The Dodge Viper has always been revered as the ultimate widow-maker U.S Muscle car. Here in the UK, we’ve never really done muscle cars – was the Ford Capri a limp effort at a muscle car? Maybe, but all that changed when Peter Wheeler unleashed the TVR Cerbera in the mid 90s.
 

Cosmetically, there are a few striking similarities, including the lack of any visible door handles or key cylinders. The scalloped door openings too are very similar. Rumour has it, that this was to avoid the hassle of lining up visible door shuts – or was this a purposeful aesthetic design cue inspired from the Viper?
 
The dimensions of the cars, also are very similar.

	Dodge Viper SR II RT/10	TVR Cerbera
Production Years	1995 - 2002	1996 - 2006
Weight	1,505 kg	1,130 kg
Height	1,120 mm	1,220 mm
Width	1,920 mm	1,865 mm
Length	4,450 mm	4,280 mm

They also both sported the same (lack of) safety features:
 
Airbags – nope.
Stability control – nope.
Traction control – nope.
ABS braking – nope.
 
Power wise, the 8L V10 of the Viper was no slouch, but being a considerably heavier car (by almost a third), its 415bhp puts it firmly in the same ball-park 0-60 and top speed as any of the TVR Cerbera engine configurations.
 
It should be noted that later generations of the Viper came with increasingly more power and eventually, safety features.
 
A few years ago, I went through a phase of lusting after a Viper, and while externally it’s presence is very imposing, what let it down for me was the interior.
While the Cerberas interior is a special place to be and still futuristic looking, the Viper by comparison is bland, plasticky and ordinary- you wouldn’t know you are sitting in something special.
Still, interior aside, the Viper is a bonkers car, and the world is a better place for it being in it!