Concept cars are unfulfilled pockets of potential. Free from the restrictions of accountants sticking within budgetary constraints, legislation in a multitude of countries and, sometimes, even the need to drive on road. Manufacturers usually display these concepts at big motor shows. They are celebrations of design and what they could engineer if they wanted to. This week, we have a look at the Dodge Concept Car also known as Copperhead.

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It was a good idea…

It’s often said that the Dodge Viper was the modern revival of the original Shelby Cobra – a vicious and uncompromising animal that would strike the driver who wasn’t well-versed in driving quickly. The only problem was that the Viper wasn’t exactly attainable for the average man, and so Dodge set to work putting together a scaled-down version.

The new roadster, dubbed Copperhead after the least venomous member of the viper family, was styled in the same vein as a Cobra. Fitted with rounded front and rear end, bulging wheel arches and a long bonnet with the driver and passenger perched far back and close to the rear axle. Even the colour was striking; a sort of burnt orange that did justice to the car’s name.

Inside, the upholstery was supposed to be faux snakeskin, while the tyres were specially developed to leave snake print on the road. It made its debut at the 1997 Detroit Motor Show.

South Africans had to wait too long for the Dodge’s Ram bakkie range,  but here it is. 

…but just not enough

Unfortunately, the Copperhead was doomed to not make it to production. Firstly, the name caused consternation with ZZ- Top rocker Billy Gibbons, who had copyrighted the name Kopperhed after commissioning a custom Ford hotrod. Dodge’s parent company Chrysler avoided legal action by changing the roadster’s name to Concept Car. Wow…

And then there’s the matter of the engine. In 1997 a 2,7-litre V6 making 160 kW and 255 N.m of torque wasn’t exactly weak. However, it was never going to cut the mustard with real enthusiasts. Even with the Copperhead’s 1 295 kg and close-ratio five-speed gearbox.

Remember to check out Part 1 of Forgotten Concepts featuring the Ford GT90 here.

Better than nothing

The Copperhead name was eventually only used in the Japanese release of Gran Turismo, while its successor GT2, and toys and merchandise all used the Concept Car name. It wasn’t the fastest vehicle but paired with a tight circuit could be quite a weapon.

The 1990s saw the rebirth of affordable roadsters though, such as the Honda S2000, Mazda MX5 and BMW Z3. Those would have been the Copperhead’s chief rivals in terms of overall pace, but nowhere near as beautiful.

After its merge with Daimler, Chrysler went on to make the Crossfire coupe using Mercedes-Benz SLK parts. But it was too little, too late on the missed opportunity that was the Copperhead.