The Dodge Viper is a two-seat sports car, the most powerful production car made by Dodge. Viper production began at New Mack Assembly and moved to its current home at Connor Avenue Assembly in October of 1995.

Generations

Generation One: 1992—1995

The Viper was developed as a modern take on the classic American muscle car. While there are some who insist that the iconic AC Cobra was a source of inspiration, the final version of the Viper was far too large and heavy to seriously claim any direct lineage with the compact and lightweight vehicle. Most saw claims to kinship with the Cobra as a marketing exercise, although Carroll Shelby was involved in the initial design of the Viper.

The first prototype was tested in December 1989. It first debuted in 1991 with three pre-production models as the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 when Dodge was forced to substitute it in place of the Stealth, and went on sale in January 1992 as the targa-roofed RT/10 Roadster. A coupe model, called the GTS followed in 1996. An interesting feature of the coupe was the "double bubble" roof contours; two small humps to accomidate drivers wearing helmets. Indeed, the Viper's performance has made the vehicle popular for both amateur and professional racers. Vipers can be seen participating often in drag racing, road racing and drift racing.

The centerpiece of the car was its engine. Originally designed as a truck engine and based on the Chrysler LA engine, Lamborghini, then a division of the Chrysler Corporation, revamped Dodge's cast-iron block V10 for the Viper by recasting the block and head in aluminum alloy, and giving the engine a significant power boost. Some within Lamborghini felt that the pushrod two-valve design, while adequate for the truck application for which the engine was originally created, was unsuitable for a performance car and suggested a more comprehensive redesign which would have included four valves per cylinder. However, Chrysler was uncertain about the Viper's production costs and sales potential and so declined to provide the budget for the modification.

The engine produced 400 bhp (300 kW) and 664 NВ·m of torque, and thanks to the long-gearing allowed by the torquey engine, provided surprising fuel economy at a claimed 21 mpg US (11.2 L/100 km) if driven sedately. The body was a tubular steel frame with resin transfer molding (RTM) fiberglass panels. Typical of American performance-car design, it had a front-mounted engine driving the rear wheels; it was also heavy with a curb weight of 1,488 kg (3,280 lb) and lacked many modern driver aids such as traction or anti-lock brakes. Despite this, in straight line performance, it completed a quarter mile in 12.9 seconds and had a maximum speed of 264 km/h (164 mph).

Generation Two: 1996—2002

Second generation models increased engine power, improved suspension, and reduced braking distances; the 1996-2002 Viper GTS had a 450 bhp (340 kW) engine, which could complete the quarter mile 0.7 seconds faster and increased top speed by 35 km/h (22 mph) or so. A number of third party firms have modified the car to boost performance.

Dodge raced a version of the Viper known as the GTS-R in the FIA GT-2 Manufacturers World Championship, where they won the Overall Series in 1997.

In the first six years of production almost 10,000 Vipers were sold. Vipers are sold in Europe as Chryslers, except for Germany where they have been sold as Dodges since 2004.

Beware of fraudulent tuners like John Hennessey, he has been sued no less than 4 times in Texas court for stealing customers money and car parts.

Generation Three: 2003 to present

The Dodge Viper underwent a major model change in 2003, courtesy of DaimlerChrysler's Street and Racing Technology / SRT) group. The new Viper SRT-10 was heavily restyled with sharp, angled bodywork. The engine has been enlarged to 8.3 L which increased output to 504 hp (375 kW) and 525 ftВ·lbf (711 NВ·m) of torque. The initial model was a convertible.

The new Viper SRT-10 Coupe (no longer called the GTS) was introduced in 2005 at the Detroit Auto Show as a 2006 model. It shares many of its body panels with the convertible but takes its side and rear styling cues from the Competition Coupe (see below). The new coupe looks much like the previous Viper GTS and retains the "double-bubble" roof shape of the ,original, along with the original GTS's tail lamps, for an added homage to the original Viper coupe

The 1999 model is the last Viper that has forged pistons from the factory. Starting in 2000 model year, the car has cast pistons that are not as strong when adding boost or nitrous.

Variants

Viper GTS-R

Using such production engine components as the block, cylinder heads, and crankshaft, Team Viper engineers were able to extract 700 hp from the normally 450 hp second generation 8.0 L V10 engine.

