Autoblog

Viper GTS-R will have first full season chronicled in web series

John Neff — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:00:00 EST

SRT will be documenting its second season - and first full season - of Viper GTS-R racing in the American Le Mans Series with a new web series called Beyond the Checkered Flag. We don't know much yet, but the team has released a teaser video (below) and promises the series will run at least four episodes, if not more. The videos will feature all six drivers who are responsible for piloting the No. 93 and 91 Viper GTS-R cars that compete in each race, and each episode will be told from a different perspective of the action (drivers, the pits, the fans, etc.).

As we've mentioned before, the return of the Viper to motorsports is a big deal, and we're excited that SRT Motorsports has decided to document it. The car's first go around in racing began in the late '90s and peaked during the fledgling seasons of the then-new American Le Mans Series when the Viper GTS-R won 16 of 18 races during 1999 and 2000. The new Viper GTS-R hasn't been nearly as dominant as the original since returning to ALMS racing last August, the team having only just achieved its first podium finish a few weeks ago in Long Beach with one of its cars finishing third.

The first episode of Beyond the Checkered Flag, which should air in mid-May, will focus on preparations for the 2013 season, specifically the time leading up to the season-opening 12 Hours of Sebring in March. Spoiler alert: the team didn't win its class, though the No. 91 car did lead for much of the race and finished fifth, scoring valuable championship points to kick off the team's first competitive season back.

Scroll down to watch the trailer for Beyond the Checkered Flag.

Continue reading Viper GTS-R will have first full season chronicled in web series

Viper GTS-R will have first full season chronicled in web series originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 May 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SRT Viper officially accepts invitation for 24 Hours of Le Mans return

Jeffrey N. Ross — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Racing, SRT

We were on hand last year when the 2013 SRT Viper made its racing debut at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the American Le Mans Series, but now Chrysler has accepted the invitation to run two Vipers at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The Viper has a brief but successful history at Le Mans, finishing in the top two spots of its class for three consecutive years (1998-2000), and it will look for more of the same success when it returns to action in the LM GTE Pro class.

Chrysler said that the two cars entered into the 24-hour race would be driven by Marc Goossens, Tommy Kendall, Kuno Wittmer, Dominik Farnbacher and Jonathan Bomarito, but it also promised "additional team announcements" at a later date. In addition to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Viper GTS-R will also be running a full season of ALMS, which kicks off next month at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Chrysler released a press release for the Viper's return to Le Mans, which we've posted below.

Continue reading SRT Viper officially accepts invitation for 24 Hours of Le Mans return

SRT Viper officially accepts invitation for 24 Hours of Le Mans return originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 03 Feb 2013 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SRT Viper GTS-R stars in Forza's September Car Pack [w/video]

Drew Phillips — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Toys/Games, SRT

Forza Motorsport added the 2013 SRT Viper to its extensive collection of cars as part of a free DLC back in June, but with the launch of the Viper GTS-R in ALMS this summer we knew it was only a matter of time before the racing snake would be included in the game. That time has come, as both the #91 #93 Viper GTS-R race cars headline Forza's September Car Pack.

In addition to the Viper GTS-R duo the September Car Pack includes some pretty desirable classic vehicles as well. The 1968 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, 1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato and 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR are all on the list, as well some oddities like the 1983 GMC Vandura G-1500 aka the A-Team van.

You can see the full list of cars included in the Forza September Car Pack below as well as a video trailer showing the Viper GTS-R in action in the game.

Continue reading SRT Viper GTS-R stars in Forza's September Car Pack [w/video]

SRT Viper GTS-R stars in Forza's September Car Pack [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 06 Sep 2012 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Watch SRT's Viper GTS-R return to professional racing at Mid-Ohio

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:31:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Videos, Racing

Spectators at this past weekend's ALMS race at Mid-Ohio made sure to pay special attention to the two Viper GTS-R racers with their video cameras, and Chrysler's cameras were out in full force as well. It was the first race for SRT Motorsport's Team Viper after a lenthy hiatus. Both V10 racers had to run their 8.0-liter engines with an air restrictor because the rest of the class runs with 5.5 liters. The 455-horsepower snakes finished the race in 10th and 12th place overall while gathering valuable data.

Oh, about that "thundering in your ears" that Autoblog Editor-in-chief John Neff mentioned in his race coverage? They've still got it. Big time. Have a watch and a listen of the videos below.

Team Viper and their thundering coupes head to Road America in two weeks.

Continue reading Watch SRT's Viper GTS-R return to professional racing at Mid-Ohio

Watch SRT's Viper GTS-R return to professional racing at Mid-Ohio originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Viper GTS-R makes competitive debut at Mid-Ohio

John Neff — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 15:28:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance

Saturday saw the Viper makes its much-anticipated return to competitive motorsports when SRT Motorsport's Team Viper successfully campaigned its pair of Viper GTS-R cars in the sixth round of the American Le Mans Series at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio. What did success look like? Far from a podium finish, Team Viper was pleased just to have both cars finish the race, and was pleasantly surprised to have one crack the top ten.

The two cars fielded were the No. 91 Forza Motorsports Viper GTS-R (blue/silver) driven by Kuno Wittmer and Dominik Farnbacher and the No. 93 Pennzoil Ultra car (yellow/silver) driven by Marc Gooseens and Tommy Kendall.

We were at the race and watched both Vipers make their debut. While not nearly quick enough yet to threaten the Corvettes, Porsches, BMWs and Ferraris that contend fiercely for the GT Class crown, the Vipers were nonetheless very consistent and Team Viper reports the cars actually got quicker as the race progressed.

