'08 Viper

[CCBrian]

\'08 Viper

I had an interesting conversation with a Dodge dealer (owner) today. He tells me a while back he was asked by Dodge if he thought it would be better to drop the price point on the Viper to compete head to head with Corvettes with a $60k-$65k car with a 500 horse Hemi V8-a reworked SRT-8 engine basically. I know everyone is talking about 600 plus horse and $100k, but does anyone think this could be the way Dodge is going to go. I am told the Hemi engine would be lighter than the current V10 (weight savings everyone wants) and cheaper to build- the lower price point most want. I was also told the new chassis would utilized my a modified Mercedes (which is also lighter)...which might be a great cost savings to Dodge as I believe they are sourced out currently. Interesting twist on what everyone thinks will happen in '08.

 

[SRTRICKY]

Re: \'08 Viper

that would ****...lower price point = more people will have them!! We don't want another Corvette. If they lower the price point I woudln't buy one...

 

[Bobpantax]

Re: \'08 Viper

Interesting post. The anectdotal data the dealer shared with you has some logic to it. However, a big part of me hopes that it is not true. The statement contadicts all the posts mentioning a new 8.4 liter V-10. When Herb Helbig, head of SRT Synthesis, spoke to our club last March, he said that in his opinion a Viper would not be a Viper without the V-10. Elimination of the V-10 would take away a big part of the Viper's mystique. On the other hand, profit talks. A 60-65K Viper equipped with the SRT 8 hemi engine with a supercharger would be one scary fast vehicle that could easily put out 600 flywheel HP. I think that it would sell very well. ( DC could also offer the engine as an option on the other SRT 8 based vehicles - stock SRT 8 hemi and an optional supercharged SRT 8 hemi.)We could then change the pulley out like some of the GT, Cobra, Lightning (I have one and have done this) owners do and dyno tune it within the existing computer module creating an even more powerful monster for very little additional money. As long as you do not go crazy with the A/F ratio things should stay together. My Lightning has been modded for three years and has been absolutely flawless for more than 20,000 miles. On the other hand, my 2006 Paxtonized coupe now has 3400 miles on it and also runs flawlessly. It also has a conservative and safe A/F ratio. Time will tell what DC has up its sleeves assuming that Chrysler's current dteriorating financial condition does not impair the SRT team and products.

 

[DodgeViper01]

Re: \'08 Viper

that would ****...lower price point = more people will have them!! We don't want another Corvette. If they lower the price point I woudln't buy one...

Very good point. I think at $75,000, they are priced just right. At $60,000, it might be a little low but hey, I would not complain, although I really like the exclusivity now!

 

[ViperJohn]

Re: \'08 Viper

The only problem I see with this story is the fact that Dodge is already planning to build a car to compete with the Vette. It's the Firepower! Viper Chasis with a 425 plus HP 6.1 liter Hemi. And if I recall correctly, that car will be priced around 60K.

If the Viper sticks around, it should keep the V-10, otherwise it lacks product differentiation with the Firepower!.

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

Re: \'08 Viper

The only problem I see with this story is the fact that Dodge is already planning to build a car to compete with the Vette. It's the Firepower! Viper Chasis with a 425 plus HP 6.1 liter Hemi. And if I recall correctly, that car will be priced around 60K.

If the Viper sticks around, it should keep the V-10, otherwise it lacks product differentiation with the Firepower!.

And this is exactly what they were asking about...Would the Firepower sell against the Corvette. Good analysis.

 

[Scott_in_FL]

Re: \'08 Viper

The post does make some sense from a financial position. However, if they cannot afford to keep the Viper nipping at the heels of supercars (in looks, exclusivity and performance), then they should just scrap the program.

We do not need cheap sportscars for the masses - that's the corvette and we do not want the Viper to become another corvette. In order to do so, it would have to have all the nanny controls, be easy to drive, have bland styling, be fuel efficient - that is not a Viper!

I personally don't want that to happen and I think they should go the other way. Make it more wild, more exclusive and more expensive so that they can recover the cost and make a little $$$. Go ballistic with Gen IV, make it wild, 700hp, 3000 lbs., 210 mph, only 500/year, $130,000. Nothing could stay with it and they would sell every single one. I know I'd buy one.

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

Re: \'08 Viper

A Viper is a V10. Put a V8 in it and its just another pretty looking V8

 

[mdviper1]

Re: \'08 Viper

The post does make some sense from a financial position. However, if they cannot afford to keep the Viper nipping at the heels of supercars (in looks, exclusivity and performance), then they should just scrap the program.

We do not need cheap sportscars for the masses - that's the corvette and we do not want the Viper to become another corvette. In order to do so, it would have to have all the nanny controls, be easy to drive, have bland styling, be fuel efficient - that is not a Viper!

I personally don't want that to happen and I think they should go the other way. Make it more wild, more exclusive and more expensive so that they can recover the cost and make a little $$$. Go ballistic with Gen IV, make it wild, 700hp, 3000 lbs., 210 mph, only 500/year, $130,000. Nothing could stay with it and they would sell every single one. I know I'd buy one.

I agree 100%......keep them elusive and expensive. I work with very rare ball python mutations........once the market gets flooded and the masses can afford to buy them they are not nearly as desirable to collectors or breeders.

I hope the next VIPER is 100k plus...it's not that far to stretch.

Being a Viper Owner shouldn't be easy.......

 

[Pythonpete]

Re: \'08 Viper

I never knew Ralph Davis owned a Viper, I have a bunch of Ball Pythons myself. I love your new morphs.

