2001 Dodge Viper Review

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Review:

You don't so much drive a Viper as wear it; it's a four-wheeled codpiece, the ultimate extension of machismo.

For those looking to spin their tires and turn some heads, it's hard to find anything else that competes--certainly not for the price. "For my money, you can't buy a better car, certainly nothing faster," is how comedian, car collector and longtime Viper aficionado Jay Leno sums things up. And the long-running popularity of the original roadster--now the oldest passenger car in the entire Chrysler line-up--suggests there are plenty of "common" folk who would readily agree.

Those considering the menacing Dodge sports car should be aware up front that the Viper is a brute but charming anachronism in a world where high-tech has become the watchword, even for the "purest" of high-performance products. Chrysler's big V-10 roadster often is compared to its cross-town rival, the Chevrolet Corvette. But Chevy's latest sports car incarnation is a miracle of modern computer science. Microprocessors oversee every turn of the drivetrain. Grudgingly, the Viper team conceded the fight and accepted the addition of anti-lock brakes, but stability and traction control remain verboten on the low-slung Dodge.