Word: viperous
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Next month, Chrysler takes a step back in time with the 400-h.p. Dodge Viper RT/10, a performance machine that has sports-car fans salivating even before the limited-edition coupe hits the streets (only 300 will be produced this year). The Viper grew from a 1989 challenge issued by Chrysler president Bob Lutz to design chief Tom Gale and engineering director Francois Castaing: develop a classic sports car that could match the machines of old. Legendary Cobra designer Carroll Shelby, now a Chrysler consultant, was brought in to be "the conscience" of the Viper. "We set out to make...
Whether it will be as successful remains to be seen. But the profile and power of the Viper are outright provocative. Made only in bright red with curves and scoops that echo past roadsters, the Viper reeks of speed. Underneath the hood is Chrysler's most powerful engine, an eight-liter V-10 that can explode from 0 to 60 m.p.h. in 4.5 sec. While some environmentalists argue that the car is an energy hog, its overall performance has impressed auto enthusiasts. "The Viper makes your lips curl, and your eyes bulge with the terror of taking such a beast...
...Viper team's back-to-basics approach left extras like air conditioning and four-wheel steering to softer cars. "We didn't want any of that junk in it," explains Shelby, a straight-talking visionary. "This is a simple 1960s American muscle car with 1990s technology," he says...
Also a 1990s price tag: $50,000. On a per-horsepower basis, that compares favorably with the Acura NSX and Ferrari. But for red-blooded Americans who dream of empty roads and police in innocent Chevys, the homegrown Viper is likely to be more a matter of pure lust...
...company's real test will come when it rolls out an ambitious new lineup of vehicles starting later this year. First up will be the much touted Viper sports car (price: $50,000), due by December. Next will come a new Jeep in January and a line of sleek, mid-size sedans, code-named LH, in the summer of 1992. Such offerings have persuaded some experts that the company will scrape through its latest crisis. Says John Casesa, who follows the company for the securities firm Wertheim Schroder & Co. in Manhattan: "I think Chrysler's going to make...