Meet the 2016 Dodge Viper American Club Racer

We have known for some time that the Chrysler Group was working on the next generation super-Viper and last week, the company rolled out the 2016 Dodge Viper American Club Racer (ACR). Even though the previous generation Viper ACR proved itself as the best performing American car of all time – setting track records all over the world – the Chrysler Group is still billing the 2016 ACR package as the fastest street legal Viper of all time. In other words, the new Viper ACR shown here should be able to beat the 2008 Viper SRT10 ACR that set the bar at the Nürburgring, Laguna Seca and more, giving this gorgeous beast some very big shoes to fill.

To design the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR, the team looked at what they learned from the process leading up to the Viper Time Attack and the championship winning Viper GTS-R race cars, but the aspects of performance borrowed from the endurance racing program have been adapted to work with a street-friendly supercar. The result of this effort is a new Viper ACR that looks the part of a proper record-setting supercar while packing features that could make it the best performing American car of all time.

The 2016 Dodge Viper ACR package begins on the outside and the cars shown here in silver include the Extreme Aero Package. This adds the huge, adjustable, dual plane rear wing, a lower diffuser that extends up to the middle of the car with sections that extend all of the way to the ground for supreme high speed handling, a hood with removable vents above the front wheels, a gigantic adjustable front splitter and a pair of carbon fiber dive planes on each side of the front end. At 177 miles per hour, this aero package creates a stunning 2,000lbs of downforce.

Next, the team turned their attention to the suspension setup, adding a Bilstein damper system with 10 settings for both rebound and compression and stiffer springs that have 600lb-in in the front and 1,300lb-in in the rear – both of which are more than double the stiffness of the Viper Time Attack. The Viper ACR electronic stability control system has been fine tuned to work with this high performance suspension setup and when combined with the incredible aero package, the new Viper ACR can sustain more than 1.5g through high speed turns.

Finally, the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR package comes with the most impressive braking system that I have ever seen on a factory built Chrysler Group product – putting Brembo Ceramic Carbon Matrix rotors under all four wheels. The front rotors measure 15.4 inches and have a 6-piston fixed caliper while the rear rotors measure 14.2 inches with 4-piston floating calipers. This setup gives the Viper ACR the most braking surface of any vehicle that they have ever offered for road use and that should translate to the best stopping Viper ever.

Of course, with the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR being intended for track use, it comes with a minimal 3-speaker sound system, manually controlled seats and lightweight carpeting, allowing the 8.4L Viper V10 to make the best use of the available 645 horsepower and 600lb-ft of torque. When combined with the state of the art suspension and braking components along with the aggressive aero package – there is a good chance that this new American Club Racer Viper could look to break its own impressive Nürburgring time.

Expect the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR to arrive in the 3^rd quarter of this year, with pricing figures being released closer to the dealership debut of the new supercar.

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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