2017 Viper ACR sets a New Nurburgring Record for an American Production Car

While the 2017 Viper ACR didn’t set a new production car record, the newest Nürburgring time from the Mopar supercar sets the American production car record — again.

2017 will be the final model year for the current iteration of the Dodge Viper, but that didn’t stop the folks from the Viper Exchange, Kumho Tires and Prefix from putting together a fan-funded effort to set the new Nurburgring Nordschleife production car lap record with the 2017 Dodge Viper American Club Racer (ACR). After raising over $150,000 from Viper fans around the world, the team headed to Germany last week with a pair of 2017 Viper ACR GTS-R Commemorative Edition supercars and a pair of world class road racers – Luca Stolz and Dominik Farnbacher – to take their shot at the record.

Unfortunately, the team was not able to beat the Porsche 918 time of 6:57, but despite all sorts of bad weather and odd problems on the track, the 2017 Dodge Viper ACR piloted by Farnbacher turned in a lap of 7 minutes and 3.45 seconds (7:03.45). This is a new American production car record for the Nurburgring Nordschleife, beating the previous generation Viper ACR (7:12.13 – also driven by Farnbacher) by nearly 10 seconds.

As a result of the 7:03.45 lap time around the Nurburgring Nordschleife, the 2017 Dodge Viper ACR trails only the 2014 Porsche 918 hybrid supercar. It should be noted that Lamborghini has turned in lap times with two of their limited production supercars, but with those tests being conducted by the automaker without any 3^rd party witnesses, those numbers are often disputed by the record-keeping community. Even if we factor in both Lamborghinis based on their company-issued times, the 2017 Dodge Viper ACR ranks 4^th all-time among production road cars.

However, had things gone a bit smoother for the Viper team in Germany, there could have been a much quicker lap time recorded.

Rain, Mechanical Problems and Rain
The team looking to set the Nurburgring record with the 2017 Dodge Viper ACR arrived in Germany late last week with plans of spending several days practicing before making an official record run on Monday. Their first few practice sessions were rained on, so while they got some track time, the conditions were far from ideal. When the crew finally got some sunny practice time, both cars ran into rear wheel bearing issues, which sidelined the team until they could get new parts.

Once the cars were repaired, the Viper ACR team was prepared to make a record run on Monday, but once again, they were rained out. They did get some practice time on the wet track, but no official record run was made. Fortunately, on Wednesday, the team was finally able to get the cars on a dry track for a proper record run and the results were very good.

Dominik Farnbacher laid down a time of 7:03.45 and that is the quickest time ever run by an American car with witnesses at the Nurburgring. Best of all, the team had planned to make one more run today, but unfortunately, after a great start, another odd mechanical issue struck.

A communication device required of all cars running the Nurburgring was placed under the dash, somewhere behind the gauge cluster. During Farnbacher’s run – which track officials state was one of the quickest starts they have seen from a production car – a portion of the communication device fell out of the dash, coming to rest behind the pedals. Because of that, Farnbacher lost the brake and the clutch, killing the run and forcing him to limp the car around to the pits….and then it started to rain while they were in the garage area fixing the problem.

Farnbacher may have been on pace for a lap time starting with a 6, but due to the mechanical issue and the rain, the team will have to settle for another record lap time as the quickest American production car to ever lap the Nurburgring.

There is no video available yet, but the organizers of this record attempt have stated that there will be video available once they are back in the USA. When that video becomes available, you’ll find it here on DodgeForum.com.

Image Source: The Viper Ring Record Run Powered by Kumho and Co-sponsored by Prefix

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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