Connecticut Man Refuses To Part With His 1995 Dodge Viper RT/10 for $40,500, Smart Move?

Things got better when the second-gen car was introduced in 1996, but it was the original that earned itself a genuine cult following. Newer models were superior, on paper, but that doesn’t necessarily make them more desirable from a collector’s standpoint. Today, people are willing to pay extra for the “chance” to wipe out accidentally due to a lack of electronic aids.

What’s amazing, as far as I’m concerned, is that you don’t need to sell an arm and a leg to purchase a used first-gen Viper. They’re actually quite affordable, even the ones with relatively low mileage (like a few thousand miles). Say you had $50,000 to spend – that'll land you a smoking hot Viper, although if you want true mint condition, you might have to increase your budget by about $20,000.

Anyway, there are plenty of nice sub-$50k ones too, and mid-to-high $30k examples have been making the rounds as of late. Case in point, this 1995 Viper Red example with 6,700 miles on the clock. It was up for grabs at auction until recently, when the seller decided he had enough and pulled the listing after the reserve didn’t get met.

The highest bid went all the way to $40,500, but the man (let’s call him Donnie, since that’s his username) clearly believed his Viper was worth more.

Exterior highlights include the previously mentioned colorway, fog lights, a removable rear window, zip-up vinyl side windows, a tonneau cover, those iconic side-exit exhaust outlets, plus a set of silver 17” tri-spoke alloy wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport rubber and vented disc brakes. Mind you, this car does not come with ABS, which is both cool and frightening at the same time.

Meanwhile, inside is where you’ll find the Quartz leather bucket seats, a matching dashboard, center console, and door panels, plus air conditioning, an AM/FM stereo, and a three-spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel, featuring one of the sportiest designs ever gripped by human hands.

As for what’s going on underneath that gigantic, forward-opening clamshell hood, that’s where you’ll find the 8.0-liter V10, not to mention Bob Lutz’s signature on both the power unit and the engine bay.

On paper, this engine is supposed to send 400 horsepower and 465 lb-ft (630 Nm) of torque to the rear wheels via a Tremec T-56 six-speed manual gearbox. As long as you’re able to put the power down, you should be hitting 60 mph in about 4.6 seconds, before maxing out at 165 mph (266 kph).