2008 Dodge Viper SRT10

Now that a Chevy Corvette Z06 comes with 505 hp, where’s the Viper’s cachet? Looks alone can’t sell a car in a segment where speed matters this much. Dodge is fighting back now, and throwing a hell of a haymaker. How does 600 horsepower grab you? Kind of like an Andre the Giant bear-hug, that’s how. We expect to see 0-60 times sneak a little deeper into the mid-threes (the last Viper we tested did the deed in 3.8 seconds), with the quarter-mile dropping consistently in under twelve seconds, whereas past Vipers have all danced around the low twelve-second range.

Dodge achieves this nearly 20-percent increase in power by cramming about 20 percent more air into the engine through an enlarged intake nostril at the leading edge of the hood that feeds new dual throttle bodies. On the exhaust side, variable valve timing helps to expel more hot air. Lest anyone think that VVT on the Viper is diluting the nature of the beast, there’s also a slight displacement increase to 8.4 liters, so that the Viper’s V-10 remains the undisputed king of the primal American “bigger is better” sledgehammer approach to power. But, as the Spiderman himself, Peter Parker, learned from Uncle Ben, with great power comes great responsibility. Responsibility not to grenade your transmission; responsibility not to wad yourself up against a utility pole or an oncoming Freightliner.

The extra power is funneled through a new dual-disc clutch that Dodge says offers an 18-percent reduction in rotational inertia, and hopefully lower clutch-pedal effort to go with it. The transmission is upgraded as well, with stronger gears and upgraded synchros to improve shift quality. And there’s a new, quicker-acting limited-slip differential to better put down the snake's power. But it doesn’t really matter; the Viper will still be delightfully brutal with all that delicious, face-melting power.

To keep the Viper’s long hood from melting as well, what with 8.4 liters and 600 horsepower lurking below, Dodge has gouged six gaping cooling vents into it. That hood, along with five new colors—including a wild lime green—and three wheel choices wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 rubber, are the only other changes accompanying the 90-hp boost. Now, what about all those Blue Devil rumors, Chevy?