![Viper versus Cobra, Top Gear USA style [w/video]](http://blog.niot.net/blog-images/viper-versus-cobra-top-gear-usa-style-w-video.jpg "Viper versus Cobra, Top Gear USA style [w/video]")
And by Cobra, we mean the attack helicopter, not the FoMoCo-powered roadster. Sightings of the new cast of Top Gear America have been coming out of the wood work ever since the crew was spotted filming on Mulholland. From what we can tell, Tanner Foust and Rutledge Wood hopped on down to Georgia to film a segment involving none other than the mighty Dodge Viper and the mightier Cobra Attack Helicopter. If that sounds like a brawnier interpretation of the same bit the OG Top Gear pulled with a Lotus just a few short years back, you'd be right. Somehow, that doesn't make it any less awesome.
Luckily for the rest of the interwebs, a member of MX5 Atlanta was on hand to catch some of the action. User d.dutton9512 was not only able to see the Viper give besting the Cobra the old college try, but he also got to catch some of the dialogue between Foust and Wood. His verdict? Not half bad.
While we would love to be hearing that TGA is laying down its own mind-bending stunts instead of pulling from the Top Gear UK playbook, we're still happy to see the show actually filming instead of languishing in an NBC grave somewhere. We'll still reserve final judgment until the show actually airs, but for now, we're optimistic. Hop the jump to see some of the videos for yourself.
Sam Hubinette has started his own racing team, Samuel Hubinette Racing, given his title-winning Dodge Viper to team driver Andrew Comrie-Picard and picked up a shiny Dodge Challenger for himself. The team went out to Adam's Motorsports Park in Riverside, California to shake everything down, and the result is a couple of orange blurs and a lot of smoke.
The current Dodge Viper that we've all come to know and love is heading to that faraway automotive graveyard in the sky. Fret not – we have it on good authority that all supercars go to heaven. To commemorate the occasion, Chrysler has announced that it will build a limited production run of 50 Viper SRT10 Final Edition models.
Dodge will build 20 Final Edition Coupes, 18 Roadsters and just 12 ACRs, each dipped in a bath of Graphite Clear Coat with a black center stripe that's outlined in red. Coupes and ACRs will also get a black windshield surround that the Roadster does without. Capping off the exterior are anthracite six-spoke wheels for the Coupe and Roadster and black Sidewinder wheels for the ACR.
Inside, each car will get side sill badges along with red accent stitching on the black surfaces, plus red painted halo surrounds on the gauge cluster and bright stainless steel screws in center stack bezel. A numbered plaque will be featured on the shifter bezel and the updates will be finished off with Viper Final Edition floor mats. The well-known V10 powerplant goes unchanged, but with 600 horsepower and 560 pound-feet of torque it's not as if the Viper was ever lacking for power. Pricing is unknown, but Dodge says the cars will be available starting this summer.
Brazil really does have quite a bit going for it. Aside from being the largest nation in South America and having some of the most beautiful people on the planet, the country is slowly beginning to test the supercar waters. Need proof? Look no further than the Amoritz GT DR7.
We'll have to forgive the GT DR7 for looking suspiciously like a very cab-forward Gallardo just because of what's lurking in the engine bay. Armoritz has chosen to shoe-horn an ethanol-guzzling 8.4-liter V10 borrowed from none other than the Dodge Viper amidships. The company says it's expecting north of 600 horsepower to come galloping forth from the ten-pot and we see no reason to disagree.
The Armoritz GT DR7 is slated for an official unveil this October, at which point we're sure the company will be happy to supply you with a set of keys for the right amount of coin. How much? It's anyone's guess at this point, but considering the cost of most mid-engine V10 terrors on the road these days, it won't be cheap.
![Dodge Viper ACR-X enters production [w/video]](http://blog.niot.net/blog-images/dodge-viper-acr-x-enters-production-w-video.jpg)
Have $110,000 burning a hole in your pocket and want to go racing? Consider the 2010 Dodge Viper ACR-X. Excluding the dedicated GTSR racecar of the late '90s, the ACR-X is the most potent Viper built by Chrysler. The special edition model comes with 640 horsepower and can lap Laguna Seca three seconds faster than the shockingly quick Viper ACR that owns the track record for a production car.
If that sounds like your cup of tea, you won't have to wait long to get one. Chrysler has just announced that production of the ACR-X has already started at its Conner Avenue Assembly Plant and provided a few photos and video of the cars going down the assembly line.
Dodge Motorsports and Mopar have even provided a way to put the cars to good use. The Dodge Viper Cup will run at five racetracks starting this summer, and a contingency program will give owners a chance to earn back some of the purchase price of the car. In total more than $200,000 will be paid out, including $25,000 to the 2010 season champion.
