Joe (1BAD),
Dodge surely listens to all we say, and believe me, they are building a car that will not only be the KING OF THE HILL for years, but will offer road course design and engineering that will clobber the competition! Mr Fernandez KNOWS what the others are building, and he has the advantage of over 10 years of development on a PROVEN design. ALL the changes that were built into the SRT were engineered to VASTLY improve on a design that was unbeatable.
Now, for your other question about "cheaper materials"... it depends about your definition of "cheap". If you mean less expensive, obviously the hood will be alot less expensive to replace if you unfortunately have an agricultural excursion. If you mean of lesser quality ... HECK NO! The Viper was always designed to be bare bones, "less is more", out of the crate race car that happens to be street legal. The features that I have seen in the interior seem to be of superior look and feel, and additionally incorporate some improvements in comforts (far superior sound system, dead pedal, harness bezels through seats, etc).
Let's get some of the facts on the table:
PVO, with Mr Fernandez in the driver's seat, has ONE focus in mind.. a better, faster car on the track! His staff at PVO back up this philosophy 100%! That's a tough act, as our Snakes are already incredible on the track, almost impossible to beat by any marque, at any price, and with any amount of HP, but I am convinced that WE WILL ALL GET BLOWN AWAY BY THE SRT! Some cars might come out with more HP, might be lighter, and might have a different look... but it's the combination of all factors that make a winning track car.
Three cheers for competition! ... and my bet is on PVO!