashes a monstrous 500 hp @ 5600 rpm and 525 lb-ft @ 4200 rpm. All that motivating force is controlled by a six-speed manual transmission geared high enough for the SRT10 to top 300 km/h, and a Dana Hydra-Lok speed-sensing limited-slip differential to try and keep the 3,410 lb two-seater pointed roughly in the correct direction.

Open the hood – conventionally this time; Dodge did away with the heavy, expensive one-piece clamshell piece from the first gen – and you’ll see those crinkle-red valve covers topping the relatively compact unit. It’s mounted very far back in the chassis to aid in weight distribution, and is thankfully not obscured by gigantic plastic shrouds, something which is de rigueur nowadays.

While the original RT/10’s side-pipes were said to produce sounds like an angry UPS truck, the SRT10’s have been tuned much more aggressively, and with even part throttle, the V10 just roars. Tunnels will soon be your friends.



Nevertheless, once you’re underway, the Viper’s reputation of biting inattentive – or just plain dumb – drivers hard is easy to understand. With so much power, a heavy shift action, and those wide front tires tram-lining all over the place, the SRT10 is certainly a ‘two-hand’ vehicle. A latte-sipping road couch it isn’t.

While those fancy computer-controlled paddle-activated sequential-shifting transmissions are usually a complete waste of time, the Viper would probably be the best candidate out there to have one offered, simply because you wouldn’t have to risk moving your arm from the steering wheel to the shifter and back again. But the added weight and complexity would completely go against the car’s ethos, so don’t count on that happening anytime soon.

Speaking of that ethos, the Viper is refreshingly free of any and all forms of traction and stability control – other than the 100-year-old ‘analog’ method of using your brain. Dodge does claim that they’ve fitted ABS, but four-piston calipers squeezing 335mm vented discs combined with the ultra-sticky 275/35 ZR-18 Michelin ZP tires (345/30 ZR19 out back) meant that they didn’t activate once in the four days I had with the SRT10.



To be honest, most of the time I drove like a grandmother, breathing gently on the throttle, shifting up early, cruising at 110 km/h with the engine lugging a tick over 1100 rpm. Two days were spent almost exclusively with the top up and the air conditioning on while touring the Niagara wine region – surprisingly, the SRT10 proved to be a decent touring companion. Never complaining or overheating, despite the near 40C days with rainforest levels of humidity, and the seats were perfectly shaped for long-distance travels.

But when those times arose when I did push the ‘go’ pedal further, the Viper was a willing companion. Too willing, in fact. There is absolutely no public place where you can morally push the SRT10 to its limits. And if you do, then suffer the consequences – you’ll get no pity from me.

While that may sound harsh, Dodge has gone and built just about the ultimate sports car; it features nothing more than it absolutely needs, including all those creature comforts that you can now find on sub-$20K economy sedans.

The car’s biggest departure comes in the form of its roof. It is a conventional convertible with a manual fabric top rather than the older one’s targa-style afterthought. While it’s not a complex system, the major gripe comes from needing to have the trunk open to raise or lower the top, which means lots of gymnastics getting in and out over the wide (and usually roasting hot) sill to go al fresco. Once either fitted or stored, the roof is clean and unobtrusive; it’s the transition that grates.



As a competition vehicle, the Viper would probably be overwhelmed by a typical Solo 2 event – it’s too wide and fairly unsuited to the domain of tiny and nimble Miatas and Civics. Something that allows it to stretch its legs would be more appropriate. For those really serious about getting a Viper race car, Dodge does offer a Competition Coupe version, which really is a factory-made ground-up racing version, one of which you can see regularly competing in the CASC-OR Ontario Challenge Cup, not to mention the hordes on the grid at every SPEED World Challenge GT event.

At any rate, there will certainly be two types of Viper SRT10 buyers: those who find it to be the best combination of power, balance and brutality at half the price of its competition, and those who simply want to spend $127,000 to pose and look good driving down Yonge Street.

Either way, it’ll make you a hit at parties; one ‘gentleman’ who I let sit in the driver’s seat nearly offered me his first-born in thanks and couldn’t stop mentioning that it had been the greatest moment of his life. While I suspect a heavy dose of alcohol was involved, it certainly helps prove just how many fanatics there are for whom the Viper will always be the ultimate in anti-PC sports cars.