Runge is a Minnesota firm that churns out distinctive automobiles utilizing the identical methods of coachbuilders of the primary half of the previous century. We’re speaking particular person physique panels all hammered and rolled into form by hand, with nothing however a wire-frame buck as a information.

Runge’s newest creation is the Veleno, which is constructed on the donor chassis of a 2004 Dodge Viper SRT10 roadster. The automobile was constructed by Runge founder Christopher Runge and his son, and took round 5,000 hours to finish.

It is featured within the newest episode of “Jay Leno’s Storage,” with Runge readily available to elucidate all the main points. He was final on the present in 2018 with one of many automobiles from his Porsche-inspired Frankfurt Flyer sequence. The Veleno appears prefer it was impressed by Italian sports activities automobiles of the Sixties.

As Runge explains within the episode, he initially tried to modernize his methods by utilizing digital scans of the Viper chassis to assist a designer within the U.Ok. create the ultimate form for the Veleno, utilizing Runge’s unique sketches. Nevertheless, failing that, Runge determined to do it the previous approach, by making a body for later metallic working.

Runge makes use of aluminum for its automobiles, and the metallic physique is definitely lighter than the unique fiberglass physique of the Viper by about 250 kilos. The corporate additionally created its personal wheels and the lenses for the headlights, and the inside can be absolutely customized.

The V-10 powertrain is generally inventory, although Runge dressed up the engine by including polished parts, together with new stainless-steel headers. The corporate additionally added a high-flow exhaust system, a modification that usually will increase horsepower.

Runge’s automobile is not the one Viper-based automobile known as a Veleno, which in Italian means “poison” or a “venom.” Swiss automobile customizer Rinspeed in 1993 constructed a customized Viper additionally known as the Veleno, although Rinspeed’s automobile stored a lot of the donor Viper’s physique.