The odds are good that if you are a devout Mopar fan who is at least 30 years old, you remember the incredible VIPER television show from the mid to late 1990s. The program featured a hero car role filled by (of course) a production trim Dodge Viper that had the capability to transform into the near indestructible Viper Defender. That hard topped one of a kind grey Viper has recently surfaced on ebay – giving Mopar and show enthusiasts a chance to buy the one and only Defender model built but it failed to sell even with a bid of $174,100.
There were originally 14 examples of the Viper Defender built for the show but this vehicle, which spent some time on the high profile collector’s car auction tour before popping up on ebay, is believed to be the only Defender remaining from those original 14. This car is built on the chassis of a 1993 Dodge Viper RT/10 but handmade body panels and a custom interior were added to transform the standard Viper into the bulletproof Defender war machine used to foil bad guys on the Viper TV show. Unfortunately, the standard 8.0L V10 engine was removed from the Viper during its transformation, but the 390 horsepower V8 engine likely allows this fully customized Viper to move down the road just fine.
The bad news is that the ebay auction for the Viper Defender has ended but the good news is that the highest bid did not meet the reserve price – so if you have at least a quarter million dollars laying around there is a still a chance that you could own this piece of TV and Mopar history. Unfortunately, even a quarter mil might not be enough to score the Viper Defender as this car received a bid of $270,000 in 2010 also failing to meet the seller’s reserve price.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
