The 2013 SRT Viper is an awesome piece of American high performance machinery and if given one to take out and thrash for a day, most of us would do unthinkable things. Fortunately for us, the folks at Vivid Racing have gotten their hands on a 2013 SRT Viper for a new project car and before beginning the project – the team took the car out for a good, sound thrashing. This week’s Mopar Muscle Thursday features that thrashing in a high res video showing the new Viper drifting around a large open air and generally destroying the tires before heading back to the shop to hit the dyno.
The 2013 SRT Viper offers 640 horsepower and 600lb-ft of torque but Vivid strapped the new Mopar supercar to a dyno to see how much of that power makes it back to the rear wheels. After removing a generous portion of the Viper’s body – presumably so that it can safely fit on their drive-on dyno – the team put the new Viper to the ultimate test. They don’t offer a dyno sheet to show the peak power numbers, the gauges included in the video show that this beast makes around 557 horsepower and 551lb-ft of torque at the rear wheels. That suggests that the Viper only loses around 13% of its power between the engine and the wheels so not only is it awesome…it is very efficient in terms of use of its power. Crank up your speakers and enjoy!
"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.
