The Viper is a steely eyed squint, a duster pulled back to reveal a Colt .45. It isn't so much a challenge, as a preemptive strike to would-be challengers.Dodge has changed nothing in the Viper's final year, except to add new color choices. Charcoal seems to be the in shade for 2002, and accordingly the Viper roadster and coupe have both added Graphite Metallic to their pallet. The coupe offers the additional option of silver stripes. Those stripes, of course, are homage to the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe; the Viper GTS is the spiritual successor to that car. If you grew up thinking the Shelby coupe was the coolest-looking machine on the planet, then the Viper GTS should light your fire. Stoke that fire further by looking under the hood. Tubular headers and cast-aluminum intake runners appear race-worthy. Even the engine block is a work of art. Its massively deep-skirted design, with six-bolt main bearings, seems clearly intended for racing, despite its prosaic origins. (The Viper's aluminum 8.0-liter V10 is based on the cast-iron Dodge Ram truck engine.) The six-lug wheel hubs may create the impression that the Viper has a one-ton payload capacity, but massive amounts of torque and Indy car-sized contact patches call for serious reinforcement.
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