The Snake Returns! Alms Srt Viper Gts-r

We interrupt your regularly scheduled 8-6 day stories to bring you some news from the American Le Mans series. On Saturday thousands of spectators were on hand at a very hot and humid Mid Ohio to witness one of the most highly anticipated racing car debuts in recent memory – the return of the Dodge Viper. Fortunately I was one of the many present to experience the spectacle and bring back the details for the Speedhunters audience.

It’s been just over a decade since the Viper has been seen rubbing shoulders with the likes of Porsche and Corvette on the global racing scene and I will say, although I was never a huge Viper fan, it is great to see them back in action! After viewing the cars up close I have a new found appreciation for them, and I will attest that they are much better looking in person than they appeared in early press release photographs.

The brunt of the build, design and subsequent R&D over the next few years has been taken up by Riley Technologies, best known as a manufacturer of Daytona Prototypes. Their track record speaks for itself – eight overall victories in as many years at the Rolex 24h of Daytona. Powering the cars is a Roush-built V10 which, even downsized from eight-point-four to eight liters, is by far and away the largest displacement in ALMS and required special permission to breach the 5.5L rule imposed on the GT class.

The SRT team have chosen to partner with Michelin who are the most abundant tire manufacturer in sports car racing by a landslide. This should help alleviate some of the development process by allowing the team to focus on the car and not have to worry about tires. TWS Forged has come in as a sponsor supplying wheels for the effort. Although I’ve seen many of their designs on Japanese Super GT cars, I believe that these are a bespoke wheel for the Viper.

Despite what some may view as a disappointing weekend at Mid Ohio, there is no doubt that the Viper stole the show in terms of fan excitement. We must keep in mind it is still very early in the development phase for these cars and the fact that they finished the race at all is a breakthrough. With a driver lineup consisting of Dominik Farnbacher and Kuno Wittmer in the #91 car and Marc Goossens and Tommy Kendall in the #93, there is certainly a very bright future ahead for the Viper. Long live the snake!

2013 SRT Viper GTS-R

Engine: 8.0L V10
HP: 455 HP (Restricted by Series)
Trans: XTrac Transaxle, Paddle Shift
Brakes: Front, Brembo 6-Piston, 380mm rotors
Rear, Brembo 4-Pison, 330mm rotors
Wheels: TWS Forged, Magnesium
Tire: Michelin Slicks
Front: 30/68-18
Rear: 31/71-18
Safety Equipment: Sabelt On-Board Fire Suppression System
Sabelt Driver Restraint System
FIA Roll Cage
FIA Approved Race Seat
FIA Approved Fuel Cell
Top Speed: 182 mph
Curb Weight: 2850 lbs

More endurance GT stories on Speedhunters

More stories by Sean Klingelhoefer on Speedhunters

-Sean

ADVERTISEMENT

Comments



Comments are closed.

35 comments

by Oldest
by Best by Newest by Oldest
1

8.0L V10....holy shit.

2

8.0L V10....holy shit.

3

8.0L V10....holy shit.

4

8.0L V10....holy shit.

5

8.0L V10....holy shit.

6

8.0L V10....holy shit.

7

Forza Motorsport 4, where dreams are driven :)        Nice Viper, glad to see it went well despite a couple offs and contact with the P2.

8

Forza Motorsport 4, where dreams are driven :)        Nice Viper, glad to see it went well despite a couple offs and contact with the P2.

9

 @TB1ZZL3 I believe they are only spinning it to 5000RPM.  

10
EricSeanDelaney

Are you going to do the whole race too? Either way, it was awesome to meet you in person.

11

@EricSeanDelaney You'll have to wait and find out ;) nice meeting you as well!

12

@Mike @TB1ZZL3 Not sure about rev limit but they have pea-shooter throttle restrictiors

13

@Mike @TB1ZZL3 I'm not sure about rev limits, but they have some pea-shooter throttle restrictors on there.

14

I believe the viper is in it's best form on the track like many super cars, and ALMS is one the best platforms to raise it's awareness. An unrestricted full-tune V10 is just evil and hard to keep civil on any track, so a very responsive 455hp sounds about right. Too bad I couldn't see this live!!

15

Hope to see them chasing down Corvette's at LeMan's next year! 

16

what is the point in them bending the 5.5 ltr rule if they can never exceed 455bhp?, doesnt that seem a huge over sight to have a big heavy 8 ltr engine and then only push 450 bhp from it? might just be me but that seems waaaay odd!

17

they want people to be able to feel like the pros are racing the same car they have in their garage. keeping the v10 is a major part of that. that's why people liked the bttc cars of the 90's so much.

18

It's my new fav GT car. It looks great!

19

@GraysonParker Exactly, the V10 is synonymous with the Viper. Removing that engine would be like castrating the car.

20

Is the gearbox in the back like the Corvette?

21

 @sean klingelhoefer  @Mike  @TB1ZZL3 It sounds like it revs really really low.

22

I thought magnesium wheels were outlawed in ALMS GT Class this season? 

23

The wheels look like the 458 GT3 ones, I believe they're by VOLK?

24

 @brined 458 is on Motegi,  they are throwing wheels to every race team possible.  You are correct though, I swore thats what the Vipers wear too.

25

Nice coverage of Forza on this Need For Speed website!

26

Looks great. too bad that the yellow one lose the brakes in the keyhole... 
 
Wish I would have made it up to look. (Live in columbus)
 
Welcome back viper. 

27

@jmcn R @brined They are similar, in fact from a distance at first glance I thought they were Motegis as well. They are TWS Forged though.

28

@Albert I'm pretty sure most, if not all, of the GT cars are running Mags.

29

@MatsNorway No idea, I didn't have a chance to peek around for long lol.

30

@MatsNorway I'm not certain since I didn't have the chance to look under the car. But based on the language they use, I.e. "transaxle" rather than transmission, that it does most likely reside in the back of the car.

31

Tommy Kendall stated their goal was to just finish the race. Glad to see them back.

32

@Car Guy 1985 Exactly, this early in a program just finishing is a major accomplishment.

33

 @sean klingelhoefer  @GraysonParker and even tho they are limited to 455bhp im sure there would be a hige torque advantage as they probably wouldnt need to rev as much
 

34

8.0L V10??!!!!

35

LOL...

OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS