Why did ACRs never have special engines?

[efnfast]

I've always wondered why ACR Vipers never had special engines over base Vipers (e.g., C6 Z06 had a larger engine than a regular C6, C6 ZR1 had a supercharger, etc.)?

Sure they had their fancy stickers and suspension bits, but why didn't Dodge do anything with the engine? Was it just a case of the Viper being a low volume car and an ACR being a fraction of that so not remotely worth it?

 

[Steve-Indy]

My answer would be the amount of money involved.

For the record, the first Viper ACR's 1999) were touted as having more horsepower (about 10 above the other models) since they came from the factory with smooth tubes and K&N filters.

 

[MoparMap]

I sort of agree, but also sort of appreciate that they didn't change it between the cars. Every Viper you see is going to be just as powerful as the next, the ones with aero just carry that speed around a track better than ones without. Not that a base Vette is a slouch compared to a Z06, or similar between Porsche trims, but it kind of waters down the base model.

In all likelihood it was probably a cost and certification thing. It's wildly expensive to get an engine emissions certified, and with the tiny amount of ACRs in the already small number of Vipers produced, I have a hard time seeing any justification there.

 

[yzf1999]

I think the reasoning was because the Viper was a road going race car by design, so there was no reason to build a separate engine platform for the ACR cars.

 

[Old School]

There were rumors since that FCA owned Ferrari also they didn’t want the Viper to out perform Ferrari. Therefore almost no engine development for 10 years.

 

[BoondocSaint]

-Viper program was much smaller in both production numbers and especially budget.
-There never has been a "base" model Viper like Corvette or Porsche does. Corvette has models like Z06, ZR1 etc. to compete at or above what Viper does across the entire platform.
-The V10 in it's own right is already a more special offering than most anything GM V8 based.
-Unlike many daily'd type sportscars like Corvette and Porsche, Dodge kept the road cars closer to their race team development. No budget to develope soft cars and race cars.

 

[redtanrt10]

Every year Viper had the same motor for that year regardless of series, coupe,convertible, ACR etc. Yes the G2 ACR's have smooth tubes and better filters that provide 10hp. For the vast majority of years Vipers sold at MSRP or less and in a number of years there was factory dealer cash discounts to move inventory. In 2014 they dropped the MSRP by $14k and gave Gen 5 viper owners who bought before the re-pricing a $10k certificate rebate to buy another Viper.

These were always low volume vehicles and in most years where already priced at 40% or more higher than anything dodge made. I'm sure Dodge didn't see the sales/cost benefit to add another 10% or more power.

 

[white out]

IIRC, the neon ACR didn't have power increase either.

 

[serafins]

IIRC, the viper ACR was competing against the ZR1. The T/A or T/A 2.0 would have been slotted against the Z06.

I believe the C6/7 ZR1 needed a more powerful engine to increase the performance gap between this trim and the z06, which in turn needed more power to bump performance over the base model. The viper was able to create a large performance gap over the base model with the later ACR packages with just suspension/tires/aero. Also, at the time it was designed, the viper's HP level was already at C6 ZR1 level. So it did not need more power to compete with the top level vette, Porsche, Ferrari, etc. This started to change near the end of the model run with the C7 zr1 and other newer-designed cars, but the viper acr still beat these cars on the track. So for a car that was being discontinued, there was no incentive to add more power.

 

[Dan Cragin]

Besides the smooth tubes and filters, the ACR had a unique oil cooler feed and was the first engine to use the higher capacity oil pan.

 

[Frank Parise]

I recall the focus in 1999 was getting the Viper homologated into the SCCA T1 class for club competition. The weak spot was the brakes, not the engine. More power would have resulted in the SCCA negating such by requiring intake restrictors, adding weight, etc. For professional competition, the GTSR had massive engine mods. Somehow, Bobby Archer found a way to win the SCCA championship in his non-ACR viper, even with the worst brake set up on the starting grid. He couldn’t even run headers on his car because the stock Viper was already so overpowered compared to the field. Eventually, Skip Thomas provided a road racing environment exclusively for vipers (Viper Racing League) and he had multiple car classes that accommodated multiple levels of modification, including engine mods.