While the No. 91 car made it through Mid-Ohio's 15-turn, 2.4-mile course all day without incident, and in fact spent most of its time running down the black-and-gold liveried Lotus Evora of Alex Job Racing, the No. 93 had two incidents, including an off-track excursion in the final minutes of the race. The GT Class was won on Saturday in a thrilling finish by Corvette Racing's Oliver Gavin, who held off the No. 45 Flying Lizard Porsche 911 GT3 RSR in his No. 4 Corvette C6 ZR1 for the race's final 20 minutes.

With the addition of the Viper this year (and the Lotus Evora), the GT Class of ALMS racing has become one of our favorite series to watch, especially in person where the personalities of these cars can be felt thundering in your ears. The Viper's 8.4-liter V10 engine makes a very distinct sound on the track. While not as gutteral as the Corvette's 5.5-liter V8, it's also not as loud as the BMW M3's 4.0-liter V8 nor as shrieky as the Ferrari 458 Italia's 4.5-liter V8 either. It falls somewhere in between the the Corvette and BMW, and could stand to have its volume cranked up a notch. And though the Viper's new design looked the part of a menacing GT car on the track, we hope at some point the cars will be wearing liveries that harken back to the red-and-white-striped Oreca Vipers that dominated early ALMS racing.

The next time Team Viper competes will be at Road America in two weeks.

Continue reading Viper GTS-R makes competitive debut at Mid-Ohio

Viper GTS-R makes competitive debut at Mid-Ohio originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 05 Aug 2012 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SRT Viper GTS-R completes first track test [w/video]

Drew Phillips — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 20:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Videos, Chrysler, Racing

This week, the new SRT Viper GTS-R hit the racetrack for the very first time at Carolina Motorsports Park, in the wake of its surprise unveiling at the New York Auto Show in April. According to the SRT Motorsports team in attendance, the shakedown run was an overwhelming success with the car performing better than expected. "To basically build that car, start it up the first time like the day before and have it run around the whole day and do everything it was supposed to do was a huge achievement," said Gary Johnson, SRT Motorsports road racing manager.

SRT still has plenty of work ahead of it, though, as several more track tests are needed before the Viper GTS-R makes its ALMS competition debut later this season. At that point, the race Viper will have its hands full with the rest of the competitive GT field. It's not as if the guys from Corvette, BMW, Porsche, Ferrari and Aston Martin are going to give the newcomer a break.

Video from the 2013 Viper GTS-R's first track test and the official announcement from SRT are posted below.

Continue reading SRT Viper GTS-R completes first track test [w/video]

SRT Viper GTS-R completes first track test [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 10 Jun 2012 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Five Questions with Ralph Gilles about the 2013 SRT Viper

Scott Burgess — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:29:00 EST

Filed under: New York Auto Show, Coupe, Performance, Design/Style

The 2013 SRT Viper stole the New York Auto Show this week with its 640-horsepower 8.4-liter V10 and the promise of even better tire-melting performance. It's the crown jewel in Chrysler's Street and Racing Technology brand headed by Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of SRT, Senior Vice President of Chrysler Design and the man most credited with resurrecting this beast.

Discontinued in 2010, the Viper was always a brutal and unforgiving car. It was the baseball bat of supercars.

Autoblog got a chance to sit down with Gilles and ask him five questions. Always the gentleman, Gilles answered six.

Gilles and his team walked a narrow line refining the Viper to the point of Italian Boss Sergio Marchionne's acceptance, but still remaining true to the car.

Before, the Viper was brutal, it's transmission tunnel heated up so much, the sparse cockpit turned into a crock pot. It did not even offer stability control, now required by law, meaning one wrong move, one slip of the clutch and the Viper would be wrapped around a light pole faster than an airbag deployment.

Even getting out of the Viper, with its side-mounted exhaust pipes, could be a challenge, giving the car one last chance to leave its mark, literally, on your calf.

Autoblog got a chance to sit down with Gilles and ask him five questions. Always the gentleman, Gilles answered six.

AB: The new design is pure Viper, but it seems to have some influence from those Italian super cars. What's the percentage of the Viper that's American, percentage that's Italian?

Gilles: Maybe five percent Italian. The seats, the seats are the same supplier as Ferrari. It's all American. Done inside, done outside, it's all all American.

Continue reading Five Questions with Ralph Gilles about the 2013 SRT Viper

Five Questions with Ralph Gilles about the 2013 SRT Viper originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2013 SRT Viper coils up to take a bite out of ALMS with GTS-R competition model

Noah Joseph — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:20:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, New York Auto Show, Coupe, Dodge, Racing

Arguably the biggest news of the New York Auto Show for enthusiasts is the debut of the new SRT Viper. But as the high-performance arm of Chrysler has pointed out, the street-legal Viper "isn't the only high-performance snake making a triumphant return" here at Javitz.

No, Auburn Hills hasn't missed a beat in releasing the new super-musclecar's racing counterpart, the SRT Viper GTS-R, alongside the production version. Picking up where previous competition-spec Vipers left off - including three successive GTS class one-two victories at Le Mans, a landmark win in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and numerous international GT championships - the new Viper GTS-R is gearing up to take on the American Le Mans Series already this year.

Two of these bad boys will be fielded in ALMS, driven by Indy race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, German driver and Rolex 24 veteran Dominik Farnbacher, Le Mans vet Marc Goossens of Belgium and Viper racer Kuno Wittmer of the great racing town of Montreal. But before these guys get to turn a wheel in anger, their new ride is on show here in New York, and we've got the gallery of high-resolution photos for your viewing pleasure. (Scroll down as well for more info in the press release.)

Continue reading 2013 SRT Viper coils up to take a bite out of ALMS with GTS-R competition model

2013 SRT Viper coils up to take a bite out of ALMS with GTS-R competition model originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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