Sister Snakes: What Separates the 2013 SRT and GTS
When Ralph Gilles introduced the 2013 SRT Viper last
Wednesday, he surprisingly announced that there would be not one but two
trimlines for the new Chrysler Group supercar.
This begins with the standard 2013 SRT Viper which is designed to offer
all of the incredible performance and “a deliberate preservation of what has
become the iconic DNA of the Viper.” What this means is that like past Vipers,
the standard Viper doesn’t come with many bells and whistles focusing, and is focused on the supercar’s performance capabilities
However, for those who expect more out of their supercar,
there is the new 2013 SRT Viper GTS. The
Viper GTS shares an exterior design and the 640 horsepower Viper V10 engine but
the GTS steps up the performance a bit with the new dual mode active suspension
system. For those who haven’t had the
pleasure of experiencing SRT’s active suspension system, it does an incredible
job of shifting from a smooth yet sporty ride to an ultra stiff setup that is
ideal for the most grueling driving conditions.
This system should allow the new Viper GTS to offer a comfortable ride
around town or when cruising on the highway while at the same time affording
the Viper even more impressive handling capabilities at the push of a steering
wheel mounted button. This dual mode
suspension setup features Bilstein DampTronic Select shocks with a setting for
the street and the track – although I bet that the track mode is just as much fun
on the street as it is on a closer circuit.
Inside, the 2013 SRT Viper GTS really separates itself from
the standard Viper with a far more luxurious cabin. One of the key complaints with the Viper in
past years was that, while it offered supercar performance and design, it
failed to offer the level of luxury that someone expects from a car that hovers
around the $100,000 mark. However, with
the introduction of the Viper GTS – new Viper owners can have their extreme
Mopar performance combined with a premium luxury cabin. This begins with a set of Kevlar and
fiberglass Sabelt seats sourced from the Ferrari lineup and unlike the standard
2013 SRT Viper, the GTS seats are fully covered in plush leather and feature electronic
adjustments where the ‘entry’ Viper has manual seat adjustments. The leather from the seats in the Viper GTS
is continued throughout the car with the dash, door panels and center console
with various color schemes helping to make the Viper GTS more of a high
performance luxury car than a brutal American supercar. Finally, in addition to the GTS badges, the
2013 SRT Viper GTS sports a set of unique “Venon” split spoke rims while the
standard Viper wears wheels named “Rattlers” with a more basic, five spoke
design.
In short, those 2013 SRT Viper buyers who are interested in
just plain going fast will likely be satiated with the entry level SRT Viper
while those prospective Viper owners who want their $100,000+ supercar to
feature the same level of creature comforts as the Lamborghini and Porsche
models in their rearview mirror can opt for the loaded up Viper GTS.
Hopefully as time goes on, Chrysler will begin offering the
dual mode suspension package from the Viper GTS on standard 2013 SRT Viper
models so that those who want the added performance of this high tech handling
system don’t have to foot the bill for the luxury features inside of the GTS.
Perhaps SRT has one more card up their sleeve – a more
stripped down 2013 SRT Viper with the advanced suspension system of the Viper
GTS. Throw a wing on it, add some
lighter race wheels and stickier tires and it sounds like we could be dreaming
of the next generation Viper ACR…but right now, that is just dreaming.
