Poisonous Venom

Written by Nicolas Bates

In the mid-to-late 1980s, young boys all over America had their dream car plastered all over their walls: the Lamborghini Countach. In the early-to-mid 1990s, that dream car became the Dodge Viper. The American-made—yet exotic looking—muscle car caught the attention of those who felt muscle cars had long been replaced by exotic sports cars from overseas. And after four generations of Vipers, the fifth generation Viper is set to go into production in the near future. Chrysler has stated, “The new Viper is not based on anything else.” We’re thinking this should make for one hell of an interesting and new fifth-gen Viper. It will even lose its Dodge badge, becoming the SRT Viper for the 2013 year.

After the third and fourth generation Viper saw its body lose some of its contour, the fifth generation will be back to make up for all that was lost during those “straight years.” Although Chrysler claims the 2013 Viper is completely new, it looks extremely reminiscent of the first and second generations—maybe just on steroids. The car retains its ever-flowing hood, bubble-top roof, shark-like gills at the forefront of the doors and that sexy, round ass-end, with the ever-so-subtle, yet not-so-subtle rear lip spoiler. The front fascia is surely redesigned, and almost seems to have elements of an Aston Martin. One can see this if they pay particular close attention to the headlights. All in all, the new 2013 Viper is one sexy mobile that scoots along at a pretty good pace.

The Viper will be powered by an updated version of its powerplant: an 8.4-liter all-aluminum V10 capable of 640 horsepower at 6,150 rpm (an increase of 40 horsepower over the forth generation 2010 Viper) and 600 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,950 rpm. Chrysler claims the Viper puts out more torque than any other naturally aspirated car in the world. Part of the redesign includes a composite intake manifold (with computation fluid dynamics technology), lighter forged piston, stiffer pushrods, a new camshaft profile, sodium-cooled exhaust valves and a more free-flowing exhaust system—all contributing to that extra 40 ponies under the hood. A Tremec 6-speed transmission will handle shifting duties. This time around, the transmission will include closer ratios making the car even more responsive. When coupled with a shortened final-drive ratio of 3.55:1, the Viper is said to be able to produce better high-speed performance.

Due to new(er) federal government regulations, stability control is now required to be a standard feature on cars that come off the assembly line. This can be problematic when you’re looking to create a street legal racecar. To solve this problem, Chrysler will offer SRT models with “Full On” and “Full Off, ” whereby the “Full Off’ option will still allow the driver to get a little silly with rear tire spin, all while technically having “stability control” on and functioning. The SRT GTS model, however, will also come with “Sport” and “Track” options, giving the driver further levels of control.

The all-new 2013 SRT Viper seems to be a breath of fresh air to a market with limited competition. However, with Chrysler stating they are not interested in volume of cars sold, and only profitability, we can only assume this newly redesigned, modern-day hot rod will put a significant dent in the ol’ checkbook. Only time will tell, and that time will draw closer towards the end of 2012. Extreme price or not, it becomes apparent that Chrysler has engaged in creating a very capable, high-powered vehicle for the driver whom finds pleasure in just that. Just like with past generations, this Viper is most likely sure to be a rare find, and will surely be worth more than your average (or high-end) Corvette or Camaro down the road. We give kudos to Chrysler for creating this vicious monster.

For more info go to:
DriveSRT.com/srt-viper