There's something about glowing hot metal that gets our hearts racing here at Autoblog. Whether it's disc brakes on a racing prototype during an endurance night race or an exhaust manifold at redline during dyno testing, there's something about metal resisting the forces of incredible heat that appeals to the gearhead in us. That's why we took particular interest in this video of the new 2010 Viper ACR-X that shows Dodge's engineers going through final testing of its 8.4-liter V10.
Because it's built for the track and not the street, the ACR-X gets a few tweaks compared to the stock Viper V10. Gone are the catalytic converters and in go forged pistons, a modified calibration and long tube headers good for 640 horsepower and 605 lb-ft torque. Those headers not only look fantastic when the engine is off, they glow bright orange when the V10 is strapped to the engine dyno and revved to redline for sustained periods.
Chrysler, now led by Sergio Marchionne and the rest of the management crew brought in by Italian automaker Fiat, has big plans in place that will replace just about every single vehicle the American automaker currently offers. Judging from the purported list of new vehicle launches secured by the Mopar fanatics at Allpar, it would seem that new Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles will be hitting the market all through 2010 and well into 2011.
Looking over the list of 2010 production start dates, the first date to get excited about (barring the March 29th Viper production launch, of course – we're talking about for the mainstream market), is May 10th, which is when the thoroughly recreated Jeep Grand Cherokee will begin rolling down the assembly line. In mid-August, the 2011 Wrangler will make its initial appearance, and we're really hoping for a new powertrain combination for the venerable off-roader.
Towards the end of 2010, we should begin seeing the heavily revised Pentastar minivans along with the new Avenger and Sebring replacements, though the Chrysler midsizer seems likely to get a new moniker to erase memories of the current car. Finally, the three LX-based cars – those being the Challenger, Charger and 300 – will go into production in November, followed closely by the North American 2012 Fiat 500. Keep it together, Chrysler.
Typically, when a product line is discontinued, owners of the deceased model can still acquire spare parts for their vehicles from the manufacturer. But in this case, Dodge Viper owners will apparently have an alternative venue for replacement parts.
A deal has reportedly been struck between Chrysler and the Viper Club of America to transfer a quantity of excess and blemished parts, as well as some collectibles, to the non-profit association that serves some 25,000 owners. The inventory includes everything from body panels painted in discontinued colors to scratched wheels the factory couldn't sell. Also included are the tooling to reproduce certain parts in the future and memorabilia like the body panels from the Viper Competition Coupe that raced a U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jet.
Some parts will be kept in museums, but the spare parts will be sold through a new company founded by the club called Viper Parts of America, Inc., the proceeds from which will go towards supporting club activities.
We heard about it in Los Angeles, and now we see it here in the D. Meet the 1:33 Edition of Dodge's most potent ever Viper. Why the name? We're glad you asked. Back in November, hot-shoe Dodge Chris Winkler managed to hammer the track-focused Viper ACR around Laguna Seca in 1:33.944, faster than any other production car has ever gone (Note: the spoiler says 1:33.915). Impressive, no? Only 33 of these special Vipers are being built.
Here's what makes 'em so grand: Thanks to new, more bonkers gearing, the 600-horsepower monster does everything quicker. Try this statistic on for size: 0 to 202 miles-per-hour happens 14 seconds quicker with this 2010 Viper ACR than the 2009 model. Can we get a wolf whistle? The 1:33 Edition also gets a unique two-tone Black Clear CoatRed Clear Coat exterior color, the inverse of the original ACR, as well as modified end caps on its massive carbon-fiber wing, too. We're going to miss the uncircumsized Dodge Viper (how would you describe it?), but at least it's going out with a big bang.
A few weeks ago, everyone, including us, was wondering when The Chrysler Group was going to have anything new to show us at next week's Detroit Auto Show. You can look at the latest news about potential Ram models, Chrysler's special editions and Dodge's just-unveiled offerings either as wheezing gasps, or signs of pointing in the right direction. Since it's a new year, we're going to give Chrysler (and Fiat) the benefit of the doubt... for now.
Dodge says it "has taken 'base model' out of its vocabulary" by moving heaps of kit from the Options column to the Standard column on cars like the Journey, which for 2010 will automatically receive 17-inch aluminum wheels, cruise control, sunscreen glass, body-color mirrors, floor mats and passenger grab handles. It has also added "Heat," "Hero," "Crew," and "Uptown" packages to the Journey's options list for those who like trim names that sound like they came from an SNL skit.
To match its Chrysler 300 siblings, the Dodge Caliber gets a restyled interior "executed with premium materials and detailed craftsmanship" alongside its new instrument panel. Not left out of the marketing brainstorm, the Caliber wears a number of new trim monikers as well, including "Express," "Mainstreet," "Heat," "Uptown" and "Rush." Four of Dodge's other models – the Nitro, Avenger, Challenger, and Viper SRT10 – get their loving spoonfuls as well.
