Dodge Supercars Cars

The Dodge Viper is one of the most distinctive sports cars ever made. It started in the 1990s, with the idea of recapturing the spirit of the 1960s Shelby Cobra and Carroll Shelby, himself, was attached to the Viper’s development. Sadly, the last Viper rolled off the production line in August 2017, and it doesn’t look like there’s going to be a new one. And while prices have remained steady, one question remains: is it worth it? YouTube channel Raiti’s Rides gives a good answer.

The YouTube channel Four Eyes is mostly known for the host’s 2007 Ford Mustang GT project car. However, he now has a new project – a 2000 Dodge Viper GTS. The goal is 700 wheel-horsepower without any form of forced induction, but while it’s stock, he decided to see how the 20-year-old snake measures up against some of the Muscle cars currently on sale. Can the old Viper still perform?

As if owning a new 2015 Dodge Viper wasn’t already rewarding enough, Dodge launched the factory-customizable Viper GTC earlier this year for those who had a little extra time and money on their hands. With this program, Dodge promised buyers the ability to build a true “1-of-1” 2015 Viper GTC, with options like 8,000 exterior colors and 24,000 stripe combinations. For 2016, Dodge further ensures that these custom Viper GTCs will not only be one of a kind, but will be equally eye-catching thanks to a new available matte paint finish.

Using the paint method first introduced on the 2014 Dodge Viper Anodized Carbon in 2014, the 2016 Dodge Viper GTC will be able to have a regular matte paint finish or an exclusive metallic matte finish. Dodge didn’t say how long it takes to complete a matte paint job on the new Viper, but the current palette of existing colors takes anywhere from 145 to 160 man-hours to hand paint.

The result is that the 2016 Dodge Viper GTC is now available with double the customizable features, including 16,000 paint colors and 48,000 stripe packages, as well as 16 interior trim combinations, 11 wheel options and various packages for aero kits (seven), suspension options (four) and brake caliper colors (three).

Continue reading for the full story.

The 2012 Summer Olympics are in full swing now and medals are quickly adding up. We started wondering what about the varying cars of the world? There is no auto racing in the Olympics and a love of awesome cars is one thing that is shared throughout the entire world. So why not include them?

Here at Topspeed, we felt it was time to give our 4-wheeled friends a fair chance and display the top supercars from each of the countries participating in the 2012 Summer Games – those that produce supercars. So let’s have a look at what these countries have to offer. You may be surprised to find out what countries produce some awesome supercars and what ones don’t produce any at all.

We stand to learn a lot about the world of supercars while putting this piece together, so we are certain you will learn a ton right along with us.

Click past the jump to read our entire list and check out our full infographic.

Our latest Photo of the Week is arguably the most artistic photo we’ve seen to date and was taken by none other than Notbland aka Webb Bland.

Taken in the Mojave Desert in early 2011, the impromptu photoshoot where this photo is featured took place in just a 45-minute session with no lights and no assistance. Yet to our amateur photography eyes, we can’t even begin to think of how this photo could have been improved.

Depicting an extremely unique 2009 Dodge Viper ACR, this particular image is so special because the Viper ACR’s masculinity has been captured beautifully with the setting sun in the background helping to pull this photo off. Then there’s the lovely wooden structures in the background of this generally abandoned desert and the juxtaposition between the technologically advanced Viper ACR and the surrounds.

As a reminder, the 2009 Dodge Viper ACR features a massive 8.4-liter V10 engine producing an incredible 600 horsepower and 560lb-ft of torque. It is consequently able to sprint around the Nordschleife in what was a record time of just 7:12.1 late last year after bettering the record which was previously held by the Lexus LFA Nurburgring Package.

On a side note, be sure to check out Notbland’s Facebook fan page, his flickr account and his personal website for more amazing work.

All car buffs can appreciate when a new car comes out and pumps out 40 horsepower more than its predecessor and even blows away the old version in looks. What separates the typical car buff from the car nut is if they really care how the car got to that point. So many times I will sit and discuss gear ratios, camshaft lift and duration, compression, and weight with people and all they have to say is “How much horsepower does it have.”

Well, SRT obviously thinks its customer base is full of car nuts, as it released five videos with the engineers and designers of the 2013 SRT Viper discussing various parts of the design process, including: general overview, powertrain, interior design, handling characteristics, and exterior design. All we can say about these videos is “Wow.” SRT went above and beyond in developing this car, then went even further to draw us all into the engineering and design rooms.

