How Much Horsepower Does A 20-Year-Old Dodge Viper Make Now?

Doug DeMuro takes his 1997 Viper GTS on the dyno to see how much power it still has after two decades, and the result might not be what you'd expect...
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Pretty much all cars lose power over time, regardless of how well they’re maintained. As a car racks up the miles, engine parts wear and don’t work quite as well as they did when they left the factory.

Doug DeMuro decided to test how much horsepower his 20-year-old Dodge Viper GTS now has, to see how far off the original figure it is. As he explains, the second-gen Viper was made by the Chrysler group in the 1990s, and at the time, the firm wasn’t renowned for precision accuracy. Each individual engine will probably have a slight horsepower difference, but the official figure for the Viper was 450bhp from an 8.0-litre V10. And there’s plenty of lovely V10 noise in this video.

We’re not going to spoil the outcome, but suffice to say, it seems the original power figure might have been a tad conservative…

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Comments

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“Only 450hp” #cheekydodge

06/21/2017 - 15:52 |
136 | 4
Mehdi Behira

In reply to by ......

Was going to try my luck with a comment, but this just takes the biscuit. Absolute comment of the week right here.

06/21/2017 - 16:02 |
18 | 16
Valanti Demetriades

I just realized dodge has a viper and ford has a cobra, so what does Chevy have?

06/21/2017 - 15:57 |
48 | 0

Reliability problems

06/21/2017 - 15:57 |
186 | 10

They can make the “Corvette Python Edition” XD

06/21/2017 - 16:00 |
22 | 0

Why did you tag me? (I don’t understand)

06/22/2017 - 01:07 |
2 | 0
Julien G

Do Carthrottle have an agreement with DeMuro. You guys post EVERYONE OF HIS NEW VIDEOS, and frankly, it’s getting a bit annoying

06/21/2017 - 16:11 |
22 | 12
Tomislav Celić

In reply to by Julien G

Why? He has nice videos? And he promotes CT, CT promotes him, whats the problem with it?

06/21/2017 - 16:22 |
46 | 4

its essy content

06/21/2017 - 18:06 |
2 | 0
Tomislav Celić

Too lazy
How much

06/21/2017 - 16:21 |
8 | 4
Chewbacca_buddy (McLaren squad)(VW GTI Clubsport)(McLaren 60

In reply to by Tomislav Celić

A lot XD (398.3 WHP and 437.4 LB-FT @ wheels)

06/21/2017 - 17:18 |
14 | 0
FUGL_S60 (Tesla Lover 800)

Enough horsepower for me to just say “shut up and take my money!”

06/21/2017 - 17:08 |
4 | 0
DannyWRX

Ugh I’m tired of the catchprhases trying to get people to watch videos… “the result might not be what you’d expect…” just flipping tell us the results and I’ll still watch the video >:(

06/21/2017 - 17:12 |
14 | 0
Tomislav Celić

In reply to by DannyWRX

That’s why theres always “the hero who doesn’t wear a cape” in the comment section who says it

06/21/2017 - 17:21 |
22 | 2
Thor Scicluna

I actually think that the numbers provided by Dodge are actually spot on and the driveline is highly efficient at transferring power and torque, and this from a 20-year-old Chrysler!!?? What’s next, an automatic-only Supra, oh wait…

06/21/2017 - 20:04 |
14 | 0
Ben Ireland

Ahh right cheers bro

06/21/2017 - 21:30 |
2 | 0
Anonymous

I have a 98 GTS at the shop right now that was towed in for an oil leak. The bottom of the oil filter had a RUST hole in it. Lots more all underneath. The car is originally from the rust belt. Damn shame for a car like that to have been driven in salt. I’ve been a Viper “specialist” since 99 and most of these cars around here just sit. This one sat after being exposed to salt up north somewhere.

06/22/2017 - 01:10 |
14 | 2