"Wheelerguy" (wheelerguy)
10/15/2015 at 04:39 • Filed to: Dodge SRT Viper, Rant, Doing it Properly
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"Wheelerguy" (wheelerguy)
10/15/2015 at 04:39 • Filed to: Dodge SRT Viper, Rant, Doing it Properly | 2
| 13 |
Oh, for the love of Christ and all that is Norse, cut it out with your bullshit . The last thing the Viper needs is to turn into a pussycat.
The first thing the Viper needs, however, is a competent DCT, you know, the one from the race car they abandoned. Then lighten the thing a bit more, and introduce a sort of low-drag version of the ACR that’s DCT-only. So now the base Viper will be the GTC (two gearbox options and pop-top), the low-drag DCT-only will be the GTS (the TA designation becomes a handling pack for both GTC and GTS), then the ACR (manual only, priced lower than the 911 RS) and HEMI ACR-X (DCT only, with HEMI supercharging), and then finally a hypercar-fighter with a twincharged V10 AND two gearbox options (race-spec DCT or 7-spd manual) called the Pit Viper GTX .
Look, Ferrari will be on its own soon, so now is the time for Dodge to man up and say to Sergio “Fuck you!” and do it properly for once.
The Viper still has life and potential—gobs of it, in fact, but Dodge’s coconuts are empty. Trust me: with the right marketing angle the Viper will come back bigtime.
Oh, and uh, the GTC will have to be $45k. That’s the baseline.
samssun
> Wheelerguy
10/15/2015 at 05:10 |
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They don’t sell near enough cars to have 5 models, 3 transmissions, and 3 engines. This would shove the price even higher, and 90k-120k is already too much.
I’d rather push it down market to compete with Corvette again. Base model under 70k, preferably 65k, because the Vette is just too good. Convertible (<75k) and track versions (<90k) are as much as I’d want to splinter their tiny volume.
Maybe once they’re selling 5x as many they branch out, unless they can shove the Hellcat in with few changes or development work.
PS9
> Wheelerguy
10/15/2015 at 05:26 |
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The DCT isn’t gonna happen. Chrysler and Ferrari are owned by the same company now, which means it’s maximum potential as a supercar will never be fully explored. That would make it as good as a Ferrari, and FCA would sooner kill it off than let that happen.
Wobbles the Mind
> Wheelerguy
10/15/2015 at 07:14 |
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Just change the name from Viper to Barracuda and I think you’ll have FCAs real plan. We know the Maserati Alfieri will be out soon with all the transmissions, but turbo 6 only. The next Granturismo will be out after that but v8 only. Since both will have “Ferrari derived” engines, I can see them using the same chassis for a corvette competitor with the Viper trims and ditching the retro design Challenger for a modern design that can have a convertible variant like the Mustang and Camaro. But that means no more V10s from Chrysler.
Plan B: Viper name revival as a Jeep GC based “Coupe” to go against the X6 M, GLE63, and Cayenne Turbo. Calling it the Jeep Grand Viper Trackhawk. Or just put a Jeep grill on the current one and have the exhaust tips at the back of the vehicle, whatever.
Mattbob
> Wheelerguy
10/15/2015 at 07:39 |
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at a certain point, this post becomes a jumblefuck of acronyms and I have to stop reading. I get enough of this at work.
Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
> samssun
10/15/2015 at 07:49 |
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They’ve already said they can’t hellcat the viper cause the engine is too tall
Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
> Wheelerguy
10/15/2015 at 08:21 |
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Hellcat don’t fit.
vondon302
> Wheelerguy
10/15/2015 at 09:09 |
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Gtc for 45000? Not gonna happen. They barely make amy money on these as it is.
450X_FTW
> Wheelerguy
10/15/2015 at 09:11 |
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They need an entry level Viper, the same way GM has an entry level Corvette. Even the 6.4L NA out of the SRT lineup would do for an entry level model.
Milky
> Wheelerguy
10/15/2015 at 09:12 |
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$45k?! Ha, that hood alone is like $10k.
GTRZILLAR32-Now saving for Godzilla and a condo
> Wheelerguy
10/15/2015 at 09:20 |
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I agree that it needs a DCT, but that’s about it. I’m not sure if anything can be done to save the Viper at this point. But, a DCT and maybe a higher output version of the 392 V8 currently residing in the Scat Pack Challenger/Charger would help move some more units. The cost of these changes for FCA may not outweigh any benefit.
Sam
> Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
10/15/2015 at 10:43 |
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They can make it fit. They have people who they pay >$100,000 a year who can design engine bays.
needMORv8 now with more V8
> Sam
10/15/2015 at 15:45 |
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Maybe with a huge bulging hood yes but the engine is physically WAYY too tall, it’s not as simple as “tell the engineers to do it”
bryan40oop
> Wheelerguy
10/15/2015 at 17:10 |
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Been discussed to death, you can’t. The hellcat engine is too tall.