All of the videos are great, but one of my favorite parts is how the designer states that the point of the interior is to keep it simple yet refined. That is a huge thing with us, as some cars go way overboard with the high-tech gadgets, to the point that it’s overwhelming. It’s pretty funny that they specifically single out Corvette owners and how they complain about the “video game” feel to the controls.

The engine video is great and the engineer really puts to bed some of the issues that the Viper has had in past years. The biggest issue by far was the uneven cooling of the engine and head gasket issues. Both of which seem taken care of with the revised cooling system.

Our favorite video by far is the “Handling Characteristics” video. First off, you can tell the engineer is a car dude and loves this stuff. But hearing about the adjustable stability control and the nasty launch control feature just made us all warm and fuzzy.

Before we give it all away, check out the videos yourself, they are an awesome lesson in how to design a car correctly.

Additional videos after the jump.

Many years ago, okay maybe less than two years ago, if you were cruising down the road in your hopped up Mustang GT and came across a Mustang bearing the “Saleen” name on the side, you knew your poor GT had no chance. In 2007, this all started to change, as Steve Saleen left the company. Then in 2011, the performance vehicle side of Saleen shut down altogether. This rendered the once feared custom car builder just a high-performance parts supplier.

Shortly after leaving Saleen, Steve Saleen started SMS Supercars, basically a new version of Saleen. A long legal battle ensued after Saleen’s new ownership group refused to honor warranties for the performance vehicles it manufactured prior to taking ownership and SMS Supercars stepped in to try to help. The legal battle circled around whether or not SMS Supercars had the right to use the “Saleen” name.

After what seems like ages, there is finally a decision. Steve Saleen has been awarded the rights to use the “Saleen” name on all of his vehicles. In addition, all previously manufactured SMS Supercar vehicles will be added to Saleen’s master registry, making them official Saleen vehicles. Plus, Saleen will start producing badges for all of the old SMS Supercar vehicles, which SMS Supercar owners can buy and put in place of the old “SMS” badges.

SMS Supercars essential now becomes one with Saleen, which means Saleen will begin producing super high-performance models of the Dodge Challenger, Ford Mustang, and Chevy Camaro.

Saleen lovers of the world rejoice! The days of Saleen being little more than AutoZone on steroids are over. We cannot wait to see the first Saleen branded cars, which should be coming very soon, though there is no official release date.

Hit the jump for the official press release

A few days ago, Chrysler created an official Facebook page for their upcoming SRT Viper and promised that if the page received 10,000 likes by February 1st, they would reveal a teaser image of the next Viper. As expected, the page had received 10,000 likes in just a few hours and now Chrysler has kept their promise. This first teaser image isn’t much, but at least it allows us an idea of how cool the new Viper will be.

As many already know, the future supercar will drop the "Dodge" name and will instead be simply called the SRT Viper. It has been rumored that the next generation Viper will keep its V10 engine, but unlike the previous generation, will use an 8.7 liter displacement instead. Output is believed to be in the 700 HP area.

The new SRT Viper will be making its world debut at the 2012 New York Auto Show in April. Stay tuned for more details!

You could say that the driver of the Ferrari 458 Italia was a little too eager in making his rival Dodge Viper eat his dust. You could even say that his heart was a racing a little and the adrenaline got the better of him. But to start a drag race like this with so many people watching? A little embarrassing, if you ask us.

Watch the video and you’ll see the Italian supercar and the American sports car in a nice and friendly quarter-mile race. Everything looks ready to roll except that when the light turned green, the 458 Italia went backwards. As in reverse. As in ’oops’.

The driver’s brainfart caused him to shift his car’s dual clutch auto transmission into reverse, which would have probably been more understandable if he wasn’t sitting behind the wheel of a 458 Italia.

But a car of that stature to start a drag race in backwards fashion is just well beyond humiliating.

Check out the video and watch the drag race folly at the 0:39 mark.

Dodge unveiled the fourth generation Viper SRT10 ACR a the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2007, bringing what would essentially be the last model presented before a whole new breed of Viper comes out in 2012. The Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR is a 600 hp street-legal Viper engineered to dominate on the race track and also provide for an exciting trip back home. The Viper went on sale in the second quarter of 2008 at a price of no less than $100,000.

