Viper a.k.a Paramole

- November 15, 2023

Last week, we looked at the fall off of Peugeot and my intention for this week's blogpost was to write about the come back of Peugeot, which I did but then I got a challenge and like Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother would say, "Challenge Accepted!". On Monday being the 13th of November, I had a lecture on the topic, 'Management of Venomous Bites and Stings' and I was really engaged in the lecture because it was interesting. A course mate of mine noticed and jokingly said that I should write about snakes for this weeks blogpost because it seemed like I loved them more than cars. So I decided to write about "Paramole", which is a Yoruba word for the viper snake.

The Dodge Viper

When it comes to making powerful cars, Dodge is one car company that does not default. It is important to know that the current fastest accelerating combustion engine vehicle in the World, is a Dodge Challenger SRT Demon which goes from 0-60mph in 1.66 seconds. Sometimes I just sit and wonder how it takes less time for a car to accelerate to 60mph than it takes for me to pee. That's how powerful Dodge engines are and the Viper is no exception. Too bad these cars have all been discontinued, thanks to so called planet saving electric vehicles.

Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 (0-60 in barely 2 seconds)

The Dodge Viper is a sports car that was manufactured by Dodge from 1992 up until 2017, going through five different generations/production years before it was discontinued. The 0-60 mph time on a Viper varies from around 3.5 to 4.5 secs, which tells you that it is a quick car for the drag strip. It's top speed ranges from 160 mph to over 200 mph depending on variant and year, which also means that if drag racing is not your thing, then you can thrash the viper on the Nürburgring in good European style racing. Fun fact is that the Dodge Viper is made to look like the head of a snake (spot this in the image below).

5th Generation Dodge Viper

The Viper was initially conceived in late 1988 to be a modern Cobra. I know right, another car named after a snake, lol. The Cobra or Shelby Cobra was the brain child of Carroll Shelby who was an American automotive designer and racing driver. Shelby is a one time winner of the grueling 24hrs of Le Mans race and has been credited for playing an important role in the Ford defeat of Ferrari also in the 24hrs of Le Mans. To know more about Shelby, I would advice you watch the movie, 'Ford VS Ferrari'.

The Original Shelby Cobra by Carroll Shelby

Carroll Shelby designed the Cobra as a car made purely for racing. A quick glance at the beauty in the image above and you would realize it was not a car for school runs or grocery shopping because it lacked all the creature comforts of a normal everyday car, it didn't even have a roof. So the plan was to make the Viper a more tamed Cobra, something you could take the kids to school in, go grocery shopping and still take to the track on race day.

The very first Dodge Viper introduced to the World was a concept or showmanship car at the North American International Auto Show in 1989 and to Dodge's surprise, the public reaction was so enthusiastic that Chief engineer Roy Sjoberg was directed to develop it as a standard production vehicle and thus the Viper was born. In true American fashion, the Viper was loud and fast. The Viper garnered a lot of loyal fanatics who till today will beat their chest and say that the Viper is America's greatest achievement, even more important than the moon landing.

First Generation Dodge Viper

The Dodge Viper is a piece of Automotive history that paved the way for many more two door sport cars, not just in America but also in Europe like the Alfa Romeo Zagato. It is very sad that the Viper has been killed off by Dodge but I know that she watches over other sport cars from car heaven. This blogpost barely scratched the surface of the Dodge Viper's history in general and I did not even write about it's racing history but that will be all for this episode.