The Dodge Viper at 30

As this most brutally famous American sports car hits a major anniversary we look at its highs and lows

Imagine you asked a child to draw a made-up all-American sports car.

It’s quite possible that they would come up with something like the Dodge Viper. The Viper was built over five generations, and showed little sign of subtlety in any of them. Splendidly aggressive bodywork clothed an engine based on the philosophy of “there’s no replacement for displacement”. It’s an old formula, but one which has never lost its appeal for many motorists.

The first Viper went on sale in early 1992. This year is therefore its 30th anniversary, which is as good an excuse as any to look back at a car whose like we will probably never see again.

Dodge

From the time the Dodge brothers built their first vehicle in 1914 to the launch of the Viper, the brand was known for almost everything except two-seater sports cars. There was no Dodge equivalent of, for example, the Chevrolet Corvette or the Ford Thunderbird.

But Dodge did have a lot of experience with high-performance models. The 7.0-litre Chrysler Hemi-powered Charger Daytona of 1969 was perhaps the most glamorous, and certainly the most dramatic, but there were many others. Creating very fast cars was familiar territory for Dodge.

Concept

The Viper made its public debut as a concept car at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January 1989. It differed in several details from the later production cars, but the basic idea of a big engine mounted up front driving the rear wheels with a small cockpit in between would not change.

The design was by Tom Gale (born 1943), whose other work for Chrysler included the even more outlandish Plymouth Prowler retro hot rod.

The name

According to Chrysler executive Bob Lutz (born 1932), the car was named after a snake because it was a spiritual successor to the AC Cobra. Viper was chosen because the asp is too small, the boa constrictor and anaconda are “fat and lethargic”, and rattlesnake “seemed to suggest unsound construction”.

The car was marketed as a Dodge because, Lutz said, it was “too big for Plymouth, too outrageous for the Chrysler brand”. It was, however, sold as a Chrysler in the UK, where Dodge was not a presence at the time.

Indianapolis

A pre-production Viper driven by Carroll Shelby (1923-2012) – creator of the AC Cobra and a consultant on the Viper project – was used as the pace car at the 1991 Indianapolis 500 race. This wasn’t the original plan. Chrysler had nominated the Mitsubishi 3000GT-based Dodge Stealth, but the idea of promoting a Japanese car in front of thousands of Indy fans went down very badly with the United Auto Workers union.

Chrysler quickly changed its mind, and prepared two Vipers just in time for the race. One of them was ready to be used as a backup in case anything went wrong with the other.

The engine

The Viper engine is sometimes said to have been derived from a unit developed for the Dodge Ram pickup truck. In fact, the all-aluminium unit had almost nothing in common with the Ram engine, apart from the fact that they were both V10s with a 90-degree angle between the two banks of cylinders. 72 degrees is optimal for a V10, but then the engine wouldn’t have fitted under the low-slung Viper’s bonnet.

In its original form, the V10 measured 8.0 litres and produced 400bhp. As impressive as those figures were at the time, they would later be beaten handsomely.

First generation

The original Viper was sold only as a roadster, and was supplied without ABS, traction control, airbags or even air-conditioning. The first three items on that list would have been helpful. The Viper was very powerful for its day, and had a kerbweight of less than 1500kg. It also developed an early reputation for being quite a handful to drive.

Side exhausts

One of the first Viper’s most notable features was the location of the exhaust pipes, which ran down each side of the car. This was very dramatic, and gave an even greater impression of a car designed to go quickly. The downside was that you wouldn’t want to touch them with your legs as you climbed out after a hard run.

Later Vipers had a more conventional arrangement in which the exhausts remained out of sight until they emerged from the rear of the car.

Second generation

A new Viper was introduced for the 1996 model year in North America. Apart from the new location of the exhaust pipes, it looked very similar to the previous car, but was now available with a removable hardtop. The engine still had a capacity of 8.0 litres, but the power output had increased slightly. Dodge added extra safety equipment during the production run.

In a repeat of the situation five years earlier, this Viper (in fact the yet to be launched GTS version mentioned later) was used as the pace car at the 1996 Indianapolis 500, this time with Bob Lutz at the wheel.

The GTS

Near the end of 1996, Dodge introduced a new variant called the GTS. Based on a concept shown two years before, this was the first coupe version of the Viper, featuring a distinctive ‘double bubble’ roof, and also the first with air-conditioning and airbags.

For this car, the V10’s power output was raised to 450bhp. The engine in the roadster was later upgraded to this specification.

(PICTURE: 1994 GTS Concept)

The GTS-R

The GTS-R was the competition version of the GTS coupe, built in France by Oreca. Over 50 were produced, and they were very successful. Oreca itself won the GT2 Teams’ title in the 1997 and 1998 FIA GT Championship, and the overall title in 1999.

