2013 SRT VIPER SHOWN IN NEW YORK

It’s finally arrived! The all-new 2013 model SRT Viper has been officially launched at the 2012 New York International Auto Show. Ditching the Dodge moniker to be simply known as SRT Viper, the new American muscle supercar has adopted new technologies while staying true to its original brutal roots.

Firstly, if you were looking for turbos turn around and go to Europe. This here is muscle territory. And for this purpose you are looking at a mammoth 8.4-litre V10 naturally aspirated engine with a composite intake, high-strength forged pistons, sodium-filled exhaust valves and new catalysts.

When in full cry it produces 477kW and 814Nm of torque. Chrysler says this is the most torque from a naturally aspirated production engine globally. True to form it comes with a 6-speed manual gearbox that sends power and torque to the rear wheels through a limited slip differential. No figures were supplied but a car of such talent should easily break the 4 second mark on the 0 – 100km/h strip.

While shedding 45kg from its predecessor, new SRT Viper also gained new comfort levels and luxuries, such as the company Uconnect infotainment system that lets you download a lot of music into the car’s hard drive so you don’t have to carry CDs or USB sticks around with you all the time. It’s got a 23.3cm touch-screen too, making things that much easier to operate. Harman Kardon came to the party with an 18-speaker boom system.

The rather dangerous side exhaust tailpipe makes a return. We aren’t too sure why they kept it, apart from the fact that it’s quite cool. As stated earlier, Viper lost weight during its development, thanks to the wide use of aluminium and carbon fibre in its construction. As a result it weighs only 1 521kg. The stilettos it runs on are either 18 or 19-inch wide, decorated by red Brembo brake callipers.

“After a gut-wrenching period of uncertainty, the Street and Racing Technology brand team is extremely proud that our hand-built in Detroit, flagship supercar is back and ready to take on the performance car world,” said Ralph Gilles, President and CEO - Street and Racing Technology Brand and Motorsports. “Beyond being the flagship for the new SRT brand, the launch of the 2013 Viper proves that we simply would not let the performance icon of the Chrysler Group die. Willed to live on by a very special group of performance enthusiasts inside the company and across Viper Nation, this SRT team under our new leadership was challenged to not just continue the legendary Viper, but to create a world-class supercar that would showcase the very best we have to offer.”

The previous Viper was not offered in right-hand-drive, making it extremely hard to import into South Africa. There’s still no apparent reason why the new one should be made otherwise.