The Viper may still have some venom left, after all
It looks like we may see a 2021 Dodge Viper V8, possibly as early as the 2019 Detroit Motor Show! According to a recent Car and Driver report, FCA has every intention on bringing back the Viper to challenge the Corvette (both front and rear-engine) and the Ford GT – among others. While it appears that there will be no V10 offered, an all-aluminum Hemi is said to be in development.
There’s also the possibility of a (next generation) Dodge Hellcat or Demon engine being used, but that is speculation, along with a majority of this post.
It is said that the 2021 Dodge Viper V8 will maintain a front-engine, rear-drive layout with the signature long hood and small cabin intact. This also means that the look may be an evolution of the old Viper’s design. The report goes on to say that, just like the old Vipers, a convertible will be offered first with a coupe design coming later in its production.
Some of you might speculate that the 2021 Dodge Viper V8 could be a discounted 2019 Ferrari Portofino, which is a replacement for the Ferrari California. That’s a pretty good theory, but I suspect FCA wants to have the Ferrari and Viper kept as far away as possible to avoid brand contamination. Still, FCA isn’t building the 2021 Dodge Viper V8 to be third fastest among its American competition.
While no official details are available yet, it is a good bet that the 2021 Dodge Viper V8 may come with a manual transmission. That would make it one of the last supercars to offer a manual transmission option. That could be a huge selling point in itself.
Other questions:
- Will side-mounted exhaust pipes come back?
- What car (if any) will FCA benchmark?
- Will there (finally) be a bigger cockpit?
- Can it undercut the GT40, 911 and Corvette’s price?
- Will there be an ACR or other race variant available?
We can only hope that FCA surprises us as much as Ford and Chevrolet have recently.
What do you think?
Speaking of the old Viper…
