ABS was not fitted until the 2001 model year, which also brought revised front brakes.
The SR II RT/10 is the original Viper roadster with its worst qualities engineered out. The side-exit exhaust that cooked the sills of the 1992–1995 car was enclosed and rerouted to twin center-rear outlets through a single muffler — a change that was as much about backpressure as about legs/ankles, lifting output from 400 hp to 415. The chassis was stiffened, suspension geometry revised, the rear differential made more robust, some steel suspension components swapped for aluminum (saving around 60 lb), and the SR I's three-spoke wheels replaced with polished five-spoke aluminum units. A removable hardtop and sliding glass windows finally made it a car you could use in weather.
It stayed the entry point to the range for the whole generation while the GTS coupe took the headlines, and it caught up mechanically in 1998 when output rose to match the coupe's 450 hp. Roadsters are the volume model of the SR II — roughly 3,626 built against nearly twice as many coupes — but the individual years vary sharply: only 114 RT/10s were built for 1997, making it the rarest roadster of the generation.
US NHTSA campaigns for this model. A listed campaign may not apply to a particular car, and may already have been remedied — check a specific car by VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Same basic chassis, comprehensively reworked. The side-exit exhaust was enclosed and rerouted to twin center-rear outlets, which cut backpressure and lifted output from 400 hp to 415. The chassis was stiffened, suspension geometry revised, the rear differential strengthened, and some steel suspension parts replaced with aluminum for a ~60 lb saving. New five-spoke wheels replaced the three-spoke design, a removable hardtop and sliding glass windows became available, and the paper head gaskets that fail on 1992–1995 cars were replaced with multi-layer steel.
Roughly 3,626 roadsters across 1996–2002. Dodge never published an authoritative total.
Airbags arrived on the roadster; the GTS coupe was the first Viper fitted with them in 1996. ABS did not appear on any Viper until the 2001 model year, which also brought revised front brakes. If those matter to you, buy a 2001 or 2002 car.
It is enthusiast shorthand for the 2000–2002 cars. Dodge switched to lighter hypereutectic (cast) pistons in 2000, which cut reciprocating mass but left the engine less tolerant of forced induction than the forged-piston 1996–1999 engines. It only matters if you intend to add a turbo or supercharger; for stock ownership the later cars are the better-developed ones, with ABS from 2001.
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