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By David Fleet
Editor
Brandon Twp. —It’s a rocket on 4 wheels.
That’s how Rusty Martin describes his classic first-generation 1995 Dodge Viper RT/10 that spends the winter months nestled in his Brandon Township storage.
“My Viper’s color is ‘ticket-me-red,’” laughed Martin. “But I never had a ticket, you really have to be responsible. Just when you’re confident at the controls, it will humble you out.”
The humility is clearly wanted when the hood opens to an 8 liter, 20 valve-488 cubic inch V10 energy plant that Dodge and Lamborghini collaborated on which options an all aluminum block kicking out 400 hp. Coupled with a BorgWarner T56 six-speed bulletproof transmission it’s an ideal rugged match for the large energy plant.
Excluded on the Viper are exterior door handles (they returned in 1996) and airbags, however air con was a specific choice included on Martin’s Viper.. No traction management, nor anti-lock brakes, gives true efficiency, he mentioned.
“You don’t want to drive the Viber in the rain either,” he mentioned. “It’s like trying to steer a toboggan, the tires are too big, you kind of float down the road.”
The uncooked breed of roadster can also be evident within the Plexiglas slide home windows and a soft-top fold up roof.
“By today’s standards, 400 horsepower is not too much,” mentioned Martin, a Detroit native and 1977 graduate of Dearborn Heights Crestwood High School. “This first-gen Viper brings the Muscle Car back to life.”
Martin is a life-long auto maker, who first employed into Chrysler as a die maker then after incomes an engineering diploma from the University of Michigan he began designing dies. The auto manufacturing crafted continued as he moved to processing components, turning a flat piece of sheet metallic right into a fender, he defined.
“I worked in the design studio at Chrysler,” he mentioned. “It’s a dream for a car guy. I really love the lines on the Viper, I’m not a fan of straight lines. I like the curves and the Viper has plenty.”
Martin retired about seven years in the past from Chrysler and now lectures nationwide on sheet metallic formability.
“Actually the Viper has no sheet metal,” laughed Martin. “The body is Kevlar and carbon fiber, not to be confused with fiberglass either.”
Martin and his Viper have been on just a few highway journeys too, together with a number of treks to the Smoky Mountains which options ‘The Tail of the Dragon.’” Designated US 129, between the Great Smoky Mountains and the Cherokee National Forest, the 11 mile sports activities automobile roadway options 318 curves, plus no intersections.
“It’s a crazy drive to make,” he mentioned. “The biggest attribute of the Viper is hitting that gas and feeling like you’re on a spaceship. Hit the gas and hang on.”
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