Chrysler have revealed the new SRT Viper at the New York motor show. The only American car worth bothering with – other than the Corvette – is said by the company to be lighter, more powerful and feature a far more “premium” interior than before, largely due to it borrowing some materials from SRT’s Chrysler Group new siblings; Ferrari and Maserati.
SRT boss Ralph Gilles said that using a Ferrari or Maserati platform was considered for the new Viper, but “the right proportions could not be met and instead the outgoing car’s high strength steel platform was completely reengineered.”
Meaning that Ferrari and Maserati told them to “f**k off” when they asked if they could nick a platform to jam under a new Viper. And rightly so.
Still, they were allowed to nick a few bits from the inside, with Gilles stating the obvious by saying that customers had complained the old Viper’s interior was “a bit of a joke” and that lessons had been learned from Ferrari and Maserati. Presumably not in the fit and finish stakes though…
It’s not all good news inside, however, because the TFT instrument cluster is borrowed from the Dodge Dart and apparently features a glowing snake instead of a gear shift indicator. Neat…
The structure is 50 percent stiffer than before, while the still-stupidly-large 8.4-litre V10 engine is 13kg lighter than the previous model’s. Power is upped to a frankly silly 470kW, coming in at 6150rpm, while torque is boosted to a frankly terrifying 813Nm at 4950rpm, which is apparently the highest of any naturally aspirated engine in the world.
The bodywork is made mostly from carbon fibre and weighs 32 percent less than before, while superformed aluminium is used for the doors and sills.
Despite it being one of the first cars you would think of when the phrase “sustained loss of traction” is mentioned, launch control features for the first time in the new Viper, while other electronic aids include traction control and a four stage ESP system that can be switched off completely. Which you would be a very brave – or very disturbed – individual to feel the need to do.
Two versions of the SRT Viper will be available, including a base model and a GTS variant, while a racing version of the Viper was also present at the show.
While American cars remain, generally speaking, pants, it is reassuring to know that the Viper remains a towering tribute to politically incorrect silliness and unnecessary power. Brilliant.
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