I hate to say this, but:
I am very disappointed in the styling of the SRT/10. Dodge underestimated the impact the Viper's distinctive styling had on its popularity.
It's hard to argue with 500/500/500, though. I'm sure the Gen III will outperform the Gen II -- but by how much? The Gen II's built their performance reputation by significantly outperforming the competition, and by dominating GT2 racing for three years. Now the competition is faster, and I fear the Gen III will not be significantly faster than the competition. Maybe still "King of the Hill," but probably not by much. And there are no plans to race this car under factory sponsorship. I really hope I'm wrong, and I'm looking forward to seeing some real performance numbers and a test which compares the old and new Vipers, as well as offerings from the competition. But at this time, I'm skeptical about how much of an improvement the Gen III really is.
In his book "Guts," Bob Lutz referred to the Viper and some other Chrysler products of the last decade as "right-brain" vehicles; that is, one that appeals to the visceral and impulsive side of your brain. He offered that they knew the restyled 1994 Ram was a winner when in the polls they conducted, 40% loved it, and 40% hated it -- not much middle ground. But that's OK for a right-brain car, because the people who like the car will be avid proponents. And it would be bad to water down the vehicle to appeal more to the people who hate it. Think about it -- how does the SRT/10 fit into this philosophy?
I really hope I'm wrong...