In a crowd of Chrysler minivans, Ford Escorts, GM full-size sedans and four-cylinder imports that were starting to get surprisingly good, the Dodge Viper had all of the impact of a Tito Ortiz punch straight to the forehead. In 1989, the hottest Mopar you could buy was the V8 Shelby Dakota. A promising idea, but 175 horsepower from a 318 wasn’t cutting it then. The top dog was the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1, but under the leadership of Bob Lutz and the eye of Tom Gale, the Viper came out. With essence of the Shelby Cobra oozing out of every possible panel, aggression that hadn’t been seen from Ma Mopar since 1971 and style that trumped poster cars, the Viper didn’t just appear, it announced it’s way onto the scene with the roar of a V-10 barking from side pipes. It was a concept car come to life, a proper challenger to the Corvette, a dream car for those who wanted pure, unadulterated, barely controllable horsepower. Oh, the Viper certainly brought that to the party, all right.

Jay Leno bought into the Viper early. The 1992 run was minimal, and the 1993 model year was the first full production year. He bought the second black RT/10 produced (reportedly, Gale got the first one) and over the years, he’s kept it up and today, it’s a knockout that’s in as good of a condition that one can be in. Outside of the horsepower figures, the Viper is just as radical today as it was back in the day. Without a doubt, good purchase.