Behold the first images of the 2008 Dodge Viper a 2008 Dodge Viper development mule. Our source tells us that there wasn’t just one powertrain prototype here - there were at least four of these red-hot Vipers with a vinyl-covered camouflage hood and various wires and test gauges - but nothing could hide the huge vents on the hood.

Sources are telling us NOT to expect a 2007 Viper - that model-year will be “skipped” and the ‘08 models will make an early appearance within the first quarter of 2007. And we do know that Dodge wants to expand the horsepower in the Vipers, but the “what” and “how” are currently just rumors. One rumor floating around is that McLaren is involved and has been breathing on DCX’s V-10 engine to get it somewhere near 600-650 horsepower.

source : winding road

 

I want to really like the new Vipers, but they just dont do it for me like the old Viper GTS. That model in Blue with the White stripes is a classic in so many ways. The new model is very mediocre.

 

I'll agree with you, I like the older model GTS's better than the new ones.

 

The problem with cars nowadays is that they make cheaper slower cars look similar to more expensive high end performance cars. So when the performance cars come out with a new idea, it doesnt seem all that new to us......

 

So they gave it a new hood?

 

Z06 > viper

 

Yea the Viper only had one good version the GTS. The RT/10 was an engineering joke, and the new ones are just ugly.

You can tell when they have one at a car show and everyone ignores it, LOL.

 

I like the older version better as well, but I love how that hood looks on the new viper

 

I'd rock it

 

Evolving into a real supercar.

 

Man. I thought it was going to be remodeled


Anyone know if this viper has forged pistons? I remember on the older generation, they stopped putting forged pistons in 98 or 99 (IIRC). Wonder if they decided to beef this one up.

 

A hidden gem tucked away in the basement at January’s Detroit auto show was the Diamondback Viper coupe, an American Specialty Cars concept featuring a 615-hp V10 tuned by McLaren Performance Technologies.

ASC broadly winked when asked if it planned to build the car, noting the company was already aware of potential problems with the concept’s 10 air intakes poking up through the lightweight carbon fiber hood (ASC also used carbon fiber for the roof, decklid and rocker panels, shaving 85 pounds off the concept’s curb weight).

It looks like they’ve tackled the intake issue—note the holes in this prototype’s hood, caught by one of our regular spy shooters, and by a reader in Idaho Springs, Colorado. We hear this killer Viper is already producing 650 hp, which ought to be good for 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds—or less.

Our best guess is Dodge will use this ASC/McLaren project to bridge a 2007 model-year gap, during which Dodge reportedly plans no regular production Vipers.

Source: http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...1065/DOWNLOADS

 

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Dodge will respond to the growing number of challengers to the omnipotence of its once-untouchable Viper with the help of American Specialty Cars, Inc. and McLaren Performance Technologies.

ASC and McLaren — a Michigan-based powertrain development specialist not to be confused with Team McLaren Mercedes in Formula One — showed a concept Viper, called the Diamondback, to highlight their capabilities at the 2006 North American International Auto Show. But Chrysler spokesman Dan Bodene declined to comment on the possibility of a version of the Diamondback going into limited production. Since its inception, Dodge has sold about 23,000 Vipers, Bodene said.

According to a DCX source, Viper will go on hiatus for model-year 2007. But the source also kept to the company line of silence as to why. To meet demand, Dodge plans to build a backlog of 2006 Vipers to keep dealers supplied with cars though next year. The issue is reportedly not the advanced airbag requirement that was set to derail Ferrari F430 sales before the federal government approved a waiver.

With no regular 2007 Vipers to maintain enthusiasts' interest, a special limited-edition model could help bridge the gap. The Diamondback wears ASC's OmniCarbon technology lightweight bodywork that shaves 85 pounds of mass from the Viper. A special clearcoat process leaves the bare carbon-fiber fabric visible in places, without suffering from the yellowing that usually occurs with exposure to sunlight, said ASC Vice Chairman Chris Theodore.

Theodore worked at Chrysler on the Viper program before leaving to midwife the Ford GT program, so he has strong personal contacts within the Viper team. ASC already supplies all of the bodywork that is unique to the Viper Coupe, such as the roof, rear fascia and rear deck, so there is an existing corporate relationship too.

Carbon fiber has been too costly for relatively affordable supercars like the Viper, but ASC's OmniCarbon technique eliminates the need to cure the panels in an autoclave, slashing cost by about two-thirds, Theodore said.

The Diamondback features a large central opening in the hood that exposes an array of 10 intake velocity stacks, harking back to the engines of the Can-Am sports car series. "But obviously that is not practical for production," Theodore said.

In recent spy photos, a Viper has been seen sporting a hood with two rows of holes that evoke those impractical intake stacks. The pumped-up V10 engine that lies beneath the concept car's stacks is rated at 615 horsepower, which combines with the trimmed weight for a predicted 3.5 second 0-60 time.

There was a time recently when 500 horsepower was considered nearly unthinkable, but since then enough cars have achieved that level that the Viper needs something more to be considered special, acknowledged John Fernandez, now director of motorsports operations for Chrysler, but who oversaw development of the second-generation Viper. While claiming no specific knowledge of the Viper team's activities, he observed that "Maybe that level is 600 horsepower now."

What This Means To You: By naming the Viper, you will still be able to win bar bets concerning which car is the fastest/most powerful/baddest…at least most of the time.

Source: http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=115728

 

I feel the same way.

 

McLaren Tuned???? This Viper just got interesting!