"With the all-new 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR, SRT has taken the ultimate American sports car and injected it with an extra dose of racing DNA," said Mike Accavitti, Director - Dodge Brand and SRT Global Marketing and Communications, Chrysler LLC. "With the Viper SRT10 as the starting point, SRT engineered a combination of reduced weight, race-tuned suspension and aerodynamic improvements to create the ultimate Viper for the street and track."

UPDATE 09/15/2011: Put back the champagne in the freezer, Lexus; you’re just-set record lap time of 7:14 around the Nurburgring has been broken. Chrysler’s SRT team went to the ’Ring with only one thing in mind: get under 7:14 in one lap. And just as records are always meant to be broken regardless of how fresh they are, Chrysler’s Dodge Viper ACR blasted around the Nurburgring in a blistering time of 7:12. The exact time has yet to be released - there are tenths of seconds in that equation - but make no mistake, it’s more than a second faster than the 7:14.6 time the Lexus LF-A Nurburgring Package achieved earlier this month.

More details on the Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR after the jump.

This year a legendary car will go out of production. And the last 50 units will be built in a special edition: 20 Coupes, 18 Roadsters and 12 ACRs. The 2010 Dodge Viper Final Edition models will go into production this summer.

The Final Edition Viper is painted in an exterior Graphite Clear Coat color with a painted black center stripe traced in red. Viper Coupe and ACR Final Edition models include a black windshield surround. On the interior it will get a custom red accent stitching, red painted halo surrounds on the gauge cluster and bright stainless steel screws in center stack bezel. A numbered dash plaque (1-50) is located on the shifter bezel just above the unique Viper Final Edition floor mats.

Press release after the jump.

It wasn’t too long ago that we were reporting about the all new American super car, the Devon Motorworks GTX set the single lap record for a production car at the historic Laguna Seca circuit in Salinas, California with a time of 1:35.075. Justin Bell, the owner of Devon, might have offended a few people at Chrysler when he gave them a low ball offer to purchase the Viper brand, because earlier today the American automaker tackled the infamous Corkscrew and managed to shave over a second off of the GTX’s lap time with an all new 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR and Chrysler engineer Chris Winkler behind the wheel. The hard core track tuned Viper unofficially clocked in at 1:33:915, not only good enough to reset the record, but bring a bit more value to Chrysler’s halo car.

Press release and video after the jump.

Recognize this car?

We won’t fault you if you can’t. This charred remnant was once a 2005 Dodge Viper and if there was ever any car accident that you don’t want to be in the middle of, this should take the cake. The driver of the car was cruising along the streets of Laurel, Mississippi when he lost control of his Viper while passing another car. As a result, his rear end gets dislodged, loses control of his vehicle and goes off to the side of the road.

If that wasn’t enough, he crashes his Viper into a tree, after which, it catches fire. The photo of the once-proud American muscle car is a gruesome sight, unrecognized beyond despair.

Now you’re probably wondering what became of the poor man behind the wheel of this car. Well, judging from the severity of his crash and burn – literally speaking, of course – he suffered two broken ankles and a broken right arm. Considering the extent of the crash, three broken bones in his body would probably be considered a blessing in disguise because quite frankly, it could have been much worse.

Much, much worse.

Finally, what’s that, we have a taker! Or do we?

After months of attempts to convince almost anybody within earshot to purchase the Viper brand from the fiscally challenged automaker; Chrysler has finally found a partner, although the deal had to work its way around a number of issues before coming to fruition.

The aforementioned issues included government intervention, restraining orders, and Supreme Court rulings - regarding the sale of Chrysler to Fiat, the two manufacturers have finally made hurdled all obstacles. As a result of this deal Chrysler now turns over to Fiat a number of its businesses, one of which is the Dodge Viper.

This, of course, comes a few weeks after Chrysler put the Viper on the market and much to their dismay, found out that it wasn’t so much of a bullish market as it was ‘no market at all’. The general tepid reaction towards the Viper’s sale reached a point where only one company –Devon Motorworks – made an attempted bid of…wait for it…$5.5 million!

Fortunately for Chrysler, Fiat swooped down and saved them and the Viper from a rather embarrassing fall from grace. Remember, it wasn’t that long ago when the Viper celebrated the production of its 25,000th car after a successful 17-year run as one of the most sought after sports cars in America.

Continued after the jump.