[1]In the early 1990s, Chrysler was feeling reinvigorated from a decade of awesome sales following a government bailout and the rise of the K-car. It gave the Pentastar a chance to build the Dodge Viper, an American supercar far more potent than the C4 Corvette that was overdue for replacement. So we’re not sure if this next car is a tribute, or an insult to the Viper, but it certainly is something.
Carscoops [2] came across this Craigslist posting from Miami offering up for sale a rare and not-at-all-collectible Dodge Viper replica kit car based on the C4 Corvette. We’re not sure if this car is ironic, sad, or a genuine tribute to one of the fastest Chrysler vehicles ever built.
On one hand, basing a replica kit car on the C4 Corvette is kind of brilliant; it is modern enough to have fuel injection and digital gauges, but plentiful and cheap enough to buy a good runner for well under $10,000. To buy an actual Viper, even an older (circa 1996) model is going to cost between $35,000 and $45,000, or about the same price as a nice new entry level BMW.
But the asking price for this Viper wannabe is only $11,000, less than a third of the cost of the real deal. Plus insurance will be a lot lower too, though don’t expect Viper-like performance, or to just drive away in your Corviper. The car needs a tune-up at the very least, and the tired 700R4 automatic takes all the fun out of shifting. But if you must have a car you can call a “sort-of” Viper in your garage, this might be your best bet.