Dodge Viper Limo Fails to Sell on eBay for $135K
Classic Dodge Viper limousine is said to be the only one in the world, but the seller is asking big money.
A Dodge Viper limousine was recently posted for sale on eBay with a few pictures, limited details and, most significantly, a price of $135,000. The eBay posting included very little useful information beyond the length, the drivetrain details, the passenger capacity of 12 people and the fact that it “has been used for numerous TV shows/commercials and Special Events”, nor did the seller provide any proof that it was truly a one-of-one vehicle. As a result, it failed to sell for the lofty bidding price. They didn’t get a single bid, but the owner got a whole lot of attention.
Many outlets talked about the failed eBay auction, but shared the history of this car. However, we did a little hunting and learned that this Dodge Viper limo’s most famous role was to chauffer NASCAR officials around Las Vegas Motor Speedway almost a decade ago. It was also on display at the 2012 SEMA Show and we were on hand to check it out in person. Back then, it looked pretty good inside and out, but we’re not sure if it looks $135K good.
Dodge Viper Limo eBay Listing
When this Dodge Viper limousine was posted for sale on eBay, the seller included six very low quality images and the following details.
“Dodge Viper Limo •The ONLY one in the World• 25 feet Long 12 Passenger limo 1996 Dodge Viper Limousine Painted in the Dodge VIPER Anniversary colours of White/Navy Handcrafted GRAY leather interior. This vehicle has been used for numerous TV shows/commercials and Special Events.”
The seller didn’t include any information about the television appearances or special event involvement, but in the vehicle detail section, we learn that this Viper limo has 5,900 miles on the odometer and it is still powered by the 8.0-liter V10 mated to a manual transmission.
That is all of the information included, along with six grainy images. We have only included one image from the eBay listing, showing the car on the track with people in the back. We captured the high resolution images ourselves at the 2012 SEMA Show, offering a better look at the car than the person trying to get $135,000 for the Viper limo.
Frankly, where the price seems crazy to some, better images and more information may have helped this Dodge Viper sell. When we got to hunting around, we learned that this topless limo has a pretty interesting story.
Historic Coachbuilders
We found an article from TopSpeed from March 24, 2012, which introduces the world to this Dodge Viper limousine. Back then, the focus of the article was the fact that it made some laps around Las Vegas Motor Speedway ahead of the Sam’s Town 300 NASCAR race with Oscar Goodman, the race grand marshal, riding in the back.
That same article explained that this Dodge Viper limousine was built by the coachbuilding company Unique Movie Cars in Vegas. This company has provided vehicles for an incredibly long list of movies and television shows, with the most notable work including the K.I.T.T. Firebird from Knight Rider, the Defender Viper from the Viper TV show and the Cuda from Nash Bridges. We don’t know who commissioned the company to create this Viper limousine, but the company does list the car in their “Customs” section with a single, tiny picture of the car while it was still a work in progress (below).
As a side note, among the eBay seller’s odd mix of listings, they have a Tyco Viper TV show slot car set, still sealed in the original packaging, with a buy-it-now price of $8,000. It seems that this eBay seller asks top-top dollar for everything.
Perhaps the seller will get some better pictures of the car and share some of the early details of the unusual Viper limo, now that we have done the provenance research for them. With the whole story, the six figure price tag is a bit more reasonable, but it will still take a special buyer for this unique Dodge Viper.
Photos: Patrick Rall
Join the Dodge Forums now!
