Taxonomy
Viperidae — hinged fangs, ambush
8 entries
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Book II
Dodge Viper
Ten cylinders, no apology, side pipes that burned the calf of every passenger
In 1989 Chrysler showed a red concept roadster with a V10 out of a truck. In 1992 it sold that car, essentially unaltered, to the public — without…
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Book II
Dodge Viper GTS-R
The snake that went to France and made a noise nobody had permission for
A blue-and-white American V10 with a hood the size of a dining table won its class at Le Mans three years running and then won the Rolex 24 at…
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Book II
Dodge Ram SRT-10
A snake that can tow
Someone at Dodge asked what would happen if you put the Viper V10 into a full-size pickup. Nobody in the room said no, and for three model years the…
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Book II
Dodge Copperhead Concept
The Viper’s smaller, cheaper, more survivable cousin, killed in committee
Dodge showed a low orange roadster in 1997 with a modest V6, the idea being a Viper you could survive owning. It was beautiful. It was sensible. It…
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Book II
Dodge Sidewinder Concept
A pickup with a Viper engine, named for a snake that moves diagonally on purpose
Seven years before the Ram SRT-10 made it real, Dodge built a concept pickup with the Viper V10 in it and gave it the name of the only snake that…
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Book VII
Adder — unclaimed
Britain built a car called Cobra and ignored the only venomous snake it actually has
The adder is Britain’s only venomous snake. It is small, shy, beautifully marked, and found from Cornwall to the Arctic Circle. British car…
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Book VII
Bushmaster — unclaimed
The longest viper in the world, and its genus is named after the Fate who cuts the thread
Lachesis muta. Lachesis was the Moira who measured the thread of a life. Muta means silent. The full name reads: the silent one who decides how long…
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Book VII
Fer-de-Lance — unclaimed
French for “spearhead”. Named for the shape of its head, which is the shape of a weapon.
A large, irritable, superbly camouflaged pit viper responsible for a substantial share of serious snakebites across Central America, with a name…