1992 Dodge Viper RT/10 Roadster

Roy H. Sjoberg, named Executive Engineer - Viper Project in February of 1989, created Team Viper for the development and production of the Dodge Viper. The 'Platform Team' concept envisioned by Sjoberg to bring the Viper to production became the corporate-wide organizational structure for Chrysler.

Team Viper's primary goal was a vehicle that concentrated on performance above all else. Their benchmark was to go from zero-to-100 back to zero in under 15 seconds.

Building on a rich tradition of supplying pace vehicles to the Indianapolis 500, Dodge chose the as yet-to-be-produced Viper RT/10 to represent the company at the 1991 race. This was only the second time in Indy history that a non-production vehicle was chosen to do the pace duties. The other was the 1940 Chrysler Newport Concept Car. This was a natural fit as the Viper's V-10 produced 400 horsepower and was the new American performance leader.

This Viper was the back-up to the actual pace car driven by Carroll Shelby at the beginning of the race. Initially intended as an impact development car until the need arose for a back-up, this vehicle saw limited use at the track. The Viper RT/10 would begin production and reach dealer showrooms before the end of 1991.