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Review: 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10
What's New: For the 2008 model year, the Dodge Viper SRT10 received a larger, more powerful engine, revised styling, and a race-prepped ACR version.
Competes With: Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Nissan GT-R, Porsche 911 GT3
Read the Test Drive: 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10
What We Think: There's nothing quite like the Dodge Viper SRT10. With horsepower and handling that already rival many race cars – and a new ACR race version – the Dodge Viper is pure unfettered driving performance, with none of the trimmings.
Overview: 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10
Sometime before the 2008 model year, somebody at Dodge looked at the 510-horsepower Viper and decided it needed more. More power. More styling. More...everything. Amazingly, this individual managed to convince his (and you know it had to be a guy) superiors that yes, indeed, the Dodge Viper would be much better with an even 600 horsepower, more vents in the hood, and what the hell, a full-on street-legal racing version from the fun-meisters over at the company's ACR division.
A more powerful Viper? This we've gotta see.
The 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10, like every Dodge Viper that came before it, is more than just a car. It's an icon, one that is forever burned on the automotive psyche as America's Exotic the same way that the Chevrolet Corvette will always be America's Sports Car. Its appeal lies in what it brings – massive power, handling and braking – as much as what it doesn't – traction or stability control, a roomy cockpit, a comfortable driving experience.
Whether you like the Dodge Viper depends on if you buy into the premise of the whole thing. On one hand, many enthusiasts decry the ever-present creep of technology into high-performance cars, saying that it dilutes the experience, and in all fairness, we're not immune to the thinking. However, the Dodge Viper takes the idea of pure performance to an extreme, and at more than $86,000, there are many cars that deliver just as much performance, but with comfortable interiors, easy ingress/egress, usable cargo and storage space and, yes, stability and traction control. With every GT-R that Nissan makes, or every Z06 Corvette produced by Chevrolet, the Dodge Viper looks more and more like an anachronism.
But man, what a rush.
Next Page: 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 Models, Pricing & Equipment
Test Drive: 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10
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