Original Viper Team Members Discuss Their Ideal Gen 6 Supercar
Dodge Viper should keep the engine up front, but they like the ideal Hellcat Hemi power.
When the original Dodge Viper was introduced in the early 1990s, Tom Gale and Chris Theodore were two of the Chrysler employees who played a key role in the development of the Mopar supercar. Gale was the vice president of design, tasked with creating the menacing exterior styling. Theodore was the director of the Jeep and Dodge truck engine programs, and the Viper V10 was based on a design for a V10 truck engine. Over time, Theodore would become the vice president of platform engineering, but his involvement with the Viper program continued until he left the company in the early 2000s.
The folks from Motor Trend recently had a chance to speak with Gale and Theodore about their vision for a sixth generation Dodge Viper. As you likely know, the Viper was discontinued after Gen 5 production ended and so far, there has been no indication that a new model is being developed. However, Motor Trend still wanted to ask these two men, each of which who played a key role in the birth of the Mopar supercar, what they would like to see in a future Viper.
Walk Down Memory Lane
Before getting their input on a future Dodge Viper, Motor Trend talked to Gale and Theodore about the first five generations of the legendary American machine. They began by talking about their experiences with creating the first generation car, including some detail on why the V10 was chosen.
“We really want a V-10 car because we want something that had a heroic proportion. We wanted something that was unique—different,” said Gale. “I just wouldn’t want something that was in the image of what somebody else did, because you’re going to come into that market and you’re just going to look like everybody else, so why bother?”
Gale also talked about how Carroll Shelby, who was also heavily involved with Viper development, wanted a V8. The team went so far as to build a one-off, V8-powered Viper with small proportions just for Shelby, but in the end, the V10 was chosen and the supercar that we all know and love was born.
When talking about the third and fourth generation models, it is pointed out that Theodore considered moving the engine behind the driver, but that idea was obviously scrapped. That being said, when Theodore left Chrysler in the early 2000s, he went to Ford where he led the 2005 GT development program.
The Motor Trend piece offers quite a bit of detail from Gale and Theodore with regard to their views on the Gen 5 Viper, with Gale praising the job that Ralph Gilles did in designing the exterior. There really is a ton of great content from these two godfathers of the Viper program and you can read that all by clicking here.
The Future Viper
At the end of the piece, Theodore finally offers his input as to what he would like to see from a sixth generation Dodge Viper.
“I’ll be a heretic. I am bored with mid-engine supercars now. They’re all just differently styled doorstops. I don’t think the world needs another one,” said Theodore. “I would do a front-engine, rear-drive car, and I’d try this time to go ultralight because there’s only one thing these electric supercars can’t do—they’re not light and not tossable. I would like to see it proportioned down, same long-nose, short-deck, minimalist kind of car,” he said. “I’d do an aluminum block version of [the Challenger Hellcat Redeye’s] Hemi V-8. I’d probably get rid of the [heavy] supercharger, twin-turbocharge it, maybe augment it with the electric drive technology that they already have, and go rear-wheel drive. I’d probably have those turbos dumping out the gills between the front-wheels and door openings. That’d be my last-hurrah Viper.”
To many longtime Viper enthusiasts, suggestions of transitioning away from the V10 is completely unacceptable, but many modern Mopar fans want to see the Hellcat Hemi at work in the supercar. Gale seems to agree.
“We didn’t practice this, but I’m just totally on the same page,” said Gale. “If you were going to have the assignment today, and you were going to build a concept that was going to become whatever the next generation is, you’ve got to do something that’s going to be at least remarkable to somebody and not just in the same image of what everybody else is doing. I couldn’t agree with Chris more.”
Gale goes into more detail on what he would like to see in the way of exterior styling, but we will save that for when you read the full piece. In the meantime, two of the most influential members of the original Dodge Viper team support the idea of a Hellcat Hemi-powered supercar. Again, there have been no reports that there is a new Viper being developed, but we believe strongly that the legendary supercar will ride again.
Images: Patrick Rall for DodgeForum
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