Dodge is dusting off the American Club Racer badge, affixing it to the most extreme, track-honed snake to ever roll out of the Connor Avenue assembly plant. Meet the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR. It's astounding.
The spec sheet on the new ACR is a grand tour of automotive superlatives. Dodge says the optional ACR Extreme Aero Package delivers the most downforce of any production vehicle—nearly one ton of road-gripping pressure at the hottest snake's 177 mph top speed. That feat of pressure is accomplished by an adjustable dual-element rear wing measuring more than six feet across, along with a host of dive planes, a detachable front splitter extension, removable hood louvers, and a rear underbody diffuser with six removable strakes that rub against the track surface for straight-line stability. Crazy.
Specially-designed Kumho Ecsta V720 tires claim to provide the largest contact patch of any production car, not surprising given the 295/25R19 front and 355/30R19 rear fitments. Astoundingly, Dodge even says these street-legal tires, with their unique tread design and compound chosen specially for the ACR, allow it to "produce lap times that are 1.5 seconds faster than off-road only race tires."
A fully tweakable suspension packed with 10-way adjustable Bilstein shocks helps transmit all that aero and rubber grip. With an aggressive race alignment that adds 1.4 degrees of negative camber over the stock Viper and three inches of ride height adjustment, this suspension setup is built to be dialed in for whatever race track this snake slithers on to. All that aero and grip adds up to a claimed lateral grip exceeding 1.5 g.
When it's time to slow down, ACR-exclusive carbon ceramic brakes measuring 15.4 inches up front and 14.2 in the rear provide the deceleration forces. On the electronic front, the ABS is specially tuned to work with the ACR's grip and super-huge brakes, while the Electronic Stability Control system offers five modes, one of which is OFF.
Motivating all this track-tuned grip is that beloved beast of a V-10. The 8.4-liter powerhouse kicks out 645 horses and 600 lb-ft of torque, a number Dodge claims is the highest of any naturally-aspirated sports car in the world. As dictated by stern tradition, that power can only be sent through a Tremec TR6060 six-speed stick.
As for the interior? It's got one, barely. Lightweight carpet, a wimpy three-speaker audio system, and manual seats shave weight from the Viper's gut, and grippy Alcantara suede wrapps the steering wheel and seats. Those who crave customization can opt for Viper's "1 of 1" special-order program, choosing from a universe of color, stripe, wheel, interior, and aero packages to build the rarest of snakes.
Production of the fastest, downforciest, grippiest, most venomous Viper ever will begin in the third quarter of this year. Pricing hasn't been revealed, but expect the ACR to demand a significant premium over the "tame" base model Viper's $87,000 sticker.
http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-car...r-returns-for-2016-as-the-fastest-viper-ever/
