Track-ready, yes, but the 600-hp 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR is also street legal.
Don’t expect the snake to “slither away,” says Dodge Division General Manager Ralph Gilles. Despite the failed attempt to sell the sport car brand – and the decision to take the Viper out of production, at the end of next year, Gilles promises the storied 2-seater will be back.
For the moment, production will continue through the coming model-year with the introduction of the latest, track-ready version, the 2010 Dodge Viper Viper SRT10, the automaker will formally announce at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show. And another version, based on an Italian sports car design, seems likely to follow soon afterwards, Gilles, who also serves as Chrysler’s design director, hints.
A version of the Viper ACR just set a lap record at the challenging Laguna Seca raceway, on California’s Monterey Peninsula, tearing up the 2.238-mile track in just 1:33.915, about 1.1 seconds faster than the previous lap record.
The changes are modest for the new model-year, primarily a new short-throw shifter, with a number of steps, such as a revised rear wing, designed to enhance aerodynamics and boost top speed by 4 miles per hour, to 184 mph.
The 8.4-liter V-10 will still make 600 horsepower and 560 lb-ft of torque, and help the 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR turn 0 to 60 times in less than 4.0 seconds.
But what about the future? What’s firmly set in stone is the decision to pull the current Viper from production at the end of a limited 2010 run of 500 vehicles. But after a failed attempt by former Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli to sell off the sports car brand, the automaker now seems increasingly likely to revive the snake in the not-too-distant future.
At a day-long briefing on Chrysler’s post-bankruptcy plan, new CEO Sergio Marchionne suggested the sports car could come back in the next few years, a hint that Gilles is taking a step further, suggesting, “We’re going to keep Dodge’s performance icon alive and well by not only producing some of the most special Vipers ever built, but we’re also investigating what the next-generation Viper is going to be.”
That rebirth could happen as early as 2012, sources suggest, though there seem to be several paths under study. It should be noted that Chrysler’s new parent, Fiat, owns three strong performance brands: Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo. The latter maker is expected to make a phoenix-like revival during the course of Chrysler’s 5-year turnaround plan, and it could provide a platform for a next-generation Viper, but it seems even more likely that Chrysler will borrow the “architecture” of one of Maserati’s sports models.
That would be a plus for the struggling specialty maker. Maserati has yet to live up to sales expectations, despite some highly-reviews products, like the GranSport and Quattroporte. It would help the maker to expand the use of its production line in Modena, Italy, though that would likely push the price of a next-generation Viper significantly beyond the current $86,890.