2005 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Road Test

The Stuff of Dreams, At Least for a Night

Following a long period of foul weather, the clouds parted, the sun shone and the outdoors took on a freshness that only

This is the stuff of dreams, and this afternoon it was my dream that was coming true. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press)

follows a heavy rain. After a tough day in the office trenches I arrived home fatigued yet charged to know that a Viper ragtop would soon rumble down my quiet street and position itself at my front door - not my neighbour's front door, but my front door.

For this is the stuff of dreams, and this afternoon, it was my dream that was coming true; at least that's how it felt when I awoke from my catnap to the resonance of the Viper's side-outlet, dual exhaust getting ever nearer.

After a moment of silence, there was a knock at the front door whereupon the DaimlerChrysler rep smiled and dropped the key to happiness into my hand. A quick unlatching of the roof opened the Viper's aggressive, all-business cockpit to the solar rays I had been so desperately seeking. In we climbed. I slid the key into the ignition and gave it a turn to energize the Viper's electrical system. Then came the moment of

I put my index finger on the red dash-mounted 'engine start' button and, like setting off a panic alarm, fired-up 500 of the meanest horses Dodge has ever corralled under a hood. (Photo: Rob Rothwell, Canadian Auto Press)

elation as I put my index finger on the red dash-mounted 'engine start' button and, like setting off a panic alarm, fired-up 500 of the meanest horses Dodge has ever corralled under a hood.

The Viper is essentially an out-of-the-box racecar wearing street legal clothes that has been 'comfortized' with a nicely appointed, fully-finished interior. In fact, I find the Viper's cockpit to be more exciting and better assembled than that of the '05 Corvette, although the 'Vette dishes-up much more in the way of comfort and convenience accoutrements.