SRT-10 Coupe - guess the stats

[onerareviper]

Steve,

I respect your opinion, but not sure I agree. I was at Detroit this year, and I thought Ford stole the show, without a doubt. They had the production GT40, the new production Mustang, and the Shelby Cobra concept. I had to wait 15 minutes just to get a look at these cars. The crowds were big in the Ford area. DC had some cool stuff, but they showed the Tomahawk (2'nd year) and Viper (Same location/Same color (red) as last year. Sure, they did bring the ME 412 Supercar, and it was cool to look at, but who can really own one - even if they do produce it? So what true production models could people get excited about? The 300 and Magnum were cool, along with the Crossfire. But I still think this year goes to Ford, with DC a distant second, Chevy third (New Vette). Of course, opinions are like a-holes, .......

 

[drdaveSRT]

a simple barely street version of the comp coupe with a higher roof line. Fine with me. Then all of you GTS guys can finally have something to buy/trade/add to stable you lucky doggzzz!!! My first ever viper experience was almost pulling trigger on new 97 gts, did in 99rt. My new 5 yr goal, to ob(main)tain back my rt, that 97redGTS, a GTS-R or 96blue/wht, keep black SRT forever, and new street coupe when ready. Another one could just be mods to 1000hpSRT. Probably less$/TIME$$. Got Mail/Invite From HENN @TT arriving in chicago area soon. AMUSTSEE. ohboyohboyohboyoboyoboy...

 

[Steve Ferguson]

King, if they give out anything it would not give them the element of surprise at the auto shows, which would further hurt a reason for them to build it. Let's hope that this coming year is the OFFICIAL announcement and all the loyal GTS people can have a something to aspire to own.

I DOUBT that they will let GM steal a show with over a year to plan for it.

 

[Torquemonster]

GTS3 Coupe with carbon fibre panels and integrated roll cage would be real nice.

For engine - want something really cool?

Let DC be the first to combine camless Formula 1 electronic valve technology and direct injection. Strengthen and lighten the engine even more - add billet main caps, fully machined forged I beam rods in a Titanium/aluminium alloy, forged pistons and Pro Mod quality billet crank. Adapt the GTS-R dry sump - it was a great setup. You'd have to put up with a smaller air con system.... least it'll still get rid of some heat

The 500 cubic inch, 40 electronic valve, Direct Injection engine would pass any emission tests and economy tests via droppping off cylinders at cruise, while making incredible power under load to over 7000rpm - whatever upper limit DC wanted to warranty. There would be no cam, no pushrods, no rockers, no lifters. The effective valve opening and closing events would be infinitely adjustable and mapped in 3D - enabling the engine to run 100 cam grinds all in one computer - depending upon load, rpm, EGT etc.

There's other things they could use as well being applied to a certain twin turbocharged Gen 3 application - Jason Heffner knows what I'm talking about ....you'll have to ask for the "what he's got package" if you want one once it's released

Point is - all this technology is there now - DC could be first into production.

 

[NDW]

Ditto Janni,
A minimum of 600 hp
Big Brakes with functional brake cooling ducts
Adjustable brake bias
No cup holders
No automatic trans
Functional and mean

 

[Hans Christian]

Ditto Janni & Newt + many thanks to Steve F for keeping us in the know and hopes up.

One thing I would add would be: LOSE SOME WEIGHT

 

[doctorbob]

Hans...I thought one of your other criteria would for it to be Yellow I personally would take blue or red with white or silver stripe like the concept competition coupe.

 

[King GTS]

It would be nice to have a deep maroon color. I "think" Sean Roe has an incredible maroon colored Viper. I may be confusing him with someone else though. I know the new Ford GT has an INCREDIBLE looking maroon w/ silver stripes.

 

[Snakester]

I'll go against the flow here to say that I'd never buy a GTS or a SRT-Coupe. I'm just a convertible/roadster lover.

But I DO think that DC needs to make the SRT-Coupe, and it NEEDS to have 600HP or better, and (I know you guys are gonna wince) but it needs -switchable- traction control to put the extra power down.

