You’re ready for summer, aren’t you? Not quite yet, because you don’t have this totally buck-ass wild Dodge Viper convertible in your garage. If you had to make a list of all the things you wanted for a perfect summer, surely it would include a 740-horsepower naturally-aspirated 8.3-liter V10 engine, a manual transmission, a convertible top, 345 section-width rear tires, a salvage title, and an increased chance of not living to see autumn. This car, currently on eBay, delivers all of these and more, for just under fifty grand! A bargain at twice the price, I tell you!
This Viper has lived a hard life, and it’s ready to move into your life and make it harder, too. The seller says this 2004 Viper was rear-ended in 2007, though doesn’t show any signs of that damage any longer. Sometime after that the car’s engine completely grenaded at highway speeds, scattering V10 bits every whichway. Apparently the original 500 horsepower engine wasn’t nearly enough for this Viper, as the owner had a shop build a much hotter all-motor recipe.
I hope you got your shittin’ pants on, because this engine makes an extra hot hatch worth of power more than it did before, and it’s ready to burn rubber. That’s right, a full 740 ponies are just itching to get out of that stable and head down the highway at full clip. Allegedly this engine build cost nearly $40,000 on its own, and the work was done 11,000 miles ago, so it’s properly broken in by now.
This is a twenty-year old American performance machine, and you know damn well Dodge cut some corners making this car, so it’s looking a little worse for wear, but that just adds to the charm. Being a coastal Northeast car, this Viper has a bit of surface rust, uh, everywhere, including the exhaust tips, the engine compartment, and every piece of hardware. The interior is pretty worn, the stereo system has some blown speakers, some paint and the headlights are peeling. But a $48,900 asking price and 740 horsepower dyno sheet absolves a whole lot of sins. If you were looking to have a little fun this summer, your last summer, go click the Buy It Now button. Come on, don’t be chicken.