Two goals drove the 2003 Dodge Viper to its numerical bragging rights of 500 horsepower, 500 pounds-feet of torque and 505 cubic inches of engine displacement: 1) Getting to 100 mph as fast as possible. And then 2) getting back down to 0 mph even faster.The previous Viper made the round trip in 14.5 seconds. The new one should do it in 13.2 seconds.
Improvements to the low-volume sportscar didn't stop there: The new Viper is more aerodynamic, more refined, quieter, quicker, and better handling than the original, which went on sale in December 1991. It even has a cup holder. But the Viper has not been transformed into a sissy: Dodge says it tuned this car for the guy who likes to rip huge pieces of pavement out as he goes around a corner. It still makes the raunchy noises that side-exhaust Vipers did from 1991 to 1996.