2016 Viper ACR: Dodge raises the street-legal supercar stakes
Dodge has fired another salvo in the ongoing horsepower race. The company Friday announced it will sell a 2016 version of its Viper supercar.
The hand-built two-seater boasts a 645-horsepower 8.4-liter V-10 engine. Its 600 pound-feet of torque is the most “of any naturally aspirated sports-car engine in the world,” Dodge says.
“The Viper has always been more of a street-legal race car than a track-capable streetcar,” said the company’s president and chief executive, Tim Kuniskis, in a statement. “Our goal is to arm our enthusiasts with the ultimate Viper track car to dominate road courses around the world.”
They’ll do that with a reported top speed of 177 mph. A set of new BremboCarbon Ceramic Matrix brakes will help control all that speed, and an “Extreme Aero Package” will help keep the car planted on Earth.
This symphony of aerodynamic features includes a tall rear wing, removable hood louvers, as well as a carbon fiber diffuser, four dive planes, six removable strake extensions, plus unique end plates and a gurney lip.
No, I don’t know what those terms mean, either. But the combination is said to deliver nearly a ton of downforce at top speed.
Dodge isn’t saying how many Viper ACRs it will build. But the company made a miscalculation with its 707-horsepower Challenger and Charger Hellcats, the supply of which failed to match the huge demand.
Having failed to build enough Hellcats, Dodge scrambled to catch up with orders. Kuniskis recently told the Los Angeles Times those orders will all be filled.
Twitter: @misterfleming
