This Untouched 40-Mile Viper Is An Amazing Time Capsule, But Maybe A Risky Driver

The obsession of many car collectors to have extremely low miles on their cars is one that we struggle with. There’s no question that it’s cool in a sort of time-warp sense to see a vehicle from decades ago that looks today as close to how it did when it sat on the showroom floor, new. At the same time, we can’t help ponder how that car never got to do the thing that it was literally built to do: drive. These are the things we’re thinking about as we consider this remarkable and practically unused 1992 Dodge Viper RT/10. They’re also things you should think about if you’re looking to buy, because if you want a Viper to drive, you might be better off with one that has more miles under its belt.

We Wouldn’t Be Surprised If It Still Has “New Car Smell”

As you’d expect from a car with just 40 miles on it, this Viper is completely spotless. The engine bay is gleaming, the plastics and leather are uncracked and unwrinkled. The original window sticker sits on the windshield. The cargo area also features an unused space-saver spare. The car also has its set of clip-in windows and top, since the 1992 Viper did not have door glass. The plastic bag that those pieces came in is still around. The interior plastics are among the more impressive aspects, since no Dodge of the early 1990s had high-quality plastics, and most of them being mass-market cars, they’ve mostly all lived rough lives. So it’s pretty neat to see it all in perfect shape. The window sticker also allows us to see that the car had no options, just Gas Guzzler Tax, and it came to a total price of $53,300 with destination. Adjusted for inflation, it would cost $121,870.

Why This Isn’t A Great Driver Choice

Aside from the fact that it’s a shame to own a sports car with an 8.0-liter 400-horsepower V10 and a six-speed manual, and just never drive it, a lack of use isn’t healthy for a car. This applies to basically any mechanical or wear item on the vehicles. Let’s start with the tires. Zooming in on the tires, you can find the date code, which with just three digits at the end, tells us that they were made before the year 2000. And the final digit of “1” would say they were manufactured in 1991. So these are most likely the tires it wore when it came off the assembly line. Again, that’s neat for authenticity, but these tires should not be driven on for any serious distance. Additionally, rubber parts degrade over time, especially over multiple decades. Many of the belts and hoses on this car should also probably be replaced. Many of the seals on the engine have probably dried out and don’t seal well anymore. The fluids probably are very old, too. If you’re looking to buy this to drive, you’ll have a decent service fee to get it in good shape.

You don’t even have to take our word for it, RM Sotheby’s itself, the auction house selling the car says, “Recommissioning recommended prior to extended use.” This is why a more regularly used example might be better. It might command a lower price, too. RM estimates that this Viper will go for between $135,000 and $155,000. That’s a solid gain over the inflation-adjusted price, but was that worth not driving it for more than 30 years?

Source: RM Sotheby’s