Taking Delivery of a New Viper GTS in 1996

This vintage home video captures the sights and sounds of a particularly excellent fall day back in 1996.

Anyone who lived through the 1990s has an abiding love of the Dodge Viper, especially the Viper GTS. Debuting in 1996, the GTS was prettier, more powerful, and, frankly, easier to live with than the sometimes-crude-but-always-awesome RT/10. Plus, it had racing stripes, and as we all know, racing stripes make everything faster.

Most of us on staff here at Dodge Forum were still in grade school at the time. As a result, our Viper GTS ownership experience was restricted to Hot Wheels cars, Gran Turismo, and posters at the Scholastic Book Fair. Thanks to the magic of VHS camcorders, though, we can hop in out V10-powered time machine and see what it was like to take delivery back in 1996.

YouTuber Blarneystone13 was one of these lucky few. As an existing RT/10 owner, he was given the chance to order the then-new of the first Viper GTS. “It was a real-life Willy Wonka Golden Ticket,” he explains in the description. “It was good for you only and the dealer had no say in it. You’d work the purchase deal directly with them and if you didn’t like the terms, you took your coupon and walked into the next dealer.”

It’s All in the Details

In the video, dated September 20, 1996, we can see the beautiful blue Viper being unloaded from the truck and going through pre-delivery inspection. It’s incredible to imagine the joy and excitement he must have felt in that moment. It’s also an incredible historical document.

There’s obvious appeal in the form of vicarious wish fulfillment. However, all of the detail shots are spectacular fodder for restorations of these soon-to-be thirty-year-old cars. In a comment, Blarneystone13 explains, “I restore old muscle cars and always wished someone would have done that back in the 1960s/70’s, so I made sure to do it in the 1990s for future generations of car-geeks.” Incredible foresight, considering he did this in a world before everyone carried a camera at all times – and before televised Barrett-Jackson and Mecum auctions sent classic car prices soaring.

Blarneystone13, whoever you are – and wherever you are – thanks for sharing your special day back in ’96 with the world. You’re a legend in the Viper world.

Cameron Vanderhorst

Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.
He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.
In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.
You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.

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