A great number of cars today don’t get to be part of something special. It is an honor for engineers and a company to produce a car that can beat other engineering marvels from other brands. This is the reason why the Chrysler Viper GTS was made. A complete dissection of its history will reveal the competitive drive behind the minds of Dodge and Chrysler.
The complete profile of the Chrysler Viper is not going to be complete without a look back at the predecessor of this wonderful machine. In fact, the SRT Viper (formerly known as the Dodge Viper) is responsible for the performance of the Chrysler Viper today. The Dodge Viper first came to life in the late 1980s. Chrysler initiated Dodge, the company’s high-end division, to design that a car will recreate a modern cobra. In 1989, the Dodge Viper graced the North American International Auto Show.
The Chrysler Viper is the Dodge Viper GTS-R in North America. In fact, it is the racing variant of the popular Dodge Viper car that was unveiled during the 1980s. By 1995, the Chrysler Viper GTS-R was introduced to the public in the Pebble Beach Concours. During the 1990s, the car had so much trouble in races.
Though there is a V10 engine in its arsenal, it was mentioned that the car wasn’t really made for racing during that time. The Chrysler Viper GTS was just the upgraded version of the Dodge Viper. Despite the commercial success of the first-generation Dodge Vipers, the Chrysler Viper GTS is a testament that the company wants to prove a point to its competition. This is the main reason why the Chrysler Viper GTS was approved.
French Engineering Connection
In order to adapt and be able to cope with the racing circuits in the North American region and other parts of Europe, Chrysler made a deal with Oreca, a French engineering group that designed cars like the Mazda 787B.
The engineering team is familiar with success as they can provide some of the best cars that can produce results on the race track. The engine was modified by the French firm, but only a few reinforcements were made in order for the car to perform endurance races.
The total number of Chrysler Viper GTS was only 57. The market of the Chrysler Viper isn’t really for the road cars. There is the SRT Viper for the purpose of everyday use. The market of the Chrysler Viper GTS is geared for the competitors who would want to test their driving prowess with the powerful machine.
Achievements
Overall, the Chrysler Viper GTS is a highly decorated car winning different races in different years. Among the races that it dominated included the 24 Hour Nurbirgring and 24 Hours of Daytona.
This signifies just how effective the changes were to the engine. This shows the durability has been added to the arsenal of the GT car.
When most car manufacturers are contented with the commercial success of a supercar, it was a lot different from the Chrysler group. For them, though commercial success is the benchmark any car manufacturer wants to accomplish, there is a better purpose to such wonderful machines. These machines were designed to race, and compete for neck and neck with other machines.