I also think that DC should have a Super-Viper, twin turbo model with maybe 725HP to make it a true Dodge halo car, and humiliate anything out there.

DC can easily manage it for under $100K for the regular Viper and under $150K for the Super Viper. In fact the regular Viper should be the same price that it is now, and the Super Viper (ACR?) should be just around $100K.

-Dean.

 

[FrankBarba]

Here's my take for whatever it is worth. Be patient DC will build a street coupe. IF you all decide to purchase a Vette, Porsche, Ford GT, Ferrari so be it & have fun with the car. You will be back. There are currently 55 cars that are doing the testing for you right now. We are learning alot & so is DC.

 

[Steve Ferguson]

Hans, you sound like my wife wit that "lose some weight" comment!

Torq, I think it is against the law to sell a vehicle with a roll cage through a dealer. If you want the cage you can go get that right now!

Snake, I really doubt that a Viper will have traction controle. Maybe a "Super" version, but not on the normal Viper.

Frank, i think that people will be very happy if they wait because if and when it comes out it will be able to be everything Ford & GM has, which is what we ALL want Viper to do. If they come out to soon they could actually under power it, which would not go over to well in this group!

 

[2charmed]

Well since we are speculating on a coupe....... again,

Yellow Metallic w/ Silver or White Pearl Stripes

Red w/ Silver or White Pearl Stripes

Viper Blue Metallic w/ Silver or White Pearl Stripes

Maroon W/ Silver or White Pearl Stripes

BLACK W/ Silver or White Pearl Stripes

600-625 hp
Factory Blower
Factory integrated Roll protection (kind of a given) Not a roll cage
with or able to accept front and side splitters
Bigger Wheels!
Functional Roof Scoop / inlet
We don't need no stinking traction control except Bigger wheels and tires!
mean exhaust sound w/ stainless exhaust trim on side sills w/ rivits!
The appropriate Carbon Fiber and Brushed Aluminum bits and pieces.
Add "Hemi" to it and let's go!

I'll take mine in BLACK or BLUE w/ Silver or White Stripes!

A car that can be driven on the street or track, a car that would be very cool and able to run in the Open Road type challenges and we would have a car that
EVERYONE would envy!

Come on DC, give us our GT Rival!

2Chamed

 

[King GTS]

Guys. There's no need for DC to build a "Super Viper". Just build a Coupe and I'll do the rest. I promise you I will humiliate anything on 4 wheels. And anything on 2 wheels for that matter. It'll be my pleasure. I'm a giver.

All they have to do is make it. The Viper guy's will do the rest.

 

[jrkermode]

I think DC should build the SRT10 Coupe. I think it would be good for the Viper brand. Just like the SRT, it could introduce a whole new group of owners to the Viper (and, we old-schoolers will whine about them too!). However, I don't think I would buy one.

The Coupe would make terrific garage furniture, but I can't see when I would ever use it.

The GTS already attracts more attention than I want on the street. The Coupe, which MUST have a factory wing, will be worse.

The GTS is already too fast for the street, meaning, drive it fast enough to have fun and you risk, not just a ticket, but going to jail. With the SRT10 Coupe, you'll get your own coffee mug at the County Lock-Up.

On the track, the GTS is as fast as I want to go without a cage. I'm sure the aftermarket would offer a cage for the Coupe, but by the time it's properly padded, there's not enough room left to accommodate my fat a...

I also can't dismiss style. IMHO the GTS is much better looking. So, I can't see using the Coupe even for cruising.

Finally, money. It is extremely rare that there is $100k laying around my house with nothing to do. Even rarer that that money would be slated for toy cars. There are an awful lot of temptations along the road to $100k. One of them is named Elise.

So, please encourage DC to build the Coupe, just don't promise them an order from me.


P.S. Steve, I believe Torquie was referring to a carbon fiber "safety cell", not a tubular cage. You are correct that everything in a production car needs to be friendly to flailing limbs, something a tubular cage is not. However, a carbon fiber safety cell could accomodate all the "normal" interior padding, air bags, etc. and still provide crash / rollover protection.

