There have been Ferraris that don't look as good as the 2003 Dodge Viper SRT10. This roadster is completely restyled, and looks significantly sleeker than the Viper everyone's seen on posters and at car shows from 1989 to 2002. Granted, there are those who think the new Viper looks too refined.

Vipers are tough to spot on the street, simply because there are only about 14,000 in the world. We think the new Viper looks better than the old car, mostly because the front and rear overhangs are smaller, so the car looks better balanced between its wheels. While the new Viper shrinks almost an inch in length, the wheels are moved outward 2.9 inches. The new Dodge Viper is wider, too, which adds to its more balanced shape. If you're used to looking at and roadsters, the Viper seems huge. It appears larger than life. Even though a is almost five inches longer, the new Viper is more than 11 inches wider.

The headlights are slanted wedges similar to the original Viper's. The grille is substantially larger, and the enormous side exhaust pipes make the car look potent. The new convertible top looks like it's supposed to go with the car, versus the ball cap-style removable roof of the previous Viper roadster.

Underneath, the new car retains its backbone frame, and on top is a largely plastic body. The hood is separate from the fenders, and opens from the rear. The previous Viper's whole front body lifted forward for engine access. An aluminum double-A-arm suspension was added to the Viper in 1996, and carries over to the new car. The new frame, although three inches longer and 35 percent more rigid, is 40 pounds lighter. Overall, the 2003 Viper is about 100 pounds lighter than the previous car. Chrysler promises production cars will weigh just 3,357 pounds. The 8.3-liter all-aluminum pushrod V10 gains 50 horsepower over the previous 8.0-liter, bringing it to 500 horsepower.