Classified ad of the week: Ram SRT10

Oh how we gasped and gawped and dribbled a bit when we saw these pictures of the 2012 Dodge SRT Viper. It's still the overpowered (600lb ft) V10 hellion of yore, but gone is the built-in-a-barn interior and - thanks to fancy new suspension and the addition of some traction control - the bright, white fear of actually driving the thing.

Which is all very well, but you can't put a sofa in one. Or a fridge. Or a livestock. And if you're the sort of removal man/fridgeologist/livestocker unwilling to compromise on ridiculous terrorpower, this may pose a problem. Unless, of course, you angle the contents of your bank account towards today's classified masterpiece. The world didn't ask for it, but Dodge delivered it: the Ram SRT-10.

Launched in 2002, this ludicrous contraption was based on the bovine Dodge Ram pickup. Only instead of a mumbling V8, the good ol' boys at SRT (Street Racing Technology) kicked in a 500bhp 8.3-litre V10 from the old-shape Viper. In doing so, they created the fastest production pickup... in the world. Despite its 2477kg heft, the Ram SRT-10 will do 0-60mph in five seconds and run to a top whack of 168mph.

Dodge didn't compromise on usability, though, keeping the fridge/sofa/livestock-swallowing 2m x 1.7m load bay. The V10 Ram proved popular in the USA, one of few countries with enough room to accommodate its 14m turning circle and with petrol cheap enough to sate its 10mpg thirst.

To capitalise on the little-explored big-unstable-pickup-with-stupid-power market, Dodge gave us a quad-cab version in 2005. And this is one of them. Currently up for a piffling £22,995, this keenly priced example has undergone significant pimpwork during its 45,000-mile lifespan. Which includes "carbon fibre racing stripes", 22-inch Valenza Roma rims, and slightly sinister matte black paintwork.

Fancy moving a moon out of orbit? In a pickup? Click here, TopGear.communists...