SRT Viper 2013More than two decades after its launch,
the Viper remains something of an outsider. We've put it up against domestic competition from Chevrolet's
Corvette,
and against the best of Europe and Asia. But it never seemed to fit
quite right in any of those categories. It was too raw and
uncompromised, almost to a fault. How, then, does one go about updating
such a car for the modern world?
That question was pondered long and hard in the deep, dark recesses of Chrysler headquarters. In the end, it was decided that the Viper
had become an icon, and as such, there could be no wholesale redesign
of the car. Evolutionary changes were called for, ones that would
improve the car's performance, design, and value without losing the
elemental incivility that makes the Viper special. The result is a car
that has clearly adapted to its environment, but that still carves its
own path. It remains a V-10-powered, rear-drive beast with side-exit
exhaust pipes and no automatic transmission option. It's a car that
Viper purists can appreciate, but can still appeal to supercar
connoisseurs, or so the SRT people hope.
Some adaptations were unavoidable. Stability control is now mandated by law, so for the first time ever, it's standard on the Viper.
Anticipating the potential blowback, SRT says its engineers spent
nearly as much time developing the stability control system as they did
the rest of the car. The goal was to create a system that would help
drivers when needed without their noticing. It even does a bit of torque vectoring with the brakes to keep wayward drivers out of ditches. Of course, if you're feeling brave, you can always just turn the system off and try your luck.
The
adaptations didn't stop there. The drive-by-wire throttle was retuned
for quicker response, while the steering ratio was quickened to remove
nearly a full turn lock-to-lock and the track width was increased to its
widest ever. The standard dampers were upgraded to Bilstein
aluminum-bodied units with coil-over springs, and optional
electronically adjustable shocks have been added to the mix. Those
springs are significantly stiffer and continue to hold down an
all-aluminum suspension that uses upper and lower control arms at all
four corners. Each corner also suspends a 14-inch
brake disc
-- solid or optional two-piece -- with a four-piston Brembo caliper and
conservative 19-inch wheels wrapped for the first time in Pirelli tires
-- PZeros or optional Corsas -- rather than Michelins.
Providing
Herculean forces for the updated suspension to contend with is the
familiar 8.4-liter overhead-valve V-10, but it too has adapted. The
intake manifold is composite, lowering the engine's weight and center of
gravity. Cooling has been improved to even out temperatures across the
long block of cylinders. The valves are lighter, and, on the exhaust
side, filled with sodium. The rotating assembly is now entirely forged,
from the pistons to the connecting rods to the crankshaft. The
refinements result in an extra 40 hp and 40 lb-ft of torque, totaling
640 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque. "Truck engine" this ain't.
The
engine now revs more freely to its 6200-rpm redline, thanks to a
lightweight aluminum flywheel. It continues to turn a Tremec six-speed
manual transmission, but the box has been reworked to reduce shift
effort and increase accuracy. SRT has also tightened up the
gear ratios
for better acceleration and swapped out the old 3.55 rear end for a new
3.07 gear set, still with standard limited-slip differential. The
result: an extra 5 mph on the top end for an estimated top speed of 206
mph.
All the power in the world, though, does no good without a proper
chassis. Determined to prove the Viper
could do more than drive in a straight line, SRT took lessons from the
track. The frame itself has been lightened by 25 pounds and stiffened
up. A massive piece of cast magnesium creates the firewall, perhaps the
largest automotive application of the material yet, Chrysler claims. A
tubular X-brace crisscrosses the engine, not for show but to improve
torsional rigidity on the track. SRT says the chassis is now 50 percent stiffer when it comes time to twist.
SRT also found weight savings in the body. The hood, roof, hatch, and door sills are now
carbon fiber.
The doors are aluminum, while the fenders and bumpers are reinforced
plastic. SRT engineers say they've removed about 100 pounds of weight
from the car, despite all the extra bits they've added. That beautifully
curvaceous body is functional, too. The drag coefficient is down to
0.36, and every scoop and vent is functional and improves either cooling
or aerodynamics.
The biggest extra bit, of course, is the
interior. The old Viper's interior was cheap. It was one of the biggest
turn-offs for potential cross-shoppers, projecting an image of low
quality and poor design. None of that can be said for the new interior.
SRT set three goals: materials, craftsmanship, and quality. The leather,
the designers say, is of the same quality demanded by Bentley and
Lamborghini. The seats are made by Sabelt, the company used by Ferrari,
because, upon seeing the first seats SRT came up with, Sergio Marchionne
remarked, "What the **** are these Barcaloungers doing in here?" The
new seats also have more travel, a boon for taller drivers. The center
console and shifter have been lowered an inch for comfort and ease of
shifting. Even the air vents are multipiece affairs, made of plastic
rather than metal to save weight.
That's not to say the Viper has gone soft on us. SRT will offer two models at launch, the Viper and the Viper
GTS. The "base" Viper is aimed at the purists, the no-frills, hard-core
fans. It gets a basic black interior, black headlight buckets and
brake calipers,
polished five-spoke wheels, a body-color rear trim panel,
non-adjustable Bilstein shocks, and an old SRT10-style hood with six
gaping vents. Chrysler's 8.4-inch touch-screen infotainment system is
standard, but now features custom background images matched to the
interior color and special SRT functions like engine output displays,
extra gauges, g meters, and a lap timer that can save your track results
and send them to a website where you can share them with your friends.
Also standard is a 7-inch digital display in the center of the gauges
that can be reconfigured to show in-car functions, a g meter, lap
timers, and, of course, the tach. To top it off, a red Viper
logo fades into the center of the tach as you approach redline.
