ferraritoviper
Enthusiast
See the Allpar site for some pics too!
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The 2013 Dodge Viper: Rumor Roundup
Allpar sources believe that the 2013 Dodge Viper will start production in late 2012. It might be privately shown to the Viper Club of America long before that. The Viper is almost certainly going to have a long fine-tuning period as issues which would be minor on regular cars would have much more impact, with Viper competing against other supercars where tenths of a second are a substantial difference.
The spy shot of the Viper above is of a mule with, for the very first time, the new front end, needed when testing all the new surprises hidden under the hood. It's well camouflaged, but the basic shape seems clear.
Under the hood, the new Viper will have an 8.7 liter V10, according to our sources, versus the already massive 8.4 liter engine used in 2010. Production is expected to start in fall 2012, for the 2013 model year.
Earlier, Brendy Priddy & Company caught engineers from Fiat in Italy having a blast in what will become the 2013 Viper. Spy-wise, this mule is equipped with a Bilstein Sport button (offering drivers both a softer touring mode and a hot sport suspension), as well as adaptive cruise control on the steering wheel.
Immediately following the release of the first “real front?” photo came two renderings, one from a new-to-us artist, Lamar Fain, and one from JackRatchett — in reverse order. Lamar later provided a second image in which he followed the exact contours of the camouflage.
In mid-2010, Ralph Gilles said the 2013 Dodge Viper, if approved, would use weight-saving expertise, materials, and technology (but not parts) from Ferrari, with a V-10 derived from the current 8.4L engine. Gilles said the Viper will always be V10 powered, but that there might be a V8 powered sibling (presumably along the lines of the once-proposed, Daimler-rejected Chrysler Firepower).
In December 2010, Ralph Gilles told Detroit News that "everything would be changed," but it would not be based on Ferrari or Alfa underpinnings; and that the dimensions were quite dissimilar from the Alfa 8C. The engine itself is likely to be the usual LA-based V10 with tweaking by a specialist house such as McLaren, Lotus, or perhaps one of Fiat's own high performance groups.
The Maserati Gran Turismo affair: While the Viper will not be based on a Ferrari or Alfa, Inside Line claimed that the Viper would be based on the Maserati GranTurismo. Our sources say something else — the next generation GranTurismo will be based on the Viper. We suspect that in reality this will be more like the Mercedes ML/Grand Cherokee: a joint development project resulting in two very different-feeling cars. There are quite probably Maserati people at Auburn Hills (or staying in Italy) working with Chrysler and McLaren people on the Viper and GranTurismo chassis engineering.
An alternative explanation comes from Dan Minick, who noted that “the Maserati M139 platform (Quattroporte/GranTurismo) is dimensionally similar to the LX — particularly the base of the windshield versus the front wheels (a telltale sign, the cowl/firewall position related to the front suspension). There were rumblings back then of Daimler talking to Fiat about developing a platform for Maserati. I think there’s something here nobody will ’fess up to. There has been talk of Viper moving to a short M139 platform, which may be correct, but it might just be a full circle — LX > M139 > ZD.”
Several Viper models are planned, including one unexpected name: the Viper Venom. While there have been Viper SRT10 and GTS models (the latter being a racing variant), Venom is new. The name was used in 1994, during Chrysler Corporation's comeback, for a Dodge concept car which sported Viper cues in the grille with classic-Charger-style doors; the Dodge Venom was a rear wheel drive car powered by a 245 horsepower 3.5 liter V6, possibly used as a design study for the second-generation LH series which debuted in 1998.
The name was also used by Hennessy's short-run adapted Vipers, and, more recently, for a paint color.
The engine may be new, and there are many possibilities: a V10 based on the Pentastar V6 (though this would probably require a prohibitive amount of engineering money, unless Fiat planned to use the same engine in a Ferrari or Maserati), a Hemi-derived powerplant (though again the engineering costs would be high), and a V10 based on a Fiat design are all possible. Most likely, though, is another revised version of the LA V8-based V10 the Viper has always used.
Gilles did add in December 2010 that he was looking to Fiat to help tune the new Viper’s chassis, making it more controllable by ordinary drivers, and that it would arrive in late 2012 as a 2013 model; it has been in development and has been approved by Chrysler's board. Electronic stability control will be used for the first time.
A 2013 Viper prototype was driven into the September 2010 dealer meeting, to the amazement of everyone there. It is apparently a big styling change which was apparently universally esteemed by those who saw it. The looks are more upscale, and the product committee took just five minutes to unanimously approve the car. One observers said it was “dramatic and awesome.”
The 2012 (production) mockup was apparently closer to the second generation Viper in appearance; the main deviation from the second-generation Viper was in the nose. The overhangs are much smaller, though the wheelbase appears to be the same; and there are definite Firepower cues.
One clue as to the new V10 engine was in the Dodge Challenger V10 Drag Pak and Viper ACR-X, which share an 8.4-liter, 512 cubic-inch engine producing 640 horsepower.
****************************
The 2013 Dodge Viper: Rumor Roundup
Allpar sources believe that the 2013 Dodge Viper will start production in late 2012. It might be privately shown to the Viper Club of America long before that. The Viper is almost certainly going to have a long fine-tuning period as issues which would be minor on regular cars would have much more impact, with Viper competing against other supercars where tenths of a second are a substantial difference.
The spy shot of the Viper above is of a mule with, for the very first time, the new front end, needed when testing all the new surprises hidden under the hood. It's well camouflaged, but the basic shape seems clear.
Under the hood, the new Viper will have an 8.7 liter V10, according to our sources, versus the already massive 8.4 liter engine used in 2010. Production is expected to start in fall 2012, for the 2013 model year.
Earlier, Brendy Priddy & Company caught engineers from Fiat in Italy having a blast in what will become the 2013 Viper. Spy-wise, this mule is equipped with a Bilstein Sport button (offering drivers both a softer touring mode and a hot sport suspension), as well as adaptive cruise control on the steering wheel.
Immediately following the release of the first “real front?” photo came two renderings, one from a new-to-us artist, Lamar Fain, and one from JackRatchett — in reverse order. Lamar later provided a second image in which he followed the exact contours of the camouflage.
In mid-2010, Ralph Gilles said the 2013 Dodge Viper, if approved, would use weight-saving expertise, materials, and technology (but not parts) from Ferrari, with a V-10 derived from the current 8.4L engine. Gilles said the Viper will always be V10 powered, but that there might be a V8 powered sibling (presumably along the lines of the once-proposed, Daimler-rejected Chrysler Firepower).
In December 2010, Ralph Gilles told Detroit News that "everything would be changed," but it would not be based on Ferrari or Alfa underpinnings; and that the dimensions were quite dissimilar from the Alfa 8C. The engine itself is likely to be the usual LA-based V10 with tweaking by a specialist house such as McLaren, Lotus, or perhaps one of Fiat's own high performance groups.
The Maserati Gran Turismo affair: While the Viper will not be based on a Ferrari or Alfa, Inside Line claimed that the Viper would be based on the Maserati GranTurismo. Our sources say something else — the next generation GranTurismo will be based on the Viper. We suspect that in reality this will be more like the Mercedes ML/Grand Cherokee: a joint development project resulting in two very different-feeling cars. There are quite probably Maserati people at Auburn Hills (or staying in Italy) working with Chrysler and McLaren people on the Viper and GranTurismo chassis engineering.
An alternative explanation comes from Dan Minick, who noted that “the Maserati M139 platform (Quattroporte/GranTurismo) is dimensionally similar to the LX — particularly the base of the windshield versus the front wheels (a telltale sign, the cowl/firewall position related to the front suspension). There were rumblings back then of Daimler talking to Fiat about developing a platform for Maserati. I think there’s something here nobody will ’fess up to. There has been talk of Viper moving to a short M139 platform, which may be correct, but it might just be a full circle — LX > M139 > ZD.”
Several Viper models are planned, including one unexpected name: the Viper Venom. While there have been Viper SRT10 and GTS models (the latter being a racing variant), Venom is new. The name was used in 1994, during Chrysler Corporation's comeback, for a Dodge concept car which sported Viper cues in the grille with classic-Charger-style doors; the Dodge Venom was a rear wheel drive car powered by a 245 horsepower 3.5 liter V6, possibly used as a design study for the second-generation LH series which debuted in 1998.
The name was also used by Hennessy's short-run adapted Vipers, and, more recently, for a paint color.
The engine may be new, and there are many possibilities: a V10 based on the Pentastar V6 (though this would probably require a prohibitive amount of engineering money, unless Fiat planned to use the same engine in a Ferrari or Maserati), a Hemi-derived powerplant (though again the engineering costs would be high), and a V10 based on a Fiat design are all possible. Most likely, though, is another revised version of the LA V8-based V10 the Viper has always used.
Gilles did add in December 2010 that he was looking to Fiat to help tune the new Viper’s chassis, making it more controllable by ordinary drivers, and that it would arrive in late 2012 as a 2013 model; it has been in development and has been approved by Chrysler's board. Electronic stability control will be used for the first time.
A 2013 Viper prototype was driven into the September 2010 dealer meeting, to the amazement of everyone there. It is apparently a big styling change which was apparently universally esteemed by those who saw it. The looks are more upscale, and the product committee took just five minutes to unanimously approve the car. One observers said it was “dramatic and awesome.”
The 2012 (production) mockup was apparently closer to the second generation Viper in appearance; the main deviation from the second-generation Viper was in the nose. The overhangs are much smaller, though the wheelbase appears to be the same; and there are definite Firepower cues.
One clue as to the new V10 engine was in the Dodge Challenger V10 Drag Pak and Viper ACR-X, which share an 8.4-liter, 512 cubic-inch engine producing 640 horsepower.
