Why no Dodge Viper SRT10 in GT racing?

[Asa]

Why doesn't Chrysler/Dodge commission someone to build a GT1 version of the Viper SRT10?

It looks like a winner to me...

[pink69]

Chrysler never came back into sportscars after their failed attempts to win Le Mans with their Dallara prototype. I think with their Mercedes connections all their efforts in F1 I doubt they'll commission the funds. I'm sure Oreca would jump at he chance to race the vipers again. They said they wouldn't do Le Mans unless tey could get factory backing.

[Asa]

But Chrysler/Dodge has no programme now and their rival Corvette is doing so well in the ALMS.

Maybe ORECA should do a Prodrive, build the cars, race them and sell loads of them off to other privateers.

[Audi R8R]

Originally Posted by Asa

Maybe ORECA should do a Prodrive, build the cars, race them and sell loads of them off to other privateers.

Do you know of someone that has several million hanging around in loose change to fund it? That's what Prodrive had. I don't think Oreca has the money to do that.

How much of the development budget from the original Viper program came from Dodge/Chrysler? It wasn't Oreca.

[paul-collins]

Originally Posted by pink69

Chrysler never came back into sportscars after their failed attempts to win Le Mans with their Dallara prototype.

What a waste... the chassis has proven to be a very sweet one, and that was the first run with the Mopar engine. A great opportunity missed. I think they had a better chance than Cadillac ever did.

Back to the main topic - c'mon, Chrysler, bring the Viper back!

[JAG]

No Viper but maybe the cars spiritual predecessor

[FIRE]

There are rumours Dodge (together with Prodrive) will enter WTCC in 2007.

[jhansen]

Originally Posted by Audi R8R

Do you know of someone that has several million hanging around in loose change to fund it? That's what Prodrive had. I don't think Oreca has the money to do that.

Actually, wasn't it Fredoric Dor that funded the 550 program? I thought he basically commissioned Prodrive to build the racecars.

But you are correct. Not only would it take a lot of money, you also need the technical capability of Prodrive.

[Audi R8R]

What I meant was, that you needed a Fredoric Dor. I just wasn't naming names.

[cybersdorf]

Also see this thread: http://tentenths.com/forum/showthrea...ighlight=Viper

[The Badger]

I dont understand why , in its hayday , no American teams EVER wanted to race a Viper competitivily in the Alms . I will never understand why not ?

Before anyone says it ..... Oreca are NOT an American team .

Heaps want to get their mits on a C6R or even a C5R but nobody wanted a Viper when it was a brilliant car

[Audi R8R]

Originally Posted by Asa

Maybe ORECA should do a Prodrive, build the cars, race them and sell loads of them off to other privateers.

Of course, the other problem being that with US/French relations at an all time low point, I can't see an American manufacturer wanting to pay a French team to develop and run their cars in the US.

Then again, can't think of many American teams they'd want either...

[Supercar]

Originally Posted by FIRE

There are rumours Dodge (together with Prodrive) will enter WTCC in 2007.

I believe that. The Dodge brand is being introduced in Europe (Viper used to be a Chrysler in Europe before), so it makes sense to race Dodge products in some touring car championship, like WTCC.

It will take Prodrive to win against Pratt&Miller in ALMS. Right now they have their hands full with the Astons. Penske cannot help either because there will be a conflict of interests with Porsche.

Philip

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by Supercar

I believe that. The Dodge brand is being introduced in Europe (Viper used to be a Chrysler in Europe before), so it makes sense to race Dodge products in some touring car championship, like WTCC.

Indeed

[b1ackcr0w]

Originally Posted by Supercar

I believe that. The Dodge brand is being introduced in Europe (Viper used to be a Chrysler in Europe before), so it makes sense to race Dodge products in some touring car championship, like WTCC.

It will take Prodrive to win against Pratt&Miller in ALMS. Right now they have their hands full with the Astons. Penske cannot help either because there will be a conflict of interests with Porsche.

Philip

for a mo, but at the 2000 ELMS @ Silverstone, where Saturday night was ELMS and a round of the FIA GTs was on Sunday, on Saturday, becuase the championship was american backed, the Vipers had to be referred to as Dodge Vipers, and the next day the same cars had to be refferred to as Chrysler Vipers because that championship is European. That applied to every thing, programmes, commentators and the whole shebang.

Back on topic. I think the reason is that GT racing has moved on since the original Viper was introduced. With cars such as the Mosler, Saleen et al - the sucessful GTs are these days designed as racers first and foremost, and made into road going models as a homologation issue. Turning flabby, over engineered road models into competitive racers is becoming increasingly difficult.

[TheNewBob]

Is there any way to rule over anything so that cars should be designed for the road first? Very difficult, I can well imagine, particularly with where to draw the lines with what's "road-built" and whats "race-built".

I'm not saying that cars such as the Saleens are anything bad - I love the S7's! Fantastic cars - it's just that if cars get designed for the track first then, particularly with projects like the MC12, relations with the road are going to get further away as designers are put under pressure to build race-winning cars, and if it's not controlled properly then the worst case scenario would be the GT1 situation of 7-8 years ago all over again.

It's reasons like that which kinda make me pleased that the MC12 was never allowed at Le Mans - nice a car as it is, it's clearly a racer, not a car meant for the road. It's another reason why I'd quite enjoy seeing the SRT-10 in racing.

[Supercar]

Originally Posted by TheNewBob

It's reasons like that which kinda make me pleased that the MC12 was never allowed at Le Mans - nice a car as it is, it's clearly a racer, not a car meant for the road.

I'd think so too, but here is what was recently seen on streets of St. Petersburg, Russia.



The car had Italian license plates, so someone must have driven it a few thousand miles or so.

Philip

[Jeffrey-Lee]

Originally Posted by Supercar

The car had Italian license plates, so someone must have driven it a few thousand miles or so.

On a flatbed maybe

Still a very impressive piece of automobile engineering though.

[Gil Abobeleira]

Maybe it was stolen from Italy to Russia

[cybersdorf]

...with love...

Just because it's road legal doesn't mean it's actually suitable to be driven on the road.

[pederb]

Well Dodge has this turn key racer in the US but they never bothered to get it FIA/ACO approved so it's today only club racer that anyone can buy for $129.000.



Viper Competion Coupe

[Fogelhund]

Originally Posted by pederb

Well Dodge has this turn key racer in the US but they never bothered to get it FIA/ACO approved so it's today only club racer that anyone can buy for $129.000.

It isn't that they haven't bothered, as it wouldn't be legal, even if they had bothered.

[cybersdorf]

Engine too big - they'd have to build a run of homologation "specials".

[pederb]

Well don't they already have a engine that legal from the old Viper?
it's not like the Comp Coupe has different engine.

[cybersdorf]

Except that the legal engine is in a different car, and the one in the actual car is too big. So they'd have to build a series of new Vipers with the old engine (I think).