The GTR-2 also won national championship in Europe and North America, and finished first in 24-hour races at Spa, Daytona and the Nürburgring.

The GT2 Champion Edition

To celebrate the FIA GT2 Team’s Championship win in 1997, Dodge produced a road-going version. The GT2 Champion Edition wasn’t a race car, but its engine was uprated by 10bhp to produce 460bhp, and its weight was reduced by omitting the audio system, air-conditioning and front foglights.

Some of the suspension components were carried over from the GTS. To improve grip still further, the car was fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport tyres mounted on 18″ BBS wheels, plus a large rear wing.

The ACR

The GT2 Champion Edition was succeeded by the ACR (American Club Racer) of 1999, priced $10,000 higher than the standard Viper coupe.

Mechanically, the two cars were very similar, but the slightly less extreme ACR dropped the rear wing and had leather upholstery.

The GTS-R Concept

Eleven years after the first Viper concept was revealed at the Detroit Show, an even more extreme vehicle made its debut at the same event. The GTS-R Concept was a fully functional car which rode about three inches lower than the standard model and had a longer wheelbase.

It was powered by the usual 8.0-litre V10 engine, but this had been uprated to 500bhp, a figure no previous Viper had achieved. Reputedly capable of travelling at 200mph, the car was unique. Dodge never built another one.

Third generation

The Viper was redesigned for the 2003 model year. In its new form, known as SRT10, it was wider than before and had a longer wheelbase, and was arguably more elegant. The V10 engine was given its first capacity increase, to 8.3 litres, and now produced the same 500bhp as the GTS-R Concept.

At first, this Viper was available only as a convertible, at least for road use. Speaking in 2005, Dan Knott (1961-2012), director of Chrysler’s Street & Racing Technology division explained that at the initial budget didn’t stretch to creating a coupe version.

The Competition Coupe

In 2003, the only solid-roofed Viper you could buy new was the Competition Coupe. As its name suggested, it was not intended for road use. For $100,000, customers would receive a race car with slick tyres, a full rollcage, a differential cooler and brake ducting, among many other features.

There was more power, too. The Competition Coupe had the same 8.3-litre engine as the road-going version, but its output was raised to 520bhp.

A road-going coupe

Dodge was finally able to develop a road-going coupe version of the third Viper in time for it go on sale in late 2005. The rear end was substantially different from that of the roadster, and featured an aggressive spoiler, partly due to feedback from Viper owners who were shown a prototype in Dallas, Texas.

The new model was more suitable for trackdays and club-level competitions. “That was one of the reasons we brought the coupe back,” said designer Ralph Gilles. “There are some tracks that don’t allow soft tops or open cars.”

More power

By the time the SRT10 coupe was launched, the V10 engine’s power output had reached a new high (for road-legal models) of 510bhp.

Maximum torque was now 535lb-feet. Chrysler claimed that 90 percent of this was available all the way from 1500rpm to 5600rpm.

The fourth generation

Other than a more elaborate bonnet, the 2008 Viper looked very similar to the model it replaced. The important changes were hidden from sight. The V10 engine was now even larger than before, at 6.4 litres.

On its own, this would not have made much difference to the performance, but development had been so comprehensive (including the introduction of variable valve timing) that the maximum power output leaped up to 600bhp. Chrysler claimed that the car could now accelerate from 0-60mph in under four seconds, and do the 0-100-0mph run in just over 12.

Return of the ACR

The ACR version of the fourth Viper may have produced the same 600bhp as the regular model, but it was designed to be far more capable on a race track. It was lighter (even more so if you specified the optional Hard Core package) and had a rear wing which brought the top speed down to 180mph but improved cornering grip.

A revision for the 2010 model year included altering the rear wing so that the car would now do 184mph and lowering the fifth gear ratio.

The ACR-X

Like the earlier Competition Coupe, the ACR-X was a track-only car supplied with full race equipment including slick tyres. The engine was developed still further for this car, and now produced 640bhp, or 240bhp more than the original Viper.

The ACR-X was the basis of a short-lived but high-paced one-make race series called the Dodge Viper Cup.

The end, part one

Production of the fourth-generation Viper ended in 2010. To mark the occasion, Dodge created three special versions. The 1:33 Edition was an ACR named after the lap time set by one of those cars at Laguna Seca raceway in California. Only 33 were built, but this made it almost a mainstream model compared with the black-with-red-stripes Voodoo Edition, of which Dodge built just ten.

The Final Edition was painted in Graphite Clear Coat and featured a black central stripe with red edges. A total of 50 were produced – 20 coupes, 18 roadsters and 12 ACRs.

