We hear only 500 more Dodge Vipers will be built, so Ralph Gilles, president of the Dodge brand, is already arranging a proper send-off. Today, the 2010 Dodge Viper ACR was officially unveiled at Laguna Seca, where Dodge's hottest shoes will try to set the record for fastest lap time in a production car. Gilles is there with his own all-black '09 Viper ACR (nicknamed "Voodoo"), as is an in-house social media team.
Already Dodge has begun uploading videos of the Viper at Laguna, one of which we're posting here. You can follow the day's festivities on a special Test Ride website, and/or on a new Dodge Twitter account, Dodge Autos. There's also a photo gallery on Flickr.
The only changes we've spotted on the 2010 Viper ACR over the 2009 model are the spiffy red wheels. No official word on if the red wheels increase/reduce unsprung weight, but according to a recent tweet, "[we're] switching from the stunning red wheels to black to take the ACR out again for another spin around the track."
We'll let you know as we find out more, and certainly, if the lap record is broken. An '08 Viper ACR is apparently the current record holder with a time of 1:35.12. Or, if you count the Viper-based Devon GTX as a production car, the record is apparently 1:35.07.
And, no, we're not sure how this track day works into the overall plan of building new, exciting and better-quality product.
brn says:
12:47 PM, 11/24/09
Hate the color scheme.
bodyblue says:
03:52 PM, 11/24/09
Always has been a crazy fast and interesting car.....but V10s sound like crap.
hondacura4 says:
06:02 PM, 11/24/09
Nothing about any Viper has ever interested me. Sure it's fast but with 8 or 8.2Ls that's expected. I just don't see any level of sophistication or engineering talent here.
hondacura4 says:
06:16 PM, 11/24/09
Maybe I was a bit harsh with saying a lack of engineering talent as the car does perform well as it has set a few track records. However, that doesn't change the fact that it lacks sophistication.
brn says:
07:14 PM, 11/24/09
hr4, I don't think the Viper is supposed to be sophisticated. It's brute force and testosterone at it's best. Not what I'm looking for, but I'll give it credit where it's due.
audisport says:
01:43 PM, 11/25/09
The Viper is sophisticated where its owners want it to be. On the race track. Viper's are barely used by middle-aged Men and Woman to run to the grocery store like Vettes are. Anyone that owns or is interested in owning a Viper could care less about it's horrid interior. They like that it has a bulletproof drivetrain that can take abuse. They like that ACR is fully adjustable for track use.
If you drove one for 5 minutes you would never again think about it being unsophisicated.
hondacura4 says:
05:11 PM, 11/25/09
"Viper's are barely used by middle-aged Men and Woman to run to the grocery store like Vettes are."
@Audisport, there are 2 Vipers in my neighborhood which are both driven by older men. One is an early 1st generation model that's twin turbocharged (yet he couldn't outrun a buddy of mine in his heavily tweaked Evolution MR), and the other is of the same vintage but yellow. Both are great to look at but I just don't have the desire to own one.
I prefer high performance cars with a certain level of technology even if you can't see it. There also has to be a certain high level of craftsmanship, finesse and a great balance of usable power that doesn't conquer it's chassis.