Ten cylinders, 505 cubic inches, 500 horsepower, 525 lb.-ft. of torque. Zero to 60 acceleration in about four seconds flat, the quarter-mile turned in the low twelves. Using the old Shelby Cobra performance benchmark of 0-100-0, the Dodge Viper logs a time of 13 seconds.

These numbers would impress even in the classic muscle car era - with some important differences. The 8.3-liter V-10 is as content chugging stoplight to stoplight as a minivan's V6, with no old school worries like loading up or overheating. And when you clear traffic, you can put a time-warp distance between yourself and the rest of the pack at the drop of the hammer, thanks to tire churning torque at almost any speed.

Getting you from gear to gear is a Tremec six-speed stick. The Hurst shifter has a meaty, pool-ball-sized knob and a hefty, positive throw, with the only dings being an occasional aversion to getting into reverse and a fuel-saving skip-shift feature that wants to shunt you from first gear to fourth. Like lots of bad ideas, the intention is good - promoting better mileage - but we do wish that there was a way to accept the obvious. Viper's lousy mileage is part of the cost of life in the fast lane.

The steering has a comfortable heft, thanks to perfect levels of boost for the power assist. The wide Viper feels its size in tight corners but still has tenacious grip. Credit for this impressive stick goes to the new generation Viper's stiffer frame, improved suspension geometry and the staggered-sized, Michelin Pilot performance tires. The run-flat rubber (275/35ZR18 in front and 345/30ZR19 in back) possesses admirable wet and dry adhesion. However, a short sidewall run-flat tire will let you know when you've hit a bump, and the wide treads occasionally suffer from a short attention span, too. The tires will hunt on crowned roads, keeping the driver attentive. Viper's big, vented discs with ABS get it done nicely in the braking department, hauling the car down from 60 mph to zero in less than 100 feet. It sticks, and it stops.

Photos: © Dan Lyons 2004