https://www.sntrl.com

If you happened to have gone to the 2012 New York International Auto Show at Jacob Javits Center in New York City, you would surely have seen the brand new, recently debuted 2013 SRT Viper, as it is now officially known. We had the privilege of being present for the debut of the Flagship vehicle, and we have to give it to Chrysler. They know how to put on a good show. Complete with a roaring V-10 and a Viper American LeMan’s racecar surprise that had the media front row’s eyebrows nearly burned to a crisp (thanks to a serious side-exit exhaust), the presentation and debut was well executed.

The new SRT Viper is the brain-child of Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of the SRT brand and Motorsports of Chysler, LLC and his SRT team. If you haven’t heard of Ralph Gilles up-till-now, he is the man responsible for the awesome SRT products we have on our streets. A true down-to-earth car enthusiast who appreciates all that the average die-hard enthusiast really cares about, but he just happens to be able to make the necessary decisions to build the cars we dream about.

As you can see here, his enthusiasm and genuine thrill for having the opportunity to unveil the new SRT Viper was incredible. From the intro, to kissing the drivers side fender of the Viper, to revving the crap out of the 10 cylinder inside the Jacob Javits Center.

Admittedly, the SRT team did consult with their European counterparts when the new Viper was still just a bunch of ideas. The influence is apparent in the design with some domestic sports car purist not-all-too-happy about the new design. For the most part though, the consensus is that the Viper lines have been retained and refined. From the interior to the “snake-eye” headlights, to the curves, the SRT Viper has taken a giant step in the right direction.

More than just a pretty face, SRT Viper wears massive Pirelli 345-wide tires on the rear for a reason. As a matter of fact, it is the widest tire on a domestic production vehicle, and just to give you an idea of the impact of the size. A Bugatti Veyron, runs 365’s. Why such a wide tire on a production vehicle? Well for starters, the SRT Viper retains an aluminum 8.4 liter V-10, but power has now been bumped up to 640hp/600 lb/ft. Couple that with the fact that the new chassis is lighter, stronger and the body panels consist of Carbon Fiber. Weighing in at an estimated 3300 lbs, the Viper is going to make good use of all that rubber.

Not too long after Ralph Gilles introduced the SRT Viper to the world, he mentioned that the video game people at Forza Motorsports were already ready to introduce the new Viper to video game consoles and TV screens. When the preview for the video game started, the loud revs at first were thought to have been from the loud speakers for the game until an actual SRT Viper Racecar came out onto the stage, revving away. Talk about bringing excitement!

So Ladies and Gentlemen. It is still really early to truly give a final grade to the new Viper. There have been various opinions on this SRT, but judging by the looks of things, this Flagship – SRT has another winner in the family.

Photo Credit: TMinus NYC || Adrian Zielinski || Kenny Bascon

About the author

Co-founder, Managing Director, Photographer, and editor for SNTRL. To many in the Tri-State, Kenny aka "MAD JDM" needs no introduction. Always out there, always ready, always down.