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Delivered new in the UK • Only 14,303 kilometres (8,900 miles) from new • Maintained by the supplying dealer and the vendor's personal engineer • Immaculate condition That a major US manufacturer could come up with such an exciting concept car was startling enough, but Chrysler's decision to put the Viper into production was nothing short of astonishing.

Inspired, as its name suggests, by the legendary Cobra, Tom Gale's design study made its auto-show debut in 1989 following discussions between Chrysler boss Bob Lutz and Cobra-creator Carroll Shelby, its appearance triggering an avalanche of deposit cheques.

Without doubt, a large part of the Viper's 'back to basics' appeal stems from its unique selling point: a massively powerful 8-litre V10 engine.

Despite being relatively 'low tech', the Lamborghini-developed pushrod V10 churns out 400bhp and a brutal 450lbs/ft of torque at a lowly 3,600rpm, figures which the 3,280lb Viper translates - via a six-speed manual gearbox - into a 0...