1995 Dodge Viper

RT10 Convertible

8.0 V-10

Manual

1B3BR65E9SV201540

Clear

GAS

At any given time there are around 125 Dodge Vipers for sale on eBay. Most are great cars that have been lovingly maintained, carefully driven and are very worthy of your consideration, if you are in the market for this tremendously powerful sports car. But my car is most probably unique from any on sale here -- and that makes it one-of-a-kind. I am a former Chrysler executive. I was member of the team that launched this classic American sports car back in the early 1990s. One of the perks of the job was the ability to order a Viper and detail it in a way that was never available to dealers or the general public. Here’s the story of my Viper. It is a one-owner car that has spent its entire life in Michigan. However, most of its 11,500 miles were clocked in the West. We enjoyed the car in three journeys throughout Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and California. It was well exercised, carefully driven (minus one incident explained later) and always maintained in top working condition. The last of these journeys was three years ago, and we ended that trip with a great weekend at the Monterey Historics/Pebble Beach Concours weekend. It’s now raring to go for many other great adventures. Today, the car is driven only on weekends in the spring and summer when the weather is nice. It has never seen a salty road, and there is not a speck of rust on the undercarriage. The car is stored in a heated garage in the winter with a battery maintainer, all service is performed by trained technicians at a dealership, and is well detailed. ENGINE: Unmodified 8.0-liter V-10 in perfect running condition. The oil has always been changed at regular intervals; synthetic oil is the only oil that has ever been used. The engine pulls like a freight train and is a real torque monster. The muted woofle from the side pipes is unlike any car and is simply a joy to listen to. She runs beautifully. There is no reason why you couldn’t fly to Detroit and drive the car home to any address in the United States, save Hawaii. The engine compartment is beautifully detailed. TRANSMISSION: The six-speed manual transmission shifts as new. The transmission and clutch have never been abused and there are no issues. SUSPENSION/BRAKES: The suspension and brakes are stock and work perfectly. No maintenance is needed. However, here iswhat is so special about this Viper… INTERIOR: My car was built with the standard grey leather interior but working with one of the four Viper “fathers,” Chrysler Design VP Tom Gale, we changed the stock leather into a much richer and more unique black leather with yellow “baseball” stitching that matches the exterior of the car. The one-of-kind upholstery was made by the original supplier to the Viper, so it fits perfectly. However, we didn’t stop with the seats but also wrapped the steering wheel and shift knob in this same unique color combination. The interior condition is excellent. The original instrument panel and door surfaces were sprayed with a low-gloss paint for a good appearance. Mine has some scratches in the area of the driver inside door handle as this area is the highest contact surface on the entire car as it is used not only every time one exits the car but when one enters as well (remember, there are no exterior handles). BODY: I have been careful to keep my car in the best condition possible. There are a few road nicks that inalterably come from 18 years of being on the road and there was one incident during one of the western trips when a friend driving the car missed seeing oil on a mountain pass hairpin. He slid off the road at low speed and kissed the inside of a rock formation. I could have easily straightened the front facia brace and just repaired and repainted the facia but chose to install a new brace and also paint the entire clamshell hood so that there was a perfect match. The frame was not harmed in any way. There are two sets of side windows – one the original zip plastic ones, and I also later acquired a set of the sliding Plexiglas windows. The soft top is original and sits in the garage assembled as I only drive the car on sunny days. The safety spare has never left the trunk. There is only one area that will require some future work. The first generation Vipers, over time, have the potential to develop a breakdown of the sill exhaust insulation due to the high heat load. This is the case with the driver’s side of my car. (The passenger side is perfect, as detailed in the photos.) There are four small round areas where there is some insulation “weeping.” One of the photos in the package shows this. However, this has been this way for the last two years and has not gotten worse, so I would envision a number more years of regular use before necessitated repair. ANOTHER ONE-OF-A-KIND: Upon opening the trunk lid, there are over 100 signatures in gold ink of everyone working in the Viper assembly facility on Mack Avenue in Detroit the day my car came off the line. I do not believe there is another Viper signed in this manner. So there you have it. I don’t think you are going to find a more unique first-generation Viper in this condition for anywhere near what you can buy this car for. The reserve is very sensible and well in the range of what similar Vipers of this year, mileage and condition usually sell for. If you’ve always promised yourself that you’d own a first-generation Viper, why not make it really special and go for this one? I am happy to answer questions you might have about my car. I will make the car available for personal inspections and test drives by qualified, serious buyers. International bidders are welcome and I will work with the winning bidder on shipping. If your feedback score is less than 100 percent or if you have no feedback at all, I would ask that you contact me first before bidding. There is going to be a reasonable deposit required after the auction ends, and all funds will clear before the car is released. My Viper has been a fantastic car, a real joy to own and a thrill to drive. I will be happy to share some unique stories about where the car has been and what it’s done. The incident is a good one in particular. Even that adds to unique history of the car. Thanks for looking at my auction.