The Dodge Viper was a halo car produced starting in 1992. The brainchild of Bob Lutz, the first Viper’s main claim to fame was its viscerally powerful V10 engine capable of hurtling its owner to 160 mph very quickly indeed. Early Vipers are nearly devoid of creature comforts – no glass side windows or hard tops were available until 1996. Production lasted until 2017, albeit with occasional gaps attributed to Dodge pulling the plug on the model only to resurrect it a short time later. An important feature of the Viper’s progression was its ever-increasing horsepower – a feature that figures prominently in our story today. Here on craigslist is a 1994 Dodge Viper Venom 500, modified by John Hennessey. The asking price for this beast is $58,500 and the car is located in Edmonds, Washington. The car is represented by a dealer and can also be seen at Pantherroadclassics.com. Thanks to T.J. for this whomper of a tip!

John Hennessey – appropriately from the big state of Texas – has one goal: to build the fastest cars in the world. The Viper is a perfect palette for his efforts. This Viper received a motor upgrade that includes a high-compression cylinder head, enlarged throttle bodies, Hi Flow intake manifold, an induction kit, headers, and many other alterations to the factory configuration. The seller indicates that “the engine was inspected to ensure the upgrade had in fact been done”, since apparently, Mr. Hennessey is not forthcoming with paperwork. Notably, no performance data are listed in the ad, except for the seller’s indication that the Hennessey package boosted horsepower by about 35 ponies. Factory cars were rated at 410 hp and reached 60 mph in just over 4 seconds. A six-speed manual transmission complements the engine, and a limited-slip differential helps keep it all on the ground. This car has a new clutch, new radiator, new rear engine seals, and new mounts. A logical question is – on a car with only 12k miles, why was this necessary?

While Hennessey promised more power, his package cost a lot and resulted in an altered car. If you think your vehicle might someday be collectible, alterations can be bad. Unfortunately for Venom owners, Dodge itself boosted the production Viper’s engine output to 450 hp for the coupe at the end of 1996, then 500 hp in 2003, and so on, culminating in a monstrous 645 hp in 2015. Each of these increases – from the factory itself – devalues alterations of earlier cars. You will pay about the same for a stock 1994 Viper as this example costs. Oh yes – this example. Its underside is as clean as can be, along with the rest of the car. I could be critical of the black paint in this shot, but overall, a very nice car.

This car has air conditioning, two new tires, a custom hard top, its original soft top and side curtains, and many other niceties. That said, there are few frills in the cabin – it’s all business. Driving impressions emphasize that this is a noisy beast without a lot of “give” in the ride. Long distances can be exhausting. It’s telling that the market is saturated with low mileage examples. Speaking of low mileage examples, here is one that sold for $58k – nearly new, and with the Hennessey 550 package. If I had a yen for a Viper, I would prefer an unaltered later car; what do you think?