PATRICK M. HOEY, THE MANUFACTURER

It’s been almost two years since Dodge built a Viper. Production of the last-gen car—which was nearly the last in the “final” sense of the word—ceased in summer of 2010, but it’s again time to give thanks to the gods of internal-combustion barbarism: The new Viper is debuting at the New York auto show. But it’s no longer called a Dodge; now it’s just the SRT Viper.

Since the beginning, the Viper’s big, bad V-10 has received just as much attention as the car itself. The good news: It’s still big and bad. The only-bad-in-this-day-of-the-650-hp,-200-mph-Mustang-GT500 news: You’re going to wish it made at least 10 more horsepower; the total is 640 at 6150 rpm and 600 lb-ft of torque at 4950. (The engine revs to 6400 rpm.) Both figures are increases of 40.

V-10 Vitals

A number of small changes help the 8.4-liter engine both hit those higher figures and drop a few pounds. The trick cam-in-cam variable valve-timing system remains, although the profile of the intake lobes was reworked. Engineers credit this with about 10 of the additional horses. A new composite intake manifold with longer runners replaces the old aluminum piece, dropping seven pounds from the top of the engine and ratcheting power up another 10 horses or so and pumping torque up about 20 lb-ft. An aluminum flywheel cuts 11 pounds, helping revs build faster, and sodium-filled exhaust valves help keep engine temps down as well as saving a pound. In total, the engine is 25 pounds lighter now than its predecessor.

View Photos PATRICK M. HOEY, THE MANUFACTURER

There are other refinements, too. New forged-aluminum Mahle pistons will take the heat of aftermarket power adders better than the old cast pieces, and revisions to the block and the head gaskets help reduce temperatures at the rear cylinders, which have been known to get hotter than the rest of the holes. Port fuel injection remains, as packaging a direct-injection system proved too difficult. After being hand-built at the Conner Avenue assembly plant, every single Viper engine will be dyno tested to verify that it hits the advertised marks.

A six-speed Tremec manual remains the sole transmission choice, keeping the Viper in its position as unofficial Save the Manuals posterbeast. A twin-disc clutch transfers force to a new, closer-ratio gearset that is operated by a shifter with reduced throws, while a shorter final-drive ratio of 3.55:1 (in place of 3:07:1) improves acceleration at all speeds. We’re told that the top speed should be 206, although no car has physically verified that. Yet. With launch control, 0-to-60 sprints should take somewhere in the mid-three-second range, and SRT is claiming quarter-miles in the mid 11s and high 120s. To allow owners to track their progress toward these yardsticks, a data-logging system will report acceleration figures and top speed, as well as lateral g. As mandated by the government for all new vehicles sold from 2012 on, the Viper now has—for the first time ever—stability control. Thankfully, it’s fully defeatable; drivers engage full-off mode by holding the button for five seconds when speed is below 25 mph.

Familiar is OK

While the sheetmetal—a sexy melding of first- and second-gen Viper styling cues—is new, what’s underneath is merely modified. Rumors that Chrysler would switch to the Alfa Romeo 8C’s platform turned out to be untrue, and the car rides on the same steel structure as did the last generation. Its wheelbase is unchanged and the aluminum front suspension is only slightly tweaked, but the front track gets wider and the rear suspension geometry is new. (The rear suspenders are also aluminum.) More important, an underhood X-brace headlines a 50-percent increase in torsional stiffness.

PATRICK M. HOEY, THE MANUFACTURER

Carbon fiber was used for the hood—again clamshell hinged—roof, and hatch, while the doors and sills are aluminum and the firewall is magnesium. The engine is now slightly offset toward the passenger side, keeping side-to-side weight distribution more balanced with just a driver aboard. Fore/aft spread of the base car’s 3350 or so pounds is an enticing 49.6 percent front, 50.4 rear.

While the Viper has always been a tremendous performer, its interior trimmings have historically been just as brutal as its track prowess. No more. The thin-shell seats come from Sabelt—the same company that makes Ferrari’s chairs—and are covered in cloth, with leather surfaces an option. They will, of course, accept a six-point harness. The cabin is more spacious, too. Those seats sit about an inch farther back and down than they did before, and engineers say they’ve lengthened the cockpit by about 3.5 inches. New hydraulic engine mounts keep vibrations out of the cabin. While we consider these pluses, the masochists among us worry about the appearance of the phrase “new-found manners” in Viper press releases.

Wait Just a Little Bit Longer

When the 2013 Viper goes on sale at the end of the year, it will be offered in two trim levels: base and GTS. The GTS model gets a new, driver-selectable two-mode suspension system, additional Sport and Track settings for the stability control, unique wheel designs, and standard Nappa leather throughout, as well as additional options for interior color. Both trims get Pirelli P Zero rubber measuring 295/30-18 up front and a steamroller-like 355/30-19 in the rear. Buyers will have the choice of polished, black, or matte-black finishes with either wheel design. An available SRT Track package adds ultra-lightweight wheels shod with Pirelli P Zero Corsa soft-compound tires, as well as lightweight two-piece brake rotors from StopTech.

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Base price for this hopefully not too civilized Viper jumps up about eight grand over 2010’s levels, just past $100,000. The Viper GTS starts slightly above $120,000. That 10-horses-more-powerful Shelby GT500 might cost barely more than half what a base Viper will, but it doesn’t have a hand-sanded and -buffed paint job. That is the kind of refinement nobody in the Viper community will contest.

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