Dodge Redirects Attention to Viper With 2016 ACR Version

The arrival of the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and its 707-horsepower, supercharged V-8 engine was a stunner that knocked the performance world on its ear. It also took some serious attention away from the brand’s hand-built, totally customizable, all-American supercar, the Viper.

While the Hellcats are indisputably the king of the hill for the muscle-car realm, Dodge has decided to pivot and remind everyone that the Viper is first and foremost a track monster by unveiling the new 2016 Viper ACR — the fastest street-legal Viper the company has ever produced. ACRs are largely racecars, with go-fast bits meant to allow well-to-do owners to bring their bespoke supercars to the track for club racing days.

There are no horsepower upgrades, so the engine remains at 645 hp and 600 pounds-feet of torque, but adding massive horsepower to the Viper is simply not needed, said Tim Kuniskis, president and CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Dodge and SRT brands. “We’re not putting a Hellcat engine in it. Why would we saddle the Viper with an additional 200 pounds of weight over the front wheels?” Instead, Kuniskis’ team focused on better delivering the power from the V-10 to the ground via a host of performance improvements that go above and beyond the already formidable Viper GT, GTS and TA.

A new ACR Aero Extreme Package includes an adjustable dual-element carbon-fiber rear wing, a carbon-fiber rear underbody diffuser, a unique hood with removable louvers, additional “dive planes” ahead of the front wheels and a detachable extension for the front air dam. The new aero bits enable the Viper to generate nearly 1 ton of downforce at the car’s top speed for better road holding and grip.

The suspension receives some tweaks as well, with new 10-setting, double-adjustable coilover Bilstein racing shocks that allow for 3 inches of suspension height adjustment tuning. New Kumho Ecsta V720 high-performance 19-inch tires, which are street legal, reportedly deliver lap times 1.5 seconds faster than track-only racing-specific tires, according to Dodge. And when it’s time to bring all that movement to a halt, the new Brembo carbon ceramic matrix brakes will do just that – 15.4-inch two-piece rotors with six-piston calipers up front and 14.2-inch two-piece rotors with four-piston calipers in back represent the largest brakes ever fitted to a Viper from the factory.

Inside, the ACR gets some unique treatments, with the instrument panel gauge cluster hood, door armrests and lower dashboard wrapped in Alcantara suede, while a new ACR-specific Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel is front and center. ACR-specific high-grip seats with Alcantara inserts keep you planted, while a carbon-fiber dash plaque tells your passenger what they’re riding in (as if the massive wing wasn’t a clue).

And if you decide that what you really want is all the ACR trim parts on a lemon-yellow-and-fuchsia two-tone Viper with the Harman Kardon stereo system and navigation, you can have that too. Dodge says the ACR will be a part of the novel Viper 1 of 1 customization program as well, bringing 8,000 exterior color options, 24,000 stripe options, 11 wheels, 16 interior trims and more to the party.

Pricing for the 2016 Viper ACR has not yet been announced, but production is scheduled to start this summer in Detroit, with sales to immediately follow.