The Dodge Viper was initially conceived in late 1988 at Chrysler's Advanced Design Studios. The following February, Chrysler president Bob Lutz suggested to Tom Gale at Chrysler Design Center that the company should consider producing a modern Cobra, and a clay model was presented to Lutz a few months later. Produced in sheet metal by Metalcrafters, the car appeared as a concept at the North American International Auto Show in 1989. Public reaction was so enthusiastic that chief engineer Roy Sjoberg was directed to develop it as a standard production vehicle.

Why is the Viper GTS Gen2 a modern classic? In short: Iconic Design. Rare Absurdity. American Soul.

Darin Roberge from Motorwerks Marketing said it best:

“Another end of an era offering, the Dodge Viper is the last of the stripped down, unapologetically American, purely illogical, politically incorrect, pavement crushing, biceps on wheels. The reality is, that not since Carroll Shelby’s 427 Cobras has there been a more thoroughly absurd automotive predator stalking the streets than the Dodge Viper and it has captivated imaginations across the globe.

Recently, Hagerty had this to say:

“The original Viper GTS is also one of the best-looking cars of the 1990s with a shape not unlike the old Shelby Daytona Coupe (there’s a reason blue with white stripes is the most desirable color), and on track it scored wins from the SCCA to Le Mans and Nurburgring. In those days before the C5 Corvette Z06, it was in a class of one as far as American performance cars were concerned.

The GTS’s growth has outpaced the equivalent RT/10 roadsters by quite a bit, as those cars are up 16–25 percent, depending on the model year. It’s outpacing the earlier and later Vipers as well. And despite the old adage that “when the top goes down, the price goes up”—as well as the fact that the GTS consistently outsold the RT/10, making it the more common car—the coupe is worth more. Although there wasn’t much in the way of options, the GTS got various improvements over its seven-year run, making later model more appealing. Another factor to consider when buying comes down to color. Blue with white stripes looks the best, period. It’s what was on all the posters and it’s what everyone wants, so blue/white ones command more money.

As for buyer interest, which we measure using insurance quoting activity, longer term prospects are bright for Vipers because they are disproportionately popular among younger buyers. Nearly 27 percent of the interest comes from Millennials, compared to less than 21 percent representation in the overall collector market. Gen Xers, meanwhile, make up over 36 percent of Viper GTS interest, compared to about 32 percent across the rest of the market. People who turn 30 this year were also about seven years old when the GTS came out. As the story goes, they’ll come into more money in future years and they’ll start shopping around for the car they drooled over in the car magazines and each slow-loading thumbnail on their dial-up internet.

The GTS’s raw, no-frills, manual-shift driving experience is also increasingly rare among today’s crop of computerized paddle-shift wizardry, so Vipers will appeal to enthusiasts looking for a pure driver’s car. It’s collectible already, but it looks set to only become more collectible in the future.