(PICTURE: 1:33 Edition)

The fifth generation

Reports of the Viper’s death were exaggerated. A fifth model was being talked about as early as 2010, and went on sale in the 2013 model year. This car was both lighter and stiffer than its predecessor, and featured carbonfibre body panels. It was still powered by the 8.4-litre V10, but revisions meant that the phenomenal 640bhp maximum output of the ACR-X track car was now standard for the road version.

Launch control and traction control were now available, but they could be switched off. At first, the new car was marketed as the SRT Viper, but it was later rebranded and became a Dodge like all the others.

The TA

Late in 2013, Dodge introduced a special edition package called TA (for Time Attack). The kit included track calibration for the Bilstein DampTronic suspension, a lighter strut brace, Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres and a Brembo brake set-up.

The Advanced Aerodynamics Package, consisting of carbonfibre front splitters and rear spoiler, was claimed to give a 700 percent increase in downforce at 150mph, a speed the car could achieve very easily.

Racing

A works team of fifth-generation Vipers competed successfully in IMSA’s American Le Mans Series and its successor, the United Sports Car Champioship. It did particularly well in the latter. In 2014, Kuno Wittmer was Drivers’ Champion in the GTLM class, while SRT Motorsport won the team prize.

Chrysler announced the termination of its factory race programme at the end of that season.

The GTC

In 2015, Dodge introduced a new version of the Viper called the GTC. Customer choice for this one was, to say the least, extensive. There were over 25 million possible combinations of exterior colours, custom stripes, wheels, trims and aero packages.

In the galactically unlikely event that two customers asked for the same specification in the same model year, the one who tried to place their order second would be asked to reconsider. Every GTC would be distinguishable, even if only slightly, from every other.

Another ACR

In a preview published in July 2015, Chrysler described the forthcoming ACR variant as “the fastest street-legal Viper track car ever”. It was several steps ahead of a standard Viper, even one fitted with the TA package. Along with a power upgrade to 645bhp, this ACR had highly adjustable suspension (with variable ride height for corner weighting purposes) and was fitted with Kumho Ecsta V720 tyres.

The Extreme Aero Package, which included a dual-element rear wing, a rear diffuser and an extendable front splitter, was said to produce nearly a ton of downforce at top speed.

The end, part two

Within three years of the fifth Viper going on sale, Chrysler confirmed that the nameplate would be discontinued – really, this time – during the 2017 model year.

Sales of the current model had been poor (production actually stopped briefly in 2014 to allow customers to catch up), but it was also reported that there was no room to fit curtain airbags, as manufacturers were increasingly expected to do.

Final editions

2017 happened to be the Viper’s 25th anniversary, which gave Dodge an extra excuse to produce several limited editions at the end of its run. Four became available on 24 June 2016, and were snapped up almost immediately. Dodge sold all 28 examples of the 1:28 Edition ACR in 40 minutes, 31 VooDoo II Edition ACRs in two hours, 25 Snakeskin Edition GTCs and 100 GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACRs in two days and 22 Dodge Dealer Edition ACRs in five days.

Realising it was on to a good thing here, Dodge announced that it would take orders for an ACR version of the Snakeskin Edition from mid July.

Dodge Ram SRT10

The Viper story goes well beyond the car itself. Several other vehicles were powered by its mighty engine, and we’re going to take a quick look at three of the most unusual here. The first is the Dodge Ram SRT10 pickup truck, available with both Regular Cab and Quad Cab body styles. Officially announced in November 2003, it was powered by the 500bhp, 8.3-litre version of the V10 as fitted to the third-generation Viper. The suspension and aerodynamics were altered to suit, and Dodge created a race-inspired interior.

An unmodified SRT10 driven by professional racer Brendan Gaughan set a new speed record for production pickup trucks, averaging 154.587mph over two runs.

(PICTURE: Dodge Ram SRT10 Quad Cab)

Dodge Tomahawk

The same 8.3-litre engine used in the Viper and the Ram SRT10 was also fitted to the extraordinary Tomahawk concept, which looked very much like a monstrous motorcycle despite having four wheels.

Estimates of the Tomahawk’s top speed varied wildly from around 300mph to 420mph. These were never confirmed, and were treated with scepticism. The Tomahawk actually went into limited production, priced at over half a million dollars, but only as a non-functioning vehicle. This was perhaps just as well.

Millyard Viper V10

British engineer Allen Millyard, no stranger to the world of eccentric motorcycles, was inspired by the Tomahawk to build a Viper-powered creation of his own. Apart from the V10 engine in the middle, it looked relatively conventional compared with the Dodge version.

It was also measurably quick. Millyard himself was timed at 192.5mph in 2018, and preferred not to attempt a quicker run. Later the same day, test rider Bruce Dunn recorded 207.1mph. “I felt like US astronaut John Glenn on top of the Atlas rocket,” he said later.

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