 

[Janni]

jrkermode,
If you haven't driven an SRT or a Comp Coupe around a track or autocross course, it really isn't about "speed" - it's about balance and stability.

While my 96 GTS was a BLAST to drive - it was a handful. I could get the rear end to step out at will. Braking was good, but you have to work hard to get it right and you could never get the rear of the car to stay planted well enough to have the butt end help out slowing you down (granted that got better with ABS an dynamic proportioning...) The Gen III suspension is AMAZING. It is confidence inspiring and will let you drive WAY faster than your GTS going into corners and braking, etc. without the Hail Mary's that you say when you go in a little too hot. THAT is the kind of performance I want in my coupe. The Gen III suspesnion and handling just suits my driving style better.

By the way - my SRT would be sold in an instant to get a coupe. I enjoy the convertible, but the shape of the coupe - assuming it could look like a comp coupe - far outweighs any fun the convertible offers.

Oh - and it has to be under $100K - preferably near $90K.... It's still a Dodge.

Oh and I am not sure about a "Super" version. I really don't want to see the Viper name diluted by having a "slow" version, i.e. like the Corvette and having the "slow" version start to appeal to the wussies....

 

[TRAMP 13]

I believe that if Dodge would go ahead and build the coupe and have the output between 600 and 650 HP and make sure it look like the comp.coupe there would be no more talk about the Gt 40,as long as they could keep it below 100,000.00 dollars.

 

[King GTS]

Yeah but if it HAD to be a hair over $100K for all that we were getting, I don't have many friends who would complain. I sure wouldn't.

 

[Torquemonster]

Torq, I think it is against the law to sell a vehicle with a roll cage through a dealer. If you want the cage you can go get that right now!

Incredible isn't it? Over hear they're not allowed a harness either - gotta have a lap and diagonal belt. Might be tempted to drive fast I guess. Politicians are idiots - how many lives would be spared if cars had the structural integrity of a cabin cage and the people had 4-5 point harnesses?

THOUSANDS - but it's illegal... *********.

Ford Australia got around the cage issue by incorporating it into their hollow frame and pillars then filling with a lightweight super strong foam. Jokermodes idea also would work - same end result - a strong stiff and light chassis with high safety margin -

....and legal to race 9 second passes

 

[Steve Ferguson]

I thought you could not have a cage or 5-poit belts because "the normal pedestrian" would not know how to help remove someone in the event of an accident? At least that is what the legal team at DC once told me. But your right, don't make no sense when it provides the ULTIMATE in safty.

If a coupe comes out it will need at least 700 HP to compete with what's coming.

 

[jrkermode]

Janni,
I think we're talking about 2 sides of the same coin.

For a street car, it is about speed in the sense that 20 over can get you locked up. Here in California the knucklehead street racers have also earned us a law where aggressive acceleration or cornering in a single car (all by yourself) can earn you a "street racing" ticket, which means jail time and a license suspension. I realize this is completely nuts, but dem are da rules. So, if you believe, as I do, that sportscar fun is found at the limits of adhesion, then supercars can only be "fun" on the street if you are willing to risk going to jail. No doubt that's oversimplified, but, for me, that takes a lot of fun out of the ownership experience. So, I don't need a faster street car than what I already own (That'll probably get me kicked out of the club!).

On the track, all those things you mentioned about your 96? I love that stuff! I don't want a car where that goes away. When I said my GTS was fast enough on the track I didn't mean I was uncomfortable in exploring the limits. I meant fast enough in that I wouldn't want to be going any faster if the unthinkable were to happen and I crashed. To go faster, such as in an SRT Coupe, I would want better safety equipment than a 3 point belt and an airbag. So, for track duty, I again don't need a faster street car.

I'm not against supercars. As I said before, I think DC should build the SRT Coupe. Call it keeping up with the Jones' (Ferrari, et al.) It's just that I view owning a supercar as kind of like owning a bazooka. Really cool, but what can you do with it.


