One of the highlights of the weekend at Mid Ohio and I am glad I stayed after the Indycar race. I like seeing the Aston mix it up with Porsches, vipers and and vettes.

On to my question, whey are the competitors using the Dodge viper which is the older body style. All the racers
are using the one that dates back to 2005 or 2006 model year. The current model I think is much better looking and ranks up their wiht the first GTS coupe like the ones that raced at Le Mans. The one racing has odd tailfin rear quarter panels.

A couple of things come to mind: perhaps they made more of this model and it's more cost effective. Maybe these are the only version that you can purchase form MOPAR or Dodge Performance group. This model only fits in the current set of rules, or these are just flat out the best models for racing.

Bottom line I love to see so many Vipers in the class and racing competively just curious why the teams are running the old body styles... thanks..

The Viper used in SWC is not based on the street model. Its a purposed built race machine from Dodge/Mopar. The car came out in 2003 and was an evolution of the Viper-GTS-R. Its was not sold as a street car, and thus is not street legal. Purpose built roll-cage, fuel cell, and other racing goodies came standard on this car. Its pretty much a roll out and race deal, I don't know of too much that needs to be done to one from its delivered spec to hit the track with SWC. The best part is the price. Pretty sure you can get into one of these direct from Dodge for like $150k.

Sure the design is alittle aged by now, and I too believe the new Vipe Coupe would look hella cool with front splitter, wing and defuser, but the Comp Coupe is still legal, and cheap, so expect to see them around for awhile, and probably until the Viper's life ends, which apparently is somewhere between 2010-2012.

The Viper was $165k I thought. You still add to add Motec and the various driver aids; LC, TC, ABS. And some other bits. So, all done, it put the Viper at $200k or more. IIRC.

David_Gillis - 23 July 2008 03:37 PM

The Viper used in SWC is not based on the street model. Its a purposed built race machine from Dodge/Mopar. The car came out in 2003 and was an evolution of the Viper-GTS-R. Its was not sold as a street car, and thus is not street legal. Purpose built roll-cage, fuel cell, and other racing goodies came standard on this car. Its pretty much a roll out and race deal, I don't know of too much that needs to be done to one from its delivered spec to hit the track with SWC. The best part is the price. Pretty sure you can get into one of these direct from Dodge for like $150k.

Sure the design is alittle aged by now, and I too believe the new Vipe Coupe would look hella cool with front splitter, wing and defuser, but the Comp Coupe is still legal, and cheap, so expect to see them around for awhile, and probably until the Viper's life ends, which apparently is somewhere between 2010-2012.

Thanks David for clearing this up, and with the car still winning races I am sure we won't see a change anytime soon.

David_Gillis - 23 July 2008 03:37 PM

The Viper used in SWC is not based on the street model. Its a purposed built race machine from Dodge/Mopar. The car came out in 2003 and was an evolution of the Viper-GTS-R. Its was not sold as a street car, and thus is not street legal.

It was a turn-key race car -- similar in concept to short-track stock cars that Dodge made in the early '70s with the input of Richard Petty. (I think MPC even put out a 1:25 model of it, with Dodge Dart bodywork.)

On the other hand, because it's a purpose-build race-car, there isn't any reason why it couldn't be re-skinned with a current body, which used to happen in Winston Cup because body styles were only legal for three seasons. (It's about selling cars -- supposedly -- right?) There would have to be a reason to spend the money -- sponsorship by Chrysler or a dealership, maybe, or a performance advantage like better aerodynamics. Also, it could be that no one has paid to have the current Viper authorized for racing by the sanctioning body (homologation) which can involve expenses in development and in testing.

So, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The real question is why other manufacturers haven't done the same thing, like Corvette, Mustang, Ferrari, BMW, Cadillac, etc. There was a time when Tommy Archer was the only one driving a Viper in Speed GT competiton, but your notice of all the Vipers sort of proves the point, don't you think?