The ZB I SRT-10 Roadster is the car that took the Viper from a 1990s throwback into Dodge's modern SRT era. Launched for 2003 as the only body style until the coupe arrived for 2006, it was a clean-sheet redesign under the newly formed Street & Racing Technology division: angular fighter-jet styling by Osamu Shikado, a stiffer and lighter chassis, and — most importantly — an 8.3-litre V10 up from the SR II's 8.0, making 500 hp and 525 lb-ft. The side-exit exhaust of the original 1992 car came back, and with 0–60 mph in under four seconds and nearly 190 mph flat out it was one of the period's great performance bargains at around $80,000.
It stayed a manual-only, driver-aid-light roadster for its whole run — the Tremec T56 six-speed was the only gearbox and there was no automatic. The roadster is the volume model of the generation: every 2003–2005 Viper was a roadster, and it continued alongside the coupe in 2006. It also carries most of the generation's special editions — the 2004 Mamba, the Copperhead, VCA roadsters and the Commemorative — so a given roadster can be anything from a base car to a limited run.
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.
It is a clean-sheet redesign, not an update. The V10 grew from 8.0 to 8.3 L and output rose to 500 hp / 525 lb-ft, the styling went from curvaceous to angular under SRT, the chassis was stiffened and lightened, and the side-exit exhaust of the original 1992 car returned. The SRT-10 name replaced the SR II's GTS/RT-10 badges.
Roughly 7,070 roadsters, derived from the ~8,190 total for the whole 2003–2006 generation minus the ~1,123 coupes (which arrived only for 2006). Every 2003–2005 Viper was a roadster; 752 more roadsters were built for 2006 alongside 1,117 coupes.
No. Every ZB I Viper — roadster or coupe — used the Tremec T56 six-speed manual, and no automatic was ever offered.
2006. The definitive 500 hp / 525 lb-ft car is the 2003–2005 roadster; for 2006 the 8.3 L was uprated to 510 hp / 535 lb-ft, the same tune as the new coupe, and that rating is commonly quoted across the 2006 range.
The roadster-only editions: the 2004 Mamba (black interior with red stitching, MSRP up ~$3,000), the Copperhead (a Mopar-catalog showcase with headers, a competition cam and side exhaust adding a claimed +44 bhp), the Commemorative, and the VCA roadsters for Viper Club of America members. Caps for several of these are disputed between the registry and auction listings.
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