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New Dodge Viper Confirmed

There has been a lot of speculation about the return of the famous Viper, after Dodge ceased production of the iconic sportscar last summer after 18 years in production.

Ralph Gilles, head of the Dodge brand, confirmed that the Chrysler board has given the Viper final approval and development is on schedule, according to Detroit News. Rumors surrounding a future Viper model have hinted it will be based on the Alfa 8C’s platform or one from Ferrari. However, the new Viper "is not based on anything else," according to Gilles. The design of the two cars is very different, thus Dodge would have to ditch the famous long bonnet.

"Where the cabin is, relative to the wheels, is unique. The Viper cabin is very rearward and the hood is very long. Few cars in the industry are designed with those proportions anymore," said Gilles who is also head of design.

The engine that will power the Viper will not be taken from Ferrari. It will be developed from scratch, using expertise from Fiat engineers.

"We will use their expertise to open the performance envelope in the Viper. Fiat has an awesome ability to tune cars. I want the new Viper to be a more forgiving car to drive and accessible to more people. We've never had stability control on a high-performance car, which is about to happen on the new car," Gilles also stated.

At the heart of the 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 was the gigantic 8.4-liter (510 cu. in.) V10 engine that produces 600 (450 kW) horsepower and 560 lb.-ft. (760 N•m) of torque. The model was popular because of its lack of stability control and a powerful engine.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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