 

[Mopar426]

Re: \'08 Viper

I agree 100%......keep them elusive and expensive. I work with very rare ball python mutations........once the market gets flooded and the masses can afford to buy them they are not nearly as desirable to collectors or breeders.

I hope the next VIPER is 100k plus...it's not that far to stretch.

Being a Viper Owner shouldn't be easy.......

You say that but Gen I's can be had for high $20K's, Gen II's for $38K and even Gen III's for $49K.

They are all still desireable to be.

 

[mdviper1]

Re: \'08 Viper

I never knew Ralph Davis owned a Viper, I have a bunch of Ball Pythons myself. I love your new morphs.

Hey Pete.....Thanks!!.........I need a "Dreamsicle" paint job!!

 

[Pythonpete]

Re: \'08 Viper

That would be SWEET!

 

[Alexarz]

Re: \'08 Viper

Those damn ball pythons dominate the reptile conventions! Wall to wall, ball pythons!!

If the Viper had a humongous hemi, such as something over 500ci, it would be very cool. A smaller engine would be a move in the wrong direction.

 

[bigmike32172]

Re: \'08 Viper

well if you think about it in all reality, dodge really dosent need to do anything to the current model, just slap a S/C on the car stock, like the vette will be doing, and you have a car that will make what the vette is boasting about at the flywheel, but at the rear tires!

 

[FinalEd357]

Re: \'08 Viper

Please, keep the v-10. With so many cars having HP and lines beginning to be blurred with 'shock & awe' factor, lets keep this as something no other American muscle car offers!

 

[VENOMAHOLIC]

Re: \'08 Viper

If it has a Mercedes chassis, it is no longer American. If the V-10 is replaced, call it something else.

 

[Bobpantax]

Re: \'08 Viper

"well if you think about it in all reality, dodge really dosent need to do anything to the current model, just slap a S/C on the car stock, like the vette will be doing, and you have a car that will make what the vette is boasting about at the flywheel, but at the rear tires!"

You are correct and the car already exists. I own one. It is a Woodhouse prepared, Paxton supercharged 2006 coupe with stock Paxton settings - a safe tune. And with the Motons, Eibachs and corner balancing it sticks. The suspension upgrade and suspension tuning are important. For those of you who have deferred your Viper gratification, I hope that you soon realize that you cannot hop in a time machine and get back the Viperless days you have already missed. As I recently said in another post with the approval of my Viper colleagues, no one promised you a tomorrow. Let me add to that one more: No one has yet reported on a Viper coming out of the bright white light in a near death experience. So, if you are hoping for a Viper in the afterlife - good luck!

 

[05Viper]

Re: \'08 Viper

I fail to see what the big deal is. I have one of the limited 4 door verts!!!!
Even have a picture! I can email it, I just can't seem to post it.

 

[05Viper]

Re: \'08 Viper

Oops, got lost, I posted my last message on the wrong thread.
Sorry.

 

[Tusc]

Re: \'08 Viper

God I hope they don't neuter the Viper to compete with the Corvette. I owned a new C5 when they came out and will never buy another GM product. 'Cheap' product, faulty product, and zero support from the company. Don't get me rolling on all those gadgets and nanny controls that were mentioned - they all broke. I'm not a Viper owner, but I am a big fan... and not just of the vehicle's looks and performance, but of the relative simplicity of the car (fewer gimmicks), the greater durability (as far as I have read and heard through this forum over the years), and the company backing of their flagship car. Those qualities are not to be sniffed at. The most impressive factors about this car which separate it from the Corvette, in light of my GM experience, have been the intangible ones. As a fan and eventual owner, I hope DC does not compromise this product line.

I also want to say that I hope the German side of the company limits its expertise soley to the mechanical aspects. The SRT-10 already catered a bit to the general crowd, but in acceptable ways... like adding kick-plates. But I have yet to get behind the wheel of a German car that really has CHARACTER. Earbleeding performance, yes. Character... no. I think it would be great if DC chose to stick to its guns like Porsche and continue to develop and perfect the already-established platform of the Viper just like the 911s. Those cars have really been an awkward layout from day one, but they stuck it out and made it work amazingly well. Plus, you can look at a brand new 997 next to a '64 and see the connection in lineage quite well.

What I've said is just my opinion, but I am one of those people who DC is trying to focus their Leupold on as the target market for the future Viper or Firepower. Fair as the Firepower concept sounds, I'd probably shy away from it in favor of a Viper, Saleen, Ford GT, Porsche, or just an AMG. Remember, too, the issues GM had with their F-body sales relative to the C5s at the time. Why would people want to pay $35k for a 00 Camaro SS when they could pay $39k for a base C5 at the time OR walk away with all the bells and whistles for $47,599? Just about 10k difference for a car in a wholly better league. So if DC is going to create two 'similar' performance products, they need to maintain greater product differentiation. Likewise, unless they want to upset the owners, the lower version shouldn't be able to outdo the flagship vehicle. Personally, that doesn't affect me or the way I would look at one car or the other. But I remember the uproar on Corvetteforum when the Z06 came out in '01 and all the ZR1 owners who paid so much for their cars a few years earlier were essentially put on the shelf. I say let technology and performance move forward as they will. I also say I'll probably still want the Viper more than an alternative offering, even if it ends up being the lesser performer of the two.

 

[Scott_in_FL]

Re: \'08 Viper

Tusc, some excellent points. Well said!

 

[MbnViper]

Re: \'08 Viper

If it has a Mercedes chassis, it is no longer American. If the V-10 is replaced, call it something else.

i second that.

identity is somehow lost with the Gen3 ! plus MB chassis and V8 ? where is the VIPER