Awesome one-of-10 Viper Daytona 91 for sale
Live out your Gran Turismo 3 fantasies for real with this limited-edition Viper
In just the two decades or so of the 21st century, there have been some fantastically successful American sportscar racers. Corvette Racing was founded in 1999, and since then it’s won at Le Mans eight times, Daytona four times, and been crowned American Le Mans Series champion 10 times. As for Cadillac, it’s won championships with two generations of CTS, an ATS, and the incredible DPi-V.R. Plus, of course, no discussion like this would be complete without mentioning the Dodge Viper. When the first roadster was revealed more than 30 years ago, it didn’t scream racer, even with an 8.0-litre engine. But as it morphed into the GTS coupe, and various race teams got to developing it, so considerable success followed: there were overall victories at the Nurburgring, Spa and Daytona, plus series titles and class triumphs from Brazil to Japan. According to Wikipedia, between 1996 and 2005, a Viper GTS-R competed in 262 races - winning 163 of them.
And when you think about motorsport Vipers, they might look a bit like this one, right? Red paint, white stripes, the cross-spoke BBS and the Team Oreca livery. The Gran Turismo Viper, for want of a better phrase. But this car is no mere homage or faithful recreation; instead it’s a limited-edition GTS, one called the Daytona 91.
See, when a GTS-R took first place at Daytona in 2000, it was more significant than just a win at one of the world’s most famous 24-hour endurance races. The Viper’s success marked the first time an American production car had won the event, an achievement that couldn’t go uncelebrated. Therefore 10 Daytona 91s were made (91 being the race number) with a host of cool motorsport bits, including an adjustable rear wing, the new front end with driving lights, the bonnet louvre, a chunky rear diffuser (before diffusers were cool) and a couple of racy bits inside. It retained a cabin dull enough to make you weep, but there was a plaque. So that’s something.
Furthermore, this particular 91 got a few additional upgrades a few years into its life from Woodhouse Dodge, the dealer that built and sold all 10. They included engine modifications - including a new cam, ported heads and a lighter flywheel - that ought to help the big lump rev a bit, new exhaust headers to give it some more voice, upgraded brakes, adjustable suspension bits and some proper motorsport changes, including harness and an extinguisher. It would seem someone was intent on driving this GTS just like the race car it celebrated - good on them.
Not that they used it much, mind. The second owner (the one who commissioned the above mods) bought it from Woodhouse 20 years ago and it seems like the Viper has been in Europe ever since – one of two that are on this continent, apparently. Yet since 2001, fewer than 12,000 miles have been covered. Hardly like a Viper will make them pass in forgettable fashion, but that’s still a very small number. All the more reason for the next owner to add to the tally, assuming they can foot the fuel bill. It’s recently been serviced and MOT’d, with four fresh Toyo R888Rs to help with getting that formidable power to the road. Still looks in flawless condition, too; the passage of time has done nothing to dim the impact of a big red Viper.
The asking price is £160k, with the private plate available by a separate negotiation. Which you’re probably going to want. Predictably, that’s more than will be asked for ‘regular’ coupes, but then it’s a vanishingly rare car even in its homeland, let alone the UK. It’ll surely receive attention and love like a car worth many times its cost, which might be all the Viper justification required. That and the livery, of course.
There were a fair few cars to choose from to go out in - the MP4/12C was brand new at the time which everyone seem to be waiting for, the usual Ferrari/Lambo/Porsche etc but I was instantly drawn to the Viper. I have some photos of it on an old camera but no idea where
kingtacular 
There were a fair few cars to choose from to go out in - the MP4/12C was brand new at the time which everyone seem to be waiting for, the usual Ferrari/Lambo/Porsche etc but I was instantly drawn to the Viper. I have some photos of it on an old camera but no idea where
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