---
title: "This $8,000 Dodge Viper RT/10 is Actually a Chevy Corvette C4 Kit Car"
description: "In America, when you can't buy what you want, you make it yourself."
date: "2019-10-30"
modified: "2019-10-30"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/30742/this-8000-dodge-viper-rt-10-is-actually-a-chevy-corvette-c4-kit-car"
categories:
  - "Builds"
  - "Culture"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Chevrolet"
  - "Corvette"
  - "Coupe"
  - "sports car"
---

# This $8,000 Dodge Viper RT/10 is Actually a Chevy Corvette C4 Kit Car

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2019/10/73305879_2563230207098533_7060215447601283072_n.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Pretend that it's 1996. You have the cash for either a [Chevrolet Corvette](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/30360/chevy-corvette-c8-r-based-engine-on-its-way-to-high-performance-road-car-variant>) or a Dodge Viper, but not both. You want the Viper's exotic looks but would prefer the Corvette's tried-and-true powertrain which had been continuously refined for more than a decade. If only there were a single vehicle that combined these two attributes...

![message-editor%2F1572451582086-73504883\_2563230233765197\_689448259390799872\_n.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1572451582086-73504883_2563230233765197_689448259390799872_n.jpg>)
*Corver? Vipette?, *Neil Ksiazek on Facebook**

That dream was evidently the one behind the creation seen here, which may *look* like a first-generation Dodge Viper, but is actually a 1996 Chevrolet Corvette from the long-lived C4 generation's final model year. Instead of the Viper's colossal, 8.4-liter V-10, this Corviperette (or whatever you'd like to call it) has a smaller, 5.7-liter LT1 V8. As such, you don't get the Viper's 400 horsepower, 465 pound-feet of torque, or the purr of its low-revving V-10, though 300 horse, 335 torque, and arguably [the best performance aftermarket of any engine on the planet](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/26400/chevy-dealers-are-now-selling-1000-hp-tahoes-and-suburbans>), are solid consolation prizes.

![message-editor%2F1572452814853-75237540\_2563230323765188\_3220549933773881344\_n.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1572452814853-75237540_2563230323765188_3220549933773881344_n.jpg>)
*Corviper?, *Neil Ksiazek on Facebook**

With it being a Chevrolet underneath the Viper body, unfortunately, this car can only offer the C4's interior, which is as squared-off and polymer-ific as they come, in addition to being of '80s General Motors build quality. That's not to say that '90s Chrysler was much better, with the Viper having a similar parts sharing program as the Corvette's [decade-old economy](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/29876/buy-this-three-wheel-rwd-chevrolet-citation-frankenstein-for-just-4950>) components.

![message-editor%2F1572453472927-75407763\_2563230263765194\_6201533459429588992\_n.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1572453472927-75407763_2563230263765194_6201533459429588992_n.jpg>)
*Corvipette?, *Neil Ksiazek on Facebook**

Obviously, this Corvette was built to mimic the Viper's looks rather than its ownership experience, and at that, it does a passable job. Should looking like you drive a Viper be all that matters to you, then you're in luck, because this car is [for sale on Facebook Marketplace](<https://www.facebook.com/groups/MidMichiganManStuff/permalink/2876742429044928/?sale_post_id=2876742429044928>) for a mere $8,000. It's on the pricy side for an automatic C4, and though some of Dodge's newer Vipers[ are climbing in value](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/21751/dodge-srt-viper-demon-pair-yields-1-million-for-charity-at-barrett-jackson-auction>), the first generation Vipers can be found for just a few thousand more than this clone. We found one for [$22,900](<https://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-Dodge-Viper/143408168321?hash=item2163cafd81:g:OmgAAOSwvDBdn~NO>), another for [$26,550](<https://www.ebay.com/itm/1995-Dodge-Viper/174075828388?hash=item2887ba58a4:g:WcwAAOSwHX9dslRs>), and two even lower with [current bids](<https://www.ebay.com/itm/1996-Dodge-Viper-RT-10/283653655242?hash=item420b134aca:g:BlQAAOSwE-pdsm3f>) for [$16,000](<https://www.ebay.com/itm/1996-Dodge-Viper/163921841970?hash=item262a80cf32:g:RmUAAOSw53Rds2i4>).

With Gen 1 Vipers trading at lower values, the question becomes whether or not you want a replica for dirt cheap or do you save a little while longer and get the real deal? V8 versus V-10. Dodge versus Chevrolet. Viper versus Corvette. Let us know which you'd choose.

![message-editor%2F1572453664285-74706414\_2563230290431858\_4793651769735380992\_n.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1572453664285-74706414_2563230290431858_4793651769735380992_n.jpg>)
*Viporvette?, *Neil Ksiazek on Facebook**

## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)