Fastest street-legal Viper ever, unveiled

Who is NOT afraid and intimidated by the Dodge Viper please raise your hands? No one…well, can’t say I am surprised. We all know that Dodge’s Viper is one of the most masculine as muscle cars go. No nonsense, bare bones, performance-oriented with Spartan interiors. The next chapter in the history of the ultimate street-legal, track-focused, hand-built American supercar will begin when the new 2016 Dodge Viper ACR goes up for sale by around October this year.

The new 2016 Dodge Viper ACR builds upon an already very potent package designed to eke out every last hundredth of a second out of road course lap times. This is achieved by generating maximum downforce with the Extreme Aero package that the manufacturers say, is the most of any production car. During testing, the engineers claim that they have seen almost one ton of downforce…yes sir! One ton of downforce at a top speed of 177 mph (285 kph). The Extreme Aero Package includes a huge (1,876 mm wide) adjustable dual-element rear wing, rear carbon fiber diffuser, SRT hood with removable louvers, detachable extension for the front splitter and four dive planes.

Brakes are just as important when a beast with such power is unleashed on the tracks. That need is aptly addressed with new Brembo Carbon Ceramic Matrix brakes having two-piece 390 mm, six-piston calipers at the front and two-piece 360 mm, four-piston calipers at the rear. These are said to offer better brake fade resistance, and greater handling capability through reduced un-sprung weight. The brake pads also carry the distinction of covering the largest brake pad area ever seen on a Viper.

The 2016 ACR Viper is a track weapon and therefore is made to tackle corners in the fastest, tightest way possible. To carry this out – apart from the aero package – aluminum bodied, double-adjustable coil-over Bilstein race shocks have been developed specifically for the car. They work in tandem with ride height adjustment for optimal control of weight transfer providing more than three inches of ride height adjustment. Tyres are Kumho Ecsta V720 high-performance tyres, again built specifically for the ACR with unique tread pattern and compounds for front and rear. Front tyre size is 295/25 while the rear is 355/30; both are mounted on 19-inch rims. The combination of aerodynamics, sporty suspension and sticky rubber make for super high-speed turning capabilities in excess of 1.5 g.

Power, comes from the engine and the ACR has truck-loads of it (literally!) coming from the iconic, handcrafted, all-aluminum 8.4-liter V-10 OHC engine producing 645 bhp and 813 Nm of torque. Dodge says that the torque figure is the most of any naturally aspirated engine. The tedious and strenuous task of putting power to the tarmac is handled by the standard Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual transmission. All the drool-worthy figures have not been revealed yet. I suspect that they will come out closer to the launch date.

This is how Tim Kuniskis, President and CEO, Dodge and SRT Brand, FCA – North America sums up their newest offering, “The Viper has always been more of a street-legal race car than a track-capable streetcar, and the new 2016 Dodge Viper ACR is the fastest street-legal Viper track car ever. Our goal is to arm our enthusiasts with the ultimate Viper track car to dominate road courses around the world.”