Dodge Viper
ACR
The American Club Racer
concept moves upscale.
Building on the incredible success of the
Neon American Club Racer, more than 5900 of which have been snapped up by
enthusiasts eager to race on the cheap, Dodge is taking its American Club
Racer concept upscale -- way upscale -- by announcing the new Viper ACR
for 1999.
The idea is to encourage Viper owners to race their cars,
particularly in the SCCA's T1 class for essentially showroom-stock
supercars such as the Acura NSX, the Chevrolet Corvette C5, the Ferrari
F355, and the Porsche 911 Carrera.
By building a special run of
Vipers optimized for such racing, Dodge can convince the SCCA to accept
the ACR Vipers as factory stock cars. And by substituting the upgraded
components for the standard Viper pieces, Dodge can hold down the overall
price of the package.
As one would expect on a road-racing car, most
of the upgrades focus on the suspension. Koni double-adjustable racing
shocks, similar to the ones used on the Viper GTS-R pure racing cars,
replace the stock items. These shocks are wrapped with Meritor coil
springs about twice as stiff as the stockers. Michelin Pilot Sport tires
from the standard Viper are fitted to BBS one-piece wheels.
The
ACR's engine is unchanged, save for the modest reductions in intake and
exhaust restriction that were performed on last year's GT2
championship-edition models. These add 10 horsepower and 10 pound-feet of
torque to the huge V-10, which is motivating 60 fewer pounds of weight on
the ACR, owing to the deletion of the air conditioner, the fog lights, and
the radio. Those pieces can be optioned back into the ACR, but would-be
racers would be better served by fitting the optional front-brake cooling
kit into the fog-light openings.
Inside, the ACR comes standard
with a five-point competition harness, a dash placard, and the revised
interior trim common to all '99 Vipers. From the outside, the Viper ACR
will be identifiable by its distinctive wheels and small logos on the
front fenders.
We took a quick spin in a preproduction ACR at
Laguna Seca Raceway in California and found it to be even more comfortable
on the track than the already capable standard model. The stiffer springs
and shocks seemed perfectly tuned to the track's smooth surface, and the
slight understeer present in the standard Viper was
absent.
Depending on demand, Dodge expects to build between 100 and
200 Viper ACRs for '99. The price has yet to be announced, but expect it
to be a few grand dearer than that of a standard Viper. Dodge also plans
to offer kits allowing owners of existing Viper GTSs to upgrade their cars
to ACR specification. Either way, obtaining a racing Viper will get
appreciably easier.
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