2029 Dodge Copperhead SRT: Everything We KnowAndrei Avarvarii - MotorTrendWhat It Is"A hyper-muscle car," in the words of Tim Kuniskis, Stellantis' head of American brands. But it's not a direct Viper replacement. Think of it as a closer competitor to high-end performance versions of the Ford Mustang and the next Chevrolet Camaro. The Copperhead name (representing one of the most common and widespread vipers in North America) openly draws a connection to the vaunted Viper SRT that dominated Dodge showrooms from 1991 until 2017 (and will also hopefully be returning someday) while delivering considerably more power than did the 1997 V-6-powered Copperhead concept. As such, the Copperhead promises to be a much better-handling competitor to the modern iterations of classic pony/muscle cars.Indeed, MotorTrend began this year's Future Cars project before Dodge confirmed the Copperhead's existence, as Kuniskis downplayed the possibility of a Viper revival. But we knew some kind of Dodge sports car was coming and still presumed it was a Viper revival, so we began our research there. While it seems we'll be left waiting and hoping for another Viper somewhere down the line, we've still included the future Viper renderings we originally commissioned, just for fun if nothing else.Why It MattersThe modern-era Dodge Challenger was never a truly compelling rival for the top-performing Chevy Camaros and Ford Mustangs, owing to its full-size sedan underpinnings. That situation arguably worsened with the latest eighth-generation LB Charger; the Copperhead aims to put Dodge back in the pony car race in a way it hasn't been since it offered the early Barracudas and Vanishing Point Challengers.Andrei Avarvarii - MotorTrendPlatform and PowertrainWe got a look at the long-nose, wide-track, low-slung sports car during an investor-day presentation, and while some outlets have conflated its Charger-meets-Viper design cues as suggesting it's based on the STLA Large platform, Kuniskis is on record dispelling that notion. That platform was designed to accommodate an underfloor battery pack for electric propulsion, while the Copperhead is expected to derive its enthusiasts' soundtrack authentically via combustion power. So STLA Large would force too many compromises.AdvertisementAdvertisementFor the Copperhead to clear its corporate profitability hurdles, it will have to leverage the sunk costs of a global Stellantis platform. The obvious choice, given its proportions and design brief, is the modified Giorgio platform that underpins the Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabrio. It's already in production and could probably use the Copperhead's volume to amortize its development cost.This portends well for the Copperhead's likely track-handling potential, given the platform's extensive use of aluminum castings, extrusions, and stampings to lower mass and increase stiffness. Its front-engine/rear-transaxle layout mimics the Mustang GTD's and approaches the mid-engine C8 Corvette for mass balance and willingness to rotate, and its sophisticated multilink front and rear suspension geometry with adaptive damping represents a major upgrade from Viper tech.Selecting this platform would seem to leave the door open for Dodge to offer a Copperhead cabrio model, or even perhaps a fully electric one by adopting the battery packaging model used on the Maserati platform's Folgore electric versions. However, the Copperhead is absolutely expected to launch with combustion power, and probably a lot of it. The hood is amply long to swallow a Hurricane I-6 (especially when hooked to a rear transaxle) or a Hemi V-8, either one of which could easily be blown and/or hybridized to hit whatever magic aural excitement level or output figure is deemed necessary to achieve pony/muscle car supremacy. Both Kuniskis and Dodge engineers have confirmed to MotorTrend the Hurricane has a lot more in it than what's currently offered in the Charger, so a higher-revving, fire-breathing straight-six feels likely to be among the options.Then again, Kuniskis has teased journalists with the quip that Stellantis is working on a "new technology" powertrain he predicted would be unveiled this summer (it still hadn't been as we went to press) while downplaying hybridization as a possibility. We'll stay tuned.Estimated Price: $100,000Expected On-Sale Date: 2029
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