Introducing “The
2013 SRT Viper from Dodge”
In 1989 Dodge came out with a Concept Car
that they called the Dodge Viper. It
wasn’t until January of 1991 that the world got its first glimpse of the New
Dodge Viper. Even then the Viper was not available for sale. It was used for
the replacement Pace Car in the Indy 500. When seen by the public for the first
time everyone was amazed how different the car looked. With the Publics reaction
to seeing the Viper for the First time Dodge knew they had something in the
Viper design.
In January of 1992 The Dodge Viper First
Generation (Dodge Viper SRT 10) was sold to the public for the first time. Only
285 were produced & The MSRP was $50,700 and up. All the Viper sold in 1992
were Viper Red, and came with the 488 cubic inch aluminum V10 & a 6 speed
manual transmission, and a soft vinyl top w/sliding plastic window. The 1992
Viper was one of the fastest production cars in the world topping out at an
impressive 165 mph. the 1992 Viper is still a rare collection piece.
In 1996 the second generation of the
Dodge Viper came to be. This generation looked very similar to the previous generation;
the biggest change was the addition of a coupe called the “Viper GTS. This
meant new colors & stripe & lots of wheel packages. The second
generation Viper had a gain in both Horsepower & Torque. It had 415 Horsepower & 488 lb-ft of
Torque in the RT 10 with 450 horsepower coming out of the GTS. The RT 10 could
reach speeds of 170 mph reaching the speed of 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. The GTS
featured the new addition of the “double bump” roof lines. The 1996 Dodge Viper
rolled off the showroom floor at a cool $58,500. The production of this Viper
continued for 7 years.
In January of 2002 the Viper underwent a
complete redesign from its previous years. The release of the New Dodge Viper
was long awaited by the public. The looks of the New 2003 Viper SRT-10 made it
obvious that you were looking at The Dodge Viper, but the design had changed a
great deal. The previously rounded edges now had a sharp muscular angle &
curve to them. The hood opening was no longer a flip forward hood; instead it
was now a more conventional hood opening. A newly remodeled engine was
introduced in this Viper, an all-aluminum 8.3L with 504 horsepower and 525
lb-ft of torque brought the New Viper once again into the realm of Reigning
American Performance cars. What was called the Third Generation of Dodge Vipers
was now priced at $85,000. Even with the new pricing it still became instantly
popular.
2008 was the year of the Fourth
Generation of the Dodge Viper. There were very few changes made to this
production of the Viper, just enough to call it the Fourth Generation. The
previous 504 horsepower Engine was now a 510 cu in (8.4L) V-10 that produced
600 horsepower and 560 lb ft of torque. Along with the engine came the new
VENOM engine management system. This new generation would go 0-60 in 3.4
seconds, 0-100 in 7.6 seconds and could do the quarter mile in 10.9 seconds.
The body design had very little changes except for the introduction of the
coupe body style.
2010 was said to be the year of the Final
Edition model for the Gen 4 Viper. Only 50 of these units were to be produced
(12 ACR’s, 18 roadsters and 20 coupes. They were to be the very last of the
Viper cars. 2010 was the end of production for the Gen 4 Viper. At an event by
Dodge and the Viper club of America, the final Gen 4 Viper was given a Golden Paint
finish with Orange Stripes.
Of course we
all know the Viper has not seen the end as of yet. The New 2013 Viper has been
unwrapped. 640 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque makes this Viper officially
the new 5th generation of the Viper thanks to SRT. The front/mid
mounted 8.4L V-10 makes this a power house Viper compared to other generations
built. The newly redesigned body lines were a mixture of first and second Gen
Viper styles. The underneath has changed very little. The same steel structure
as the 4th gen except that the front track gets wider and the rear
suspension has a few upgrades. Under the hood however has changed drastically
with the introduction of the X-braceV-10.
The additions
to the Interior have the Viper going through a dramatic change. The new Viper
has the thin shell seats from Sabelt and is covered in cloth w/leather options.
It does however seem that there is to be more room in the cabin of the New
Viper.
The exterior of
the body has had a redesign as well. The fenders are more trim line. The coupe
availability is more plentiful than in the past years, and the options available
with both the SRT and the GTS have more variety and additional options than
available in the past generations.
Needless to
say, “The Viper Is Back!!” and shall be available by the end of 2012 as long as
all goes well. We can’t wait to meet you Mr. Viper…
