The ad for today’s Nice Price or No Dice Viper claims the custom-bodied car needs some TLC, which conceivably makes it an imperfect 10. Let’s find out if it’s worth the effort at its asking price.
BMW has been in the business of making road-going vehicles for over 100 years, having introduced the R 32 motorrad (motorcycle) at the Berlin Motor Show in 1923. Automobile production followed five years after that with the arrival of a license-built edition of the British Austin 7. It would take the company another 60 years before building the 1988 535i we looked at and lusted over yesterday. Well preserved and still engaging, that Bimmer seemed well worth the wait. It did not, however, seem worth its $23,900 asking price. At least not, according to those of you who voted it down in a 62 percent No Dice loss.
If we all accept that yesterday’s E28 is, by virtue of its maker’s claims, the “Ultimate Driving Machine,” then in what manner are we to classify today’s 1995 Dodge Viper RT/10? It’s the ultimate something; I just can’t put my finger on what.
This Viper has only 28,560 miles under its black belt if the ad is to be believed. That low count is possibly owed to the car having spent some of its time getting all dolled up, both inside and out. All that work seems to have its plusses and minuses. An already expressive design, its bodywork has been made even more so by way of a louvered clamshell hood and a deep chin spoiler. It has resulted in something that looks like the lovechild of Darth Vader and Anthrax’s Scott Ian. Admittedly, that work—and the car overall—appears to be solid, wearing deep black paint that at a glance seems to be without flaw. Laudably, the car also still wears its factory tri-spoke alloy wheels.
More mods have been made in the Viper’s cabin. There, the normally matte finish dashboard has been given a high gloss sheen above what looks to be red ostrich skin wrapping into the footwells, door cards, seats, and console. We have to assume that’s a dye job and not off of some sort of uber-rare red ostrich that gave up its skin for this car’s interior. Just like with the exterior, the work here seems to have been professionally done and still holding up.
As for the mechanicals, the only mods noted in the ad are a set of custom headers and an exhaust that routes out the back instead of burning ankles down the sides. Nothing looks out of place under the hood, nor does it appear to have been neglected.
According to the seller, the reason for the sale of such a unique Viper is that they “no longer have the time, resources or desire and am ready to let her go.” The ad offers the suggestion to “Buy this beauty, give it a little tlc and flip at Mecum Auctions.” What is actually needed for the “tlc” goes undisclosed, but it does come with a clean title and the boast of having won the “American Lung Association ‘Viewer’s Choice,’ 2009 Cars for the Cure, in Colonial TownPark in Heathrow, Florida” That’s quite the kudos. The price tag for this “one of a kind MOPAR Muscle car” is $26,400.
That asking marks this as one of the cheapest running and driving first-gen Vipers on the market. Naturally, that begs the question: why has it been up on Craigslist for over two weeks now? You’ll just have to consider that conundrum when laying down your vote. Is there enough to go on in the Viper’s ad to give that $26,400 asking price the thumbs up? Or is there more to this snake’s story than we are being told?
You decide!
Space Coast, Florida, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to RevUnlimiter for the hookup!
Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up at [email protected] and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.
