Any changes for the 2009 Viper ?

[Mopar-man]

Does anyone know if there will be any changes for the 2009 Viper as far as the engine horse power ? If not I will be looking for a 2008 Viper coupe.

 

[rcl4668]

Just my guess but I would be very surprised if Chrysler bumped the factory stock hp one year after releasing the significant upgrades in the 2008 engine. Here's to me being wrong.

/Rich

 

[MoparMan]

Gotta agree with Rich, but as someone looking forward to a new '09 I sure as hell hope there are some factory performance upgrades.

 

[Flash1034]

I dont think there will be.

Flash

 

[Bobpantax]

In their last chat with us, by implication, the SRT engineers made it clear that the answer is "no". They did this by saying that the engine is highly stressed in its stock configuration. This means that to increase the power in any significant way will require some R&D money, etc. They also cannot put Belanger headers on the car because of noise restrictions and the resulting reduction in the buffer zone built into these cars. The 96 to 99 Viper had an enormous buffer zone. The 00 to 02 Viper a bit less. The Gen III engine seems like it is at least as strong as the 00 to 02 engine. The Gen IV engine is probably the least modifiable because of the fact that it is already "highly stressed", the VVT tech, the cam within the cam, and the Venom programming. I think that what you might see in the future, if there is a future, is a 150 to 300 pound weight reduction. Why? Because, once again, the SRT engineers referenced the fact that they were not happy with the current weight of the Viper.

 

[GRNBGON]

I think color change is it. No more SSG. How sad

 

[jessewallace]

there's NO WAY that they'll increase the HP #s of a stocker for 09. imagine how pissed all the 08-ers would be. chevy did that w/the z06 where they brought it out in (2000, i believe) w/385 hp & then bumped it up to 405hp the next year. kills the resale value of the previous year. i would think maybe some performance go fast accessory parts. but from what Bob says about the engine being sorted stressed as it is it would sound like that would be a no go as well.

i'd love to see it drop about 1000 lbs someday though! --> dreams BIG

 

[Kenneth Krieger]

It all depends on passing EPA standards, and the 08 was right "on the edge" anyway. So I doubt any more hp......hope to see "bolt ons", but I believe that has already been hashed over.

 

[Snakester]

Yeah, it was 2001 that the first (385HP) Z06 came out, and the resale value just plummeted for the first-year cars when the next year came out with 405HP, and more importantly it wasn't just the 20HP, but they tweaked the '02 Z06 to be significantly quicker than the '01 model. Of course the same thing could be said for the 2006 Viper Coupe and the '08 model.

The two things that I was hoping for were a bolt on breathing package, as we have seen notable power gains from aftermarket tuners. And the other thing was the possibility of carbon fiber body panels.

We know that some development work has been done on this by ASC (see 2006 Diamondback concept) and the 2003 Carbon SRT-10 Viper concept. Which shaved off 125-200lbs off of the weight of those Vipers. It could be just the additional edge that the ACR Viper could use to be even more competitive, and some buyers would not balk at paying an extra $20K for the weight savings and added all-around performance.

It would make sense to offer both a bolt-on breathing package, and a carbon fiber body panel package through dealers, even if they cannot be offered as factory options.