Steve,
I specifically asked the race harness question of the California Highway Patrol some months back. Full race harnesses are legal in California and they also satisfy the seatbelt requirement. I have no idea how other states view their use.

 

[NDW]

Steve,

I asked my local Dept. of Public Safety Trooper about my 6 point harness, and he said that it is perfectly legal to use on public streets, IF it is worn with all straps buckled in as it is designed to be used. (You can't use just the lap belts or just the shoulder belts)

That was good news to me as I have taken out my stock seat belt when I installed the roll bar.

 

[RockyTop]

Coupe - - PLEASE make one (preferably with 600+hp)

Though I am currently unemployed having been laid off by a GM controlled entity , I would sell my eldest into ******* to get a Gen III coupe; provided that IT ISN'T MERELY AN SRT-10 WITH A HARD TOP. If it resembles the CC or the new Chryler carbon prototype/concept with some Viper-specific styling cues and the name thrown in, then first born better start packing his bags ! Oh yeah, and all those things Janni said too.

 

[King GTS]

Re: Coupe - - PLEASE make one (preferably with 600+hp)

So Said RockyTop:

Though I am currently unemployed having been laid off by a GM controlled entity , I would sell my eldest into ******* to get a Gen III coupe; provided that IT ISN'T MERELY AN SRT-10 WITH A HARD TOP. If it resembles the CC or the new Chryler carbon prototype/concept with some Viper-specific styling cues and the name thrown in, then first born better start packing his bags ! Oh yeah, and all those things Janni said too.

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[bad viper]

I'm viperless now and will be until the coupe is released!

 

[bad viper]

I'm Viperless and will be until the street coupe comes out!!

 

[Kai SRT10]

No doubt I will promptly be excommunicated from this forum for the heresy that I am typing. Hopefully, I won't also be burned at the stake.

My next coupe will likely be the Ford GT, even if they build the Viper Street Coupe. I love my SRT-10, and I believe that the Viper GTS Coupe is the most beautiful car made in the last 20 years, but for me, one Viper is enough. I assume that the Viper coupe (if they really make it) will be a lot like my current SRT-10, only more so. I think that personally, I would prefer to own something a little different, and have a bit more variety. I love the Ford GT looks, and the performance is not bad either. I guess if I'm building a "stable" of high performance cars, I'd just as soon sample as many flavors as possible.

Kai

 

[BadVenm]

Kai,

I'm with you and I'm against you.

A Ford GT will also be my next Coupe/Supercar. With one under contract, one dealer calling me wanting me to buy his, another dealer trying hard to get me one as well, somehow I'll end up with one.

BUT..........

If a street legal Comp Coupe, not a SRT with a hardtop, comes out, it too will have a prominent place in the garage, as will the GTS, and Ford GT.

You can't have too much of a good thing. You can't have too much Viper, or too many Vipers!

As a good friend of mine used to say, God rest his soul..."if it's worth doing, it's worth OVER doing!"

 

[M. ROD]

If they built a coupe it should look just like this:

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[V10 ICBM]

Yes - that's it baby!!!

If DC builds this...with same brakes as SRT-10, perhaps with upgrade options (DC read extra margin)...with about 100Hp more (optional?) than competition, trade-in and additions to the autophile's stable will come in.

And ACR version could have a ceramic brake option, Carbon Fiber parts, better seats, all at a nice DC margin to justify the business plan - Do it DC!

That absolutely rocks!

V10 ICBM
Corsa, random tech metal cats, ballanger headers, crome smooth tubes, 4-wheel Stop techs

 

[King GTS]

When I 1st saw that car at the Auto Show, I literally would not leave the Auto Show. I sat there looking at that car for HOURS!! My wife and the group we were with went and looked at every car in the arena while I sat there looking at that car! I was so happy! Happy because I "thought" this was the "new Viper" that was coming out! I vowed to be the 1st one in Houston with one. I remember it like my first date. All the way home I had this goofy smile plastered all over my face. I took a million pictures of it. Pics I still have to this day. That was and still is the best looking car I've ever seen.