Street-legal serpent sizzles

Street-legal serpent sizzles

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Photos by -Autonet.ca
Published: 01 09 2007

Durham, NC — After a hiatus in 2007, the go-fast people at Dodge are back with a new edition of their halo serpent for the ’08 model year.

The Viper is back, and badder than ever, to the delight of fans of Dodge’s crown jewel. The brand sports an evolution in its exterior design, new colours, new hood and even more horsepower than the previous version.

Not that the outgoing Viper ever lacked for power, mind you, but the 2008 has upped the ante to insane levels, gaining 90 ponies (and 0.1 of a litre in engine displacement) to top it out at an unbelievable 600 hp coming from the big V10 engine.

The powerplant got more efficient breathing and a higher engine speed when it grew from the previous-gen’s 8.3 to the new 8.4-litre engine, done by increasing the bore size by one millimeter. It’s an aluminum block affair, with two-piece intake manifold, breathing through new cylinder heads and incorporating a new cam-in-cam technology from Dodge’s SRT team of developers.

The big engine is secured with aircraft quality fasteners and connecting rods, lubricated with a larger oil pump and given better airflow by tubular headers.

I got to fire up the whole line of Vipers (the big snake can be had as either a roadster or a hard-topped coupe) in a variety of colours at Virginia International Raceway, where the SRT group was only too happy to show off the performance aspect of all that work.

The performance, as you can imagine, is nuts. The Viper will move from zero to 100 km/h in just shy of four seconds — pin you to your seatback if you want it to. The transmission (a six-speed manual is the only choice) is a race-ready Tremec T6060 that makes it easy to get into white-knuckle territory.

Steering and handling have improved for the ’08 model year, but the Viper still makes its case best when it’s going in a straight line. I didn’t get anywhere near the top speed the car is capable of, owing to the turns of VIR and my own cowardly nature — make no mistake, the Viper is a fun car to scare yourself in.

Dodge boasts a top speed for the new Viper of 322 km/h (200 mph, folks, yep), making the vehicle one of the hottest street legal monsters available. It has been left loud to frighten the children and the wannabes, and its low-slung, narrow-eyed appearance is unmistakable even from a distance.

All this thrust is controlled by very good brakes when necessary, with a Brembo system with big, 14-in. rotors with standard ABS.

Inside, the Viper is still a somewhat spartan affair, with everything tailored to the “race car” aspect, from the start button on the dash to the bolstered seats. There is a choice of a two-tone colour scheme, which looks pretty sharp compared to the standard monotone of the base models.

A seven-speaker stereo (Sirius satellite is an available option) with a big subwoofer is standard equipment, as is A/C, security alarm, keyless entry and multi-stage front airbags.

While the Viper doesn’t have a lot of optional equipment, there is enough available to personalize a car to a buyer’s individuality.

In my view, adding the two stripes is a must to complete the styling, and Dodge has three wheel styles (five-spoke, H-spoke and Razor). Cap it off with the choice of two-tone interior with microfibre-and-leather seats, graphite instrument panel or GPS navigation to customize the car, and I think fans of the V are going to be pleased.

Hand-built in low volumes down there in the U.S. of A., 2008 promises to be the Year of the Snake for anyone who has been waiting to get their hands on a 600-horse rocket-car that still manages to be street legal.

It isn’t cheap, but it isn’t unheard of in the high-end performance vehicle class either: the Viper SRT10 starts at an MSRP of $98,600 for a base roadster and $99,600 for the coupe.

Fact file
2008 Dodge Viper
Price range: $98,400 - $99,600
Configuration: front engine, rear-wheel drive
Engine/Transmission: 8.4L V10, 6-speed manual
Horsepower: 600 @ 6100 rpm
Torque: 560 lb.-ft. @ 5000 rpm
Options: convertible or coupe
Freight: $1,400
Fuel required: 70 litres, premium
Warranty: 3 yrs/60,000 km comprehensive, 3 yrs/60,000 km powertrain

Competition: Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Ford GT, Audi R8
Highlights: Super-powered acceleration, good braking, racy styling
Available: Fall 2007

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