RE: Dodge badge dropped from new Viper

RE: Dodge badge dropped from new Viper

Thursday 15th December 2011

Dodge badge dropped from new Viper

'SRT' to replace Dodge brand as Chrysler pushes its performance arm


New Viper in winter testing
New Viper in winter testing
Next year's all-new Viper won't be badged as a Dodge, Chrysler has revealed. Instead, it will become an 'SRT', as Chrysler repositions its performance division as a standalone brand.

Not the new Viper
Not the new Viper
There have been plenty of SRT products before, of course, the Chrysler 300C SRT8 and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 to name but two, but this will be the first time the name will have been used without another Chrysler brand.

The SRT Viper is expected to make its debut at the New York show in spring next year, complete with a 600hp 8.7-litre V10. Chrysler hopes to push its iconic performance car to a much broader audience this time around, and the new SRT branding could well be part of that emphasising the sort of bespoke performance branding that make M Division BMWs or AMG Mercs such sought-after products.

Here's one to confuse you, though: on this side of the Pond the previous Viper was always known as the SRT10. Does this mean the new car would be called SRT SRT if it made it to Europe...?

Author
Discussion

Stew2000

Original Poster:

2,776 posts

193 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
So we would still call it the SRT10.
I suppose it just gives Chrysler admins some extra paperwork to do.

rtz62

3,612 posts

170 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
So many cc's, so few bhp's......

Codswallop

5,256 posts

209 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
rtz62 said:
So many cc's, so few bhp's......
<yawn>

Shame about the name change. Dodge Viper sounds far cooler than SRT Viper (which sounds more like a mobile phone name or other household appliance).

PHMatt

608 posts

163 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
It's actually good getting 600bhp out of an engine that doesnt have forced induction or fancy gadgets and stupendously high RPM's to get there.
It will also have decent torque that'll probably match the bhp.

I'm a BMW man and admire everything they do, but use the V10 as an example - 507bhp from 5.0's
Great. But every one that drove it said it lacked torque and only worked in the highest enchelons of the rev range.

These massive engined cars such as American muscle cars dont have that. Sure, they might not have the blagging rights of 100 bhp per litre or more, but they also go from 1k rpms all the way through to their normal redline of about 6.5k rather than the stupid 8k + you get from Euro models.

king arthur

7,255 posts

276 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
Mental.

"So, what car do you drive?"
"A Dodge Viper"
"Oh, cool!"

Versus:

"So, what car do you drive?"
"An S-R-T Viper"
"A...what?"

Just mental.

Stew2000

Original Poster:

2,776 posts

193 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
What does SRT mean again?
Short Round of Tennis?

Codswallop

5,256 posts

209 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
Stew2000 said:
What does SRT mean again?
Short Round of Tennis?
Street and Racing Technology

davidcharles

400 posts

209 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
...will miss the title "Dodge Viper"...same as Nissan Skyline GTR now being Nissan GTR

doesn't quite have the same ring to it

Mastodon2

14,032 posts

180 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
rtz62 said:
So many cc's, so few bhp's......
If they made it have 100bhp/L and no driver aids you would end up with a load of 870bhp ditch-bound missiles. The Viper has always been about big torque rather than high revving BHP, iirc it makes 90% of it's peak torque figure at something ridiculous like 2000rpm and has a fairly low redline at 6500rpm. They still have a reputation as a tough car to drive at the limit, but those who appreciate American cars rather than decry them know that they are very fast indeed.

FWIW, I think the Viper would be even more fun as a revvier, smaller engine with more focus on a higher redline, less power low down the rev range and more towards the top to give it a highly strung, race car style feel, but that is the exact opposite of what the target market want.

With that said though, between the booming side exit exhausts, the stunning good looks and the absolute charisma of the car, I'd definitely consider one if I had 30K to burn!

robmlufc

5,229 posts

201 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
Mastodon2 said:
I'd definitely consider one if I had 30K to burn!
30K?? and the rest.

jellison

12,803 posts

292 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
PHMatt said:
It's actually good getting 600bhp out of an engine that doesnt have forced induction or fancy gadgets and stupendously high RPM's to get there.
It will also have decent torque that'll probably match the bhp.

I'm a BMW man and admire everything they do, but use the V10 as an example - 507bhp from 5.0's
Great. But every one that drove it said it lacked torque and only worked in the highest enchelons of the rev range.

These massive engined cars such as American muscle cars dont have that. Sure, they might not have the blagging rights of 100 bhp per litre or more, but they also go from 1k rpms all the way through to their normal redline of about 6.5k rather than the stupid 8k + you get from Euro models.
Agree - GRUNT (and a good level of Power) is where its at, rev'ing the nads of an engine is a pain in the ass (why I never liked the Cerbera compared to the RV8 with less power but more grunt at least lower down). You can't beat cubes.

Mine a race tuned big one with lots of torque and power and revs is nice too smile

LuS1fer

42,527 posts

260 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
Stupid idea.

SRT means zilch.

It's also used as a performance tag for any hot Chrysler so there is no "stand-alone" capacity.

It's a bit like Ford deciding they'll call their top model just a VXR8.

Dodge + Viper have always been synonymous, rebadging it will achieve nothing and people will still call it a Dodge Viper.

Stew2000

Original Poster:

2,776 posts

193 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
LuS1fer said:
It's a bit like Ford deciding they'll call their top model just a VXR8.
Holden vs Ford discussion coming soon read

LuS1fer

42,527 posts

260 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
Stew2000 said:
LuS1fer said:
It's a bit like Ford deciding they'll call their top model just a VXR8.
Holden vs Ford discussion coming soon read
Ah sod it, I started that by writing RS and then decided the Vauxhall was a better illustration while forgetting to edit it....

Caulkhead

4,938 posts

172 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
The Dodge brand has some negative connotations in the US, that's the main reason they're trying to dump it.

Codswallop

5,256 posts

209 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
Caulkhead said:
The Dodge brand has some negative connotations in the US, that's the main reason they're trying to dump it.
Really? Like what?

I knew they were ditching the Dodge name from the Ram pickups too, which again is a shame imo.

Dodge Ram just has such a classic ring to it.

B10

1,330 posts

282 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
Marketing gone mad. Pointless change. I suppose it keeps some "creatives" (sic) in work.
Perhaps it may have been better to have called the "Viper SRT". Therefore make Viper a stand-alone brand + having the SRT moniker. I used to do a bit of marketing don't you know.

Mastodon2

14,032 posts

180 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
robmlufc said:
30K?? and the rest.
I was talking about a used one - I just managed to look at a few around the 30K mark before the new classified crashed again.

Doniger

1,973 posts

181 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
'Viper' is sufficient. As with its spiritual daddy the Cobra it doesn't matter what's in front of it, whether it's Dodge, SRT, AC or Shelby, it's still a snake and it'll bite ya.

Want.

bobbylondonuk

2,202 posts

205 months

Thursday 15th December 2011
quotequote all
king arthur said:
Mental.

"So, what car do you drive?"
"A Dodge Viper"
"Oh, cool!"

Versus:

"So, what car do you drive?"
"An S-R-T Viper"
"A...what?"

Just mental.
"So, what car do you drive?"
" a VIPER"
"Oh, cool!"