Dodge Viper
75th Indy 500
May 26, 1991

The story behind the 1991 Indy pace car may be the most interesting in recent history.  Initially the all-new Dodge Stealth had been selected to pace the 91 Indy 500, until someone pointed out that the Stealth was assembled in Japan along side its counterpart, the Mitsubishi 3000GT.  In order to avoid controversy over a foreign-built car pacing the 500, Dodge wisely chose to replace the Stealth with a prototype of its newest Mopar muscle car, the Viper.

Although it wasn't scheduled to hit dealer showrooms until late in 1992, Dodge managed to churn out a pre-production Viper in time to pace the 1991 race.  With its V-10 engine, the Viper had more than enough power to handle pace car duty.  The Stealth was still used as a parade car, and was also awarded to the winner of the race instead of a Viper.


The Japanese-built Dodge Stealth was replaced at the last minute by the Viper.

 

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