Today, the people at the Chrysler Group’s Street and Racing
Technology introduced what is intended to be the final teaser of the 2013 SRT
Viper ahead of the formal debut of the new supercar this Wednesday around noon
at the 2012 New York Auto Show.This image,
while still leaving plenty to the imagination, provides us with our best
official look at the new Viper since the company began teasing the car in late
January.
The image issued by the DriveSRT website this morning is
shown on the right above while on the right side is the same image with a bit
of photo editing done to lift the shadows the hide some additional lines of the
2013 SRT Viper.We can see quickly from
both images that the new Viper will include the “double bubble” roofline
reminiscent of the original Viper GTS Coupe, allowing room for a driver and
passenger sporting race helmets.We can
also see in both images that the large hood with feature a large central raised
area to make room for the 650-700 horsepower Viper V10 and on each side of that
hump is a channel that pulls hot air from the engine bay, using two rear facing
openings along the front of the hood. These extraction openings flank a large front facing opening that likely
helps pull air into the hungry engine of the 2013 Viper.
Once we enhanced the image, resulting in the picture on the
right, the quality went down but we can see even more of the 2012 SRT
Viper.The enhanced image shows the
width of the front fenders in relation to the lines on the hood, including
large wheel flares that extend well past the upper edges of the hood and front
fenders.We can also barely see that the
lower front fascia extends outward as it heads towards the ground and we can just
see the shadowy outlines of the large new headlights.
The 2013 SRT Viper is set to make its grand debut this
Wednesday around noon (EST) and you can watch the unveiling live on
DriveSRT.com.
"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.
Today, the people at the Chrysler Group’s Street and Racing