Is The Dodge Viper Coming Back With A V8 Under The Bonnet?
You can’t help but love the Dodge Viper. Its recipe is simple, bonkers and effective: stick a huge naturally-aspirated V10 up front, send its power to the rear wheels via a manual gearbox and keep it light-ish. How can you argue with that?
However, not enough people made the transition from admiring to actually laying down their hard-earned for a Viper, and amid poor sales in 2017, Dodge pulled the plug. So the Viper is down, it seems, but not out: Car and Driver is reporting that the genre-blending coupe is making a comeback for 2021.
The format, to begin with at least, sounds quite familiar. It’ll utilise a spaceframe platform, and have a long bonnet with the engine mounted just behond the front axle. But there’s one rather large departure from the Viper norm: there may not be a V10.
The C&D report claims that Chrysler is cooking up an all-new V8 to replace the ancient iron-block Hemi engine. The publication is merely “guessing” that this V8 will be used as the Viper’s first powerplant, but that would make sense: it seems unlikely that the US firm would develop an all-new V10 just for this car.
We’re getting into pure speculation now, but the report reckons the starting point would be around 550bhp, with a supercharged 700bhp+ version - “essentially a second-gen Hellcat engine” joining later.
What do you think of the idea of a V8 Viper?
Growing up on a diet of World Rally Championship highlights and lengthy Gran Turismo 2 sessions, a life in cars was as good as inevitable for Matt.
Comments
A V8 Viper! What a disgrace! That’s the same as Ford building a V6 Ford GT. Oh,wait…
Or VAG making three-cylinder SUV’s! Oh, wait…
V8’s are nice too
Sure it may not be the epic V10, but at least it isn’t a hybrid 4 cylinder
Id would rob some character but id rather have a viper with v8 than no viper
If they do that, they will go full German.
Stick a Demon-V8 in it and everybody is happy apart from a couple of purists
Too tall, won’t fit
I new the Viper would come back. I’m kinda sad that it’s not a V10 but at least the Viper is making a return and I’m excited.
I’d prefer a V10 tbh although If the Viper returns I’ll be happy regardless
I’d rather have them keep the v10 but just make a 6-7 liters instead
I’m disappointed that the V10 didn’t return but I’m also happy that the Viper is coming back as the sports car it was born to be.
It’s like only making mustangs with v6’s
That happened in the early years of Mustang 2
A V8 Viper is called a Corvette.
THANK YOU.
Actually they called it Firepower. Why they didn’t actually build that is a mystery to me.