A legend since its introduction a decade ago, the Viper still exemplifies the term "American exotic." The Corvette may have just turned 50 and the Mustang may be the original "pony car," but ask any 13-year-old boy what car poster adorns his bedroom wall, and he'll more than likely describe Chrysler's 10-cylinder speed king.

Fully redesigned for 2003, the Viper is now a more refined piece than the near-racecar that debuted in 1992. Despite the additional polish, the engineers at Dodge still adhered to the core philosophy of the original: make it a back-to-basics sports car that foregoes technical gadgetry in favor of mechanical simplicity. There's still no traction or stability control and the lack of cupholders was no oversight. The sole concession to practicality was the decision to ditch the clumsy targa lid of the RT-10 and replace it with a conventional folding soft top.

The resulting car is shorter than the original by a little more than an inch, yet it rides on a longer wheelbase (2.6 inches longer) and tips the scale 100 pounds lighter. The trademark V10 engine remains, although it now displaces 505 cubic inches (8.3 liters) and spits out 500 horsepower and 525 pound-feet of torque. The suspension was retuned for a more progressive feel at the limit, while larger Brembo brakes and a monstrous set of staggered Michelin run-flat tires improve the car's stopping ability and grip.

The previously primitive interior shows significant improvement in terms of ergonomics and overall design. It now looks like a Dodge (for better or worse) instead of a cobbled together one-off, and the convertible top only adds to the feeling that it's now a finished product. Before you get the impression that maybe Dodge went a little too soft, check out the side-exit exhaust, a feature of the original that was removed years ago but was reinstated at the behest of enthusiasts who wouldn't have it any other way. You'll need to stretch to climb over them without sautéing your leg when getting in and out of the Viper, but such is the price you pay for driving a racecar-turned-convertible.

Tooling around town was never the Viper's forte anyway. The original version was uncomfortable, hard to see out of and tended to overheat in stop-and-go traffic. The new and improved version has remedied many of the previous car's problems, but it's still not a car you would want to drive on an everyday basis.

Gone is the awkward seating position that forced your legs off to the side while your torso remained front and center. The footwell is still on the small side, but power-adjustable pedals and less intrusion from the center tunnel allow for a reasonably comfortable seating position. The seats themselves are heavily bolstered, with protruding thigh and side supports that require you to crawl up and over them just to get in.

The revised interior design puts all necessary information directly in the line of view thanks to a centrally located tachometer and vertically aligned auxiliary gauges. Simple three-dial climate control dials remain, while a corporate faceplate for the stereo does away with the aftermarket look of the old system. The overall design is considerably more modern and up-to-date, but for $80,000 the Viper's cabin could still use an upgrade to first class.

Aesthetics aside, the Viper's more rigid frame, longer wheelbase and revised suspension tuning yield a slightly more forgiving ride on rutted roads, but don't get your hopes up — it's still a jawbreaker on city streets. Even more troublesome is the heat thrown off by the side-exit exhaust. Cruise around at residential speeds and you feel like you're piloting a 10-cylinder toaster oven. Thankfully, the improved climate control system works well enough to keep things bearable, but for the most part the Viper is still a fish out of water on city streets.

So it's still not much of a cruiser — does anybody really care? When you're packing 500 horsepower, the last thing you want is to get stuck behind dawdling minivans and clueless SUV pilots anyway. The Viper needs room to stretch, and stretch it we did with impressive results.

Drag strip testing yielded a 0-to-60 time of four seconds flat and a quarter-mile time of just 12 seconds at over 120 mph. All three numbers represent the fastest times we've ever recorded in their respective categories.

Since electronic traction control would violate the Viper ethos of "keep it simple," Dodge used the more traditional method of adding monster meats instead. This time around they're 19-inch 345/30 Michelin Pilot Sport tires in the rear balanced by equally beefy 18-inch 275/35 tires up front. With contact patches the size of doormats, modulating the 525 lb-ft of torque off the line isn't the wrestling match you might expect. Our test driver was amazed with how easily the Viper ripped off 12-second quarter-mile times despite a shifter that didn't always want to give up the next gear without a fight.

We wish we could say that the new brakes turned in an equally flawless performance, but a bug in the ABS computer kept us from taking full advantage of the reworked system. Brembo calipers now grab 14-inch rotors front and rear in a setup that Dodge bills as world-class. Even without the aid of ABS, we were still able to haul it down from 60 mph in a short 125 feet, but that hardly qualifies as anything out of the ordinary, so we'll have to take Dodge's word on the "world-class" claim for now.

On a road course, the Viper still demands a skilled driver to exact its full potential. With almost no body roll, loads of grip and steering more akin to a go-cart than a production car, the Viper laid down some pretty impressive track times right out of the gate.

The revised suspension allows a little more leeway when it comes to pushing the limits of adhesion, but lose your concentration for even a second and it'll send you spinning. Moderate lift-throttle oversteer can be induced, but unless you really lay into the gas the rear stays firmly planted. Despite the malfunctioning computer, the brakes showed promise with a firm pedal feel that was easily modulated under heavy braking.

Our complaints from the track are few. A flimsy accelerator pedal makes heel-and-toe downshifts a little awkward and the high placement of the shifter never grows comfortable. For a car with a 500-cubic-inch engine, the Viper sounds unimpressively meager. Other than the thundering blast at full throttle, it's a bit tame for a V10.

When it comes to raw power and eye-watering acceleration that leaves passengers wondering why they wanted a ride in the first place, the Viper has no equal. Unfortunately, momentary blasts into triple-digit speeds aren't something you can indulge in on a regular basis. What you're left with is a rough-riding convertible with a stiff clutch, balky shifter and an inescapable heater. The sharp-edged looks might be enough to make it worthwhile, but if that's what you're after, any number of European exotics can offer similar looks with pedigrees to match.

We like the fact that the Viper is now a more complete sports car rather than just a spec racer with a license plate. The fact that it loses points because its capabilities are beyond the reach of our driving skills might be a little unfair, but then again we're more the rule than the exception. The Viper may be an American exotic in the truest sense of the term, but when it comes down to picking the one car that puts it all together in the most impressive package possible, it just misses the mark.