When I had a chance to sit down with Dodge CEO Ralph Gilles at the 2010 LA Auto Show, he explained that the Viper would return in the spring or summer of 2012 as a 2013 model year vehicle and today, Chrysler issued a diminutive press release making that information official.
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While discussing the launch plans for the 2013 Dodge Viper, Ralph Gilles also mentioned that they planned to make the new Viper a little more driver-friendly with the help of stability control. In the past, Chrysler has almost boasted that the Viper lineup was little more than a street legal race car, devoid of driver aides like stability control but Gilles told us that he wanted the next generation of the Viper to be a car that he can “toss the keys to his wife and not have to worry about it”. Along with the production information, today’s announcement from the “folks under the Pentastar” stated that the 2013 Viper would indeed feature stability control. To test this new technology without risking any pesky spy photographers scoring shots of the refreshed exterior, Chrysler’s Street and Racing Technology (SRT) crew has fitted the stability control in previous generation Vipers – similar to the one shown above.
No other information on the 2013 Dodge Viper has been offered thus far but we can expect somewhere between 600 and 700 horsepower – although there has been plenty of debate whether the next Viper will pack the tried and true Viper V10 or if they will go a different route. Some speculation has suggested that the Viper will call on its cousins at Ferrari for help with the 2013 model but with Dodge Motorsports continuing to flex the muscle of the V10 in both the Viper SRT10 ACR and the new Dodge Challenger V10 Drag Pak, it would be surprising to see the 2013 Viper to come with something other than a V10 engine.
Finally, Chrysler stated that the development and production of the 2013 Dodge Viper will be completed just in time for the “Super Car Olympics”. The progression of the supercar market around the world over the past few years has been amazing, so it will be interesting to see how the Viper holds up to some of the best sports cars in the world.
Other Chrysler News:
The Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR sets another track record
Chrysler drops the details on the Mopar ‘11 Charger
A 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 burns on Brampton Assembly line
Chinese government suspends importation of Jeep Wrangler
2011 Dodge Durango bursts into flames during DC parade
The Easter Jeep Safari special show vehicles are announced
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