Viper variants

Viper GTS-RViper's achievement in the FIA and Le Mans[3]. Also in
Using such production engine components as the block,2005 LeMans Series season two Viper GTS-R cars
cylinder heads, and crankshaft, Team Viper engineerswere entered by the privateer team Paul Belmondo
were able to extract up to 750 hp from the normallyRacing.
450 hp second generation 8.0 L V10 engine. TheACR Viper
chassis was re-engineered from the ground up byThe American Club Racing (ACR) model was
British sports manufacturer Reynard Motorsport'sintroduced in 1999. This model featured suspension and
Special Projects Division under chief engineer Paulengine enhancements focused on maximizing
Brown, losing much of the Roadcar's heavy tubularperformance in road racing and autocross
steel and fibreglass structure in favour of lightweightenvironments. Horsepower was bumped to 460 bhp in
carbon fibre components.these models.
The car made its competition debut in the 24 Hours ofViper Competition Coupe
Daytona (where it would later become the first GTAs of 2003, a special, non-street legal Viper SRT-10
car to secure an overall victory in Rolex sports carCompetition Coupe is available from Dodge for race
racing) with Canaska Racing in 1996, then the 24car drivers, picking up where the GTS-R racing variant
Hours of Le Mans, when a GTS-R finished tenthleft off. The power and torque ratings have been
overall in its very first run for glory. The next year,improved, along with the vehicle being been stripped of
Team Viper (who now switched services to Oreca)anything not essential for racing, such as the interior
switched to the GT2 class and proceeded tobody panels, carpet, instrumentation, air conditioning, and
dominate, winning five titles in the FIA GTstereo systems which lightened the car by 380 lb (170
Championship between 1997 and 2002. Orecakg). The "CompCoupe" comes equipped with a full roll
switched to the prototype class in 2000, but customercage, a racing fuel cell, and other racing-related
Vipers continued to be the most competitive in theequipment. It is not sold through dealers and is
series.purchased from Dodge directly as, essentially, a very
In 1998, Team Viper returned to Le Mans to set newexpensive race car component. Pricing is
track records in practice. When the checkered flagapproximately US$139,000. The Viper Competition
dropped on the 24th hour of the longest day in racing,Coupe sees action in the highly competitive SCCA
Viper GTS–R racers finished first andSpeed GT World Challenge.
second in their class to become the first American carIn 2004 Samuel Hubinette used a Competition Coupe
to win at Le Mans in three decades, and thewith a modified rear axle for the Formula D, in which
first–ever production–basedhe won the title before the car was barred by the end
American car to grace the winner's circle.of the season (due to the fact FD would adopt D1
In addition to the race cars, Chrysler built 100Grand Prix regulations from the following year which
street-legal 1998 GT2 Championship Edition Vipers,had already prohibited the car from competing) and
which were rated at 460 hp (343 kW) and 500was replaced by an SRT-10 the following season.
ft·lbf (67 N·m) of torque. Named after theAfter a few one-off entries in the Spa 24 Hours, from
GT2 categories it competed in, it was aesthetically2006, the Viper Competition Coupe will race in Europe
similar to the GTS-R with its paint job, aerodynamicsfulltime for the first time, joining the new FIA GT3 Cup
package, and visual options in order to publicize thewith the Italian team Racing Box.