New Dodge Viper ACR launched

Six-speed manual, 645hp and "nearly 1 ton of peak downforce" - say hello to the new American Club Racer

America does not do half-baked track specials. If they're building a car for circuit, it's going to dominate the circuit. Possibly destroy it. See the Camaro Z/28 with 305-section tyres at each corner (!), the Mustang GT350R and its carbon fibre wheels (from Australia) and the Corvette Z06, which wades into this 650hp as the middle ranking performance Corvette. Bring on the ZR-1...

Feeling lucky punk?

Now there's a new Viper ACR, replacing the car that set that phenomenal 7:12 lap at the Nordschleife back in 2010. How to go faster than that car? More. More everything.

Power from the 8.4-litre V10 is up to 645hp with 600lb ft also, with 25lbs (11kg) "shaved from the fully dressed engine" compared to before. Top speed is down significantly from a standard Viper's 206mph to 177mph. There isn't a 0-60mph time because nobody's been tough enough to launch it yet. Maybe.

More important numbers are associated with the ACR's downforce. The 1,776mm-wide, adjustable wing contributes to over 1,101lbs (499kg) of downforce at 150mph and 1,533lbs (695kg) at top speed. The 'Extreme Aero Package' with even more wings and louvres and dive planes (you want the Extreme Aero Package, right?) takes those numbers to '1,200lbs (544kg)+' and '1,700lbs (771kg)+' respectively.

Brakes are Brembo carbon ceramics, 390mm at the front and 360mm at the back with the largest brake pads ever on a Viper. Tyres are bespoke to the car also, Kumho Ecsta V720s that are "1.5 seconds faster than off-road only race tires [sic]." They're 295/25/19 at the front and 355/30/19 (!) behind.

Does straights, braking and corners very fast

Suspension? Bilstein adjustable coilovers, three inches (we'll defer to Imperial measures) of ride height adjustment, another 1.4 degrees of negative camber over a regular Viper and double the spring stiffness too. Serious car. Serious performance too, with up to 1.5g of cornering force claimed.

The interior has plenty of Alcantara - is it really a fast car without it? - manually adjustable seats and only three speakers. Inside it sounds like there's not much to worry about other than the clutch pedal, the gear stick and which of the five settings (including full off) for the ESC.

Having been announced earlier this year (somehow it was missed then), the ACR is now being unleashed on the US media. Brave move... Production starts soon with sales beginning in the third quarter of this year. Price? $122,490, or £78,600 at today's exchange rate. That's just not fair.