The car made its competition debut in the 24 Hours of Daytona with Canaska Racing in 1996, then the 24 Hours of Le Mans, when a GTS-R finished tenth overall in its very first run for glory. The next year, Team Viper (who now switched services to Oreca) switched to the GT-2 class and proceeded to dominate, winning both the 1997 FIA GT-2 Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ World Championships.

In 1998, Team Viper returned to Le Mans to set new track records in practice. It was a good omen. When the checkered flag dropped on the 24th hour of the longest day in racing, Viper GTS–R racers finished first and second in their class to become the first American car to win at Le Mans in three decades, and the first–ever production–based American car to grace the winner's circle.

Team Viper followed its Le Mans victory by securing both the FIA GTS Driver’s and Manufacturer’s World Championships for the second year in a row.

Viper Competition Coupe

As of 2003, a special Dodge Viper SRT-10 Competition Coupe that is not street-legal is available from Dodge for race car drivers, picking up where the GTS-R racing variant left off. The power and torque ratings have been improved, but the vehicle has been stripped of anything not essential for racing, such as the interior body panels, instrumentation, air conditioning, and stereo system which lightend the car by 380 lb (170 kg). The "CompCoupe" comes equipped with a full roll cage, a racing fuel cell, and other racing-related equipment. It is not sold through dealers and is purchased from Dodge directly as, essentially, a very expensive race car component. Pricing is approximately US$129,000. The Viper Competition Coupe sees action in the highly competitive SCCA Speed World Challenge Grand Touring Championship.

In 2004 Samuel Hubinette used a Competition Coupe with modified axle for the Formula D in which he won the title before the car were barred by the end of the season and were replaced by an SRT-10 the following season.

Viper-powered Ram

A Dodge Ram SRT-10 is currently also being produced. It is available in either regular cab or quad-cab, short box with the Viper's 8.3 L V10 and either a Tremec T56 manual transmission or the 48RE four-speed automatic. The package also includes a long list of other performance and styling modifications. The engine valve covers still read "VIPER" so it is indeed a Viper truck.

The trucks begain production in 2004 as a standard cab manual transmission only, with the quad-cab automatic following in 2005. Production of the truck continues in 2006.

Tomahawk

A motorcycle carrying the Viper V10 was introduced at the 2003 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, MI. The Dodge Tomahawk was driven onto stage by then-COO Wolfgang Bernhardt in full riding leathers.

The Dodge Tomahawk can reach 60 mph in about 2.5 seconds, and has a theoretical top speed of nearly 400 mph. Each pair of wheels is separated by a few inches and each wheel has an independent suspension. Bernhardt said four wheels were necessary to handle the power from the engine. Since it is not legal to drive the Tomahawk on public roads, the few that were sold through Neiman Marcus were sold as "rolling sculptures".

Awards

• John Lingenfelter Memorial Trophy
• 2004 SCCA SpeedWorld GT - Drivers Championship
• 2004 World Speed Record - Dodge SRT-10 Ram - 154.587 mph flying kilometer
• 1998 FIA GT2 - First and Second Place 24 Hours of Le Mans, first American car to win at Le Mans in three decades, and very first "production american car"
• 1998 FIA GT2 Driver’s and Manufacturer’s World Championship
• 1997 FIA GT2 Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ World Championship

Television

NBC created Viper which was a TV show in which the Dodge Viper itself starred. The show ran for four seasons, with the roadster appearing in the first three seasons, then replaced by the coupe in the fourth and final season.

Viper was an action-adventure TV series about a special task force set up by the federal government to fight crime in fictional Metro City, California. The weapon used by this task force is an assault vehicle that masquerades as a Dodge Viper.

Movies

• RPM (1998) featured a red Viper RT-10 in a car chase.
• The Ninth Gate (1999) also featured a Viper RT-10 in a car chase.
• 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) briefly featured a yellow Viper SRT-10.
• Michel Vaillant (2003) featured a racing edition Viper GTS-R.
• Banlieue 13 (2004) briefly featured an early-production Viper RT-10.
• Crash (2005) featured a black Viper ACR.

External links

• Official Dodge Viper Website
• Viperclub.org - Viper Club of America Offical Website
• AutoGuideWiki.com
• www.MySnakeBite.de - Dodge Viper Picture Galery
• www.MySnakeBite.de - Dodge Viper Story
• Car Videos & Pictures especially about VCA Germany

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