Dodge Viper joins the 600-hp club

Dodge's brutish sports car cranks ups the power with its 8.4 L V10, joining an elite group of high-performance vehicles

Sep 01, 2007

Special to the Star

Baseball's 600 Home Run Club was founded by the late Babe Ruth on Aug. 21, 1931 in a game where Ruth's New York Yankees trounced the Athletics in Philadelphia 12-1.

"The Sultan of Swat" stood alone as the club's sole member for more than 38 years.

Eventually, Major Leaguers Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa would go on to join Ruth in one of sports' more exclusive clubs.

ALTON, VA.–Exclusive and powerful in their own right, members of the automotive world's 600 Horsepower Club – Bugatti Veyron 16.4, Lamborghini Murciélago LP640, Ferrari 599 GTB, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, CL 65 AMG, SL 65 AMG, S 65 AMG and Maybach 57/62 – are equally as famous as these ball and stick heroes.

But this year, crashing the 600 Horsepower Club like an unwanted party guest is Dodge's brutish 2008 Viper SRT10, with a new 600 hp 8.4-litre V10 engine, producing 560 lb.-ft. of torque.

In a club that ranges from more than $1.5 million for the 1,000 hp Veyron to $228,000 for the 604 hp S 65 AMG, Dodge's hand-built, rear-drive two-seat sports car is a relative steal at $98,600 for the Roadster and $99,600 for the Coupe. That's down considerably from the $128,500 Dodge was asking for the Viper when this latest 510 hp iteration debuted in 2005.

Chrysler's in-house tuning shop, Street and Racing Technology, is responsible for the Viper's development and build. SRT's objectives for '08 were to not only boost the Viper's power ratings but also meet ever-tougher U.S. federal and California emission laws.

In doing so, the SRT gang bumped the V10's displacement from 8.3 to 8.4 by using the pistons and rods from Chrysler's popular 6.1-litre Hemi V8.

To aid in engine breathing, a larger nostril on the hood directs air to new dual throttle bodies that allow 20 per cent more air into the engine.

Finally, a variable cam-phasing solution to exhaust more hot air has been introduced.

Although 600 hp makes for good ad copy, the Viper's fuel economy has benefitted substantially from these drivetrain changes as well.

The '06 Viper (there were no '07s) was rated at 19.5L/100 km in the city and 10.7 on the highway, which today would fetch a $3,000 federal green levy. The new Viper comes in at 16.8 and 9.2. Unofficially, based on the existing ecoAuto criteria, the Viper's penalty drops to $1,000.

But being frugal was the last thing I had in mind at the '08 Viper's recent intro at Virginia International Raceway.

Fundamentally a thinly disguised race car, the Viper is traditionally raw, with a lack of sophistication its owners wear as a badge of honour. Unlike the Dodge's 600 Horsepower Club associates, the Viper still abstains from any kind of electronic nannies like traction or stability control. Driving the car aggressively is strictly left to you and your driving skills.

In contrast to the Viper's elongated engine cover, it's a tight fit inside the cockpit for anyone taller than 5-foot-10. If you're like many Viper Coupe owners and you intend to take it to the track, a test fit with your helmet on is recommended.

After a couple of laps on the racetrack, to be honest, the seat of my pants couldn't detect the V10's 90 extra horses. Dodge says the car's 0-to-96 km/h time is now under four seconds – quicker than any other member of today's 600 Horsepower Club except the exponentially more expensive Bugatti or Ferrari.

More significant in getting around the track swiftly is the '08 Viper's improved suspension setup.

Spring rates are up 5 per cent, and the shock damping has been tuned to take advantage of the new Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 rubber. Dodge admits that the previous Michelin runflats, with their unforgiving, stiff sidewalls, were the main culprits behind the preceding model's twitchiness. In fact, the first change made by most Viper owners who drove their cars on the track was chucking those runflats.

Compared to the previous Viper, the '08's steering is sharper and more accurate. And one can lift off the throttle or trail brake to make a quicker entrance into a corner.

Still, respect for the Dodge's outrageous power-to-weight – and general physics – is called for. But where the last Viper had a rear end that had more swing than the Great Bambino in his prime, you can now use all of the car's power in both low- and high-speed corners without inducing superfluous oversteer.

In keeping with the Viper's brutish appeal, the car comes exclusively with a six-speed manual transmission. The tranny now has 10 per cent wider gears for the new engine's higher torque capacity, a new synchronizer package and what Dodge claims is a new shifter system that reduces shifter travel. Whatever, it's still balky, and needs deliberate actions to engage.

On public roads, the revised suspension and tires make the Viper more livable. Slightly. With the blats from its side-exit exhaust, its rumbly steamroller tires and the clunking from its race-bred suspension, the Viper makes a Chevrolet Corvette feel like a limo.

Based on his extreme approach not only to baseball's records, but also booze and women, it's fair to say Babe Ruth didn't exactly believe in doing things in moderation.

If he were still alive, I'm sure an '08 Dodge Viper SRT10, with Yankee pinstripes of course, would be his ride of choice.

Toronto Star