Those who have never driven or ridden in a Dodge Viper can scarcely understand the way the car translates torque into forward momentum, nor can they fully appreciate the turning and braking capabilities of its massive tires and disc brakes.

The new Viper SRT-10 takes that unbelievable rush of performance to an entirely new level - beyond even that of the current American performance car standard. If one ride doesn't thrill, exhilarate, energize or excite you more than any other car on the road, check your pulse.

Engineers at Dodge, who had grown fond of their RT/10 Roadster and GTS Coupe and proud of the cars' performance capabilities, were fully aware of the wide tiretracks they would have to fill when the decision was made to create a new, true convertible version of America's ultimate sports car.

What began as a simple plan to alter the RT/10's roofline quickly grew to a 'blue-sky' redesign when designers and engineers discovered that the accompanying 2.6-inch lengthening of the wheelbase would change more than 50 percent of the car's body panels and many chassis components. Vehicle synthesis engineers, never ones to sit idly by, set to work immediately using the stretch as their opportunity to find incremental ways to update and improve the car. And quicker than you can say 'hasta la vista,' the teams found out that with a little bit of tweaking here and an upgraded assembly there, they would have an entirely new car to build.

The result is the new SRT-10 convertible, a 500 hp $85,000 automobile that extends the reputation of the Viper to the next level and places it squarely up there with the world's foremost performance toys.

This is one of the growing line of Testors diecast kits in 1/32 scale. After starting in 1/43, it seems that the change has been made to 1/32 or at least it is augmenting that smaller scale. Though not really a collectors scale as much as 1/43, it has been growing in popularity, hence this new kit of one of Dodge's most impressive supercars.

The only way this can really be called a kit is that the buyer has to spend some time assembling it. And really it won't take very long at all. In fact, I dare say that it will take one longer to read this preview than it will to actually assemble this kit. It is for those who want a very nice die cast car to add to their collection with a minimum of fuss.

The casting, painting and detailing of this kit is really first rate. I dare say that most of us would not be able to provide as nice a paint job or detailing with a plastic kit as has been provided with this die cast kit. Like their Monster Truck that I built earlier this year (to howls of protest, I might add), this one has everything you need and that isn't much, just a screwdriver. Counting the wheels and axles, there are only 11 parts and three mounting screws. The instructions are on the back of the box and consist of 6 photo assembly steps. No decals are provided or needed as everything is painted on.