First-year 1996 Dodge Viper GTS Coupe drives out of Jay Leno's garage.

After unveiling his 1993 Dodge Viper Roadster, Jay Leno brought its successor to the cameras in a recent episode of Jay Leno's Garage. This 1996 Dodge Viper GTS Coupe is the next evolution of the model, and like the 1993 Viper, Leno has owned it from new.

Leno said that just three years after taking delivery of the roadster, then-Chrysler product development boss Bob Lutz convinced him to buy the GTS. Lutz, who had also held key positions at BMW, Ford, and General Motors during his long career, sold Leno on the same thing that Dodge was doing for the average car buyer. He promised more power in a (slightly) more sophisticated package.

Unveiled as a concept car at the 1989 Detroit Auto Show, the first Viper shocked the automotive world with its back-to-basics approach to performance. At the same time, however, it also made the car difficult to live with. The roof of the first Viper was a flimsy panel of canvas, and the side windows were made of vinyl. Among other things, Leno noted, it could not be left unattended in a parking lot.

The 1996 Viper may resemble the original, but it is considered the second generation of this model. Dodge introduced the GTS coupe that year, along with the Roadster. Since the Roadster was conceived as a modern version of the Shelby Cobra, the GTS was essentially a reincarnation of the Cobra Daytona Coupe.

With a fixed roof, side glass, and air conditioning, the GTS coupe was more practical and easier to live with than the Roadster The 8.0-liter V-10 engine was tuned to produce 450 hp, 50 hp more than the original Roadster The V-10 engine was derived from a Dodge truck engine, but the block and heads were re-cast in aluminum by Lamborghini, which was then owned by Chrysler.

As usual, Jay drives the car later in the video and lets us hear the rumble of the V-10. He says the engine has a strong pull and he likes the view through the striped hood.

Production of the Viper ended for the 2017 model year, and while it is unlikely that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which will merge with France's PSA Group to become Sterantis, will bring it back, Jay thinks the name is too valuable to let it sleep. For more on Jay's beautiful 1996 Viper GTS coupe, check out the video.