If the Dodge Viper had lived to see a sixth generation, there's a good chance it may have converted into a mid-engined design like the C8 Corvette. Such a creation has been repeatedly imagined by rendering artists, and Chrysler even considered building one back in the 1990s. Now, thanks to Genius Garage founder Casey Putsch's wild imagination, we will finally see the mid-engine Viper that Dodge never built. Well, sort of.

Putsch plans to take the 8.0-liter V10 engine from a second-gen Viper and stick it into the back of a special factory racing prototype. The prototype bodywork in question is identical to the championship-winning Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo from the 1980s.

The Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo race car originally used a turbocharged VG30ET V6 engine, and its body is easily wide enough to accommodate the Viper's massive V10 with inches to spare. Putsch even says the shell is wide enough to experiment with an active aerodynamic fan to suck the prototype into the track surface. If this build couldn't get any stranger, Putsch plans to mount the V10 engine with a transaxle from the 996 Porsche 911 Turbo. That's right; this wacky creation is an amalgam of parts from the US, Germany, and Japan.

Putsch believes that Dodge missed out on an enormous opportunity to test the Viper's true potential in a factory racing prototype. While Dodge raced the Viper worldwide in many classes, it never spawned an experimental mid-engine race car like Chevrolet did with the Corvette.

This build is still very much in its infancy stage. In his first video unveiling the project, Putsch installs the headers, mates the engine to the transaxle, and assembles the body shell around the drivetrain. There's still a long way to go, but Putsch imagines that he will be able to take his creation on the track.

"Most people think the days of Jim Hall, Jack Brabham, and Dan Gurney are over; I say they are not," said Putsch. In the video, he says that sports car racing is too boring and too expensive for the average person to compete in. He plans to enter his mid-engined Viper racecar into the National Auto Sport Association's unlimited class, which allows for any engine, transmission, and aerodynamic combination.