-
AuthorPosts
-
-
Good comment, as the minute a name is changed many fear the worse , but as noted , over the past couple of decades there have been various iterations of the performance divisions at FCA/PSA. I think we may see some surprising machines in the coming years and with the Challenger being reinvented and improved year in and year out, it shows the performance DNA has not left the corporation and that bodes well in my optimistic view for a Viper in the years to come.
There is competition ego in the Automotive Manufacturing business as much as there is consumer awareness , and when the Challenger outsold the Camaro last year it had to be a giant check mark that Dodge and FCA/PSA had a loyal performance following. These are the things , in my mind, that will help the Viper return, and with the formation of the new Corporation, the movement of SRT to a more expanded enthusiast grouping is just a normal evolution we have seen before.
I am just optimistic and frankly the Viper name is so legendary , almost more so in Europe, we may see it as the ” Halo” machine for the Stellantis —— Ferrari is not part of the combination. Why not bring it back and the rebirth could not come at a better time for one of the largest Automotive Manufacturers in the World. I guess I feel it will happen because they are so quiet about the future, and quiet has often meant surprises with FCA in the past.
-
Bill Pemberton said:
Good comment, as the minute a name is changed many fear the worse , but as noted , over the past couple of decades there have been various iterations of the performance divisions at FCA/PSA. I think we may see some surprising machines in the coming years and with the Challenger being reinvented and improved year in and year out, it shows the performance DNA has not left the corporation and that bodes well in my optimistic view for a Viper in the years to come.There is competition ego in the Automotive Manufacturing business as much as there is consumer awareness , and when the Challenger outsold the Camaro last year it had to be a giant check mark that Dodge and FCA/PSA had a loyal performance following. These are the things , in my mind, that will help the Viper return, and with the formation of the new Corporation, the movement of SRT to a more expanded enthusiast grouping is just a normal evolution we have seen before.
I am just optimistic and frankly the Viper name is so legendary , almost more so in Europe, we may see it as the " Halo" machine for the Stellantis —— Ferrari is not part of the combination. Why not bring it back and the rebirth could not come at a better time for one of the largest Automotive Manufacturers in the World. I guess I feel it will happen because they are so quiet about the future, and quiet has often meant surprises with FCA in the past.
I hope you are correct and they bring the Viper back, but it will not be a 6-spd V10 engine. So it might as well be called literally anything at that point.
-
Bill Pemberton said:
Good comment, as the minute a name is changed many fear the worse , but as noted , over the past couple of decades there have been various iterations of the performance divisions at FCA/PSA. I think we may see some surprising machines in the coming years and with the Challenger being reinvented and improved year in and year out, it shows the performance DNA has not left the corporation and that bodes well in my optimistic view for a Viper in the years to come.There is competition ego in the Automotive Manufacturing business as much as there is consumer awareness , and when the Challenger outsold the Camaro last year it had to be a giant check mark that Dodge and FCA/PSA had a loyal performance following. These are the things , in my mind, that will help the Viper return, and with the formation of the new Corporation, the movement of SRT to a more expanded enthusiast grouping is just a normal evolution we have seen before.
I am just optimistic and frankly the Viper name is so legendary , almost more so in Europe, we may see it as the " Halo" machine for the Stellantis —— Ferrari is not part of the combination. Why not bring it back and the rebirth could not come at a better time for one of the largest Automotive Manufacturers in the World. I guess I feel it will happen because they are so quiet about the future, and quiet has often meant surprises with FCA in the past.
Bring it back and perhaps even have funds to participate in racing series for a few years. One can dream.
-
Loud said:
Bring it back and perhaps even have funds to participate in racing series for a few years. One can dream.Racing Days Are Over. Not just for a Dodge and SRT, but for many other brands. There’s simply no monetization of it anymore or even for the last many years (just look at the financial debacle of SRT/Viper racing team). Cars are not built for enthusiasts anymore. Just look at what’s happening over at BMW. Hell, in a few years the cars are going to drive themselves.
-
Interesting…..seems to match up with rumors from Italy claiming Ferrari is coming out with their first ever V10 road car called the LaLutzini SRT8400.
Probably just a coincidence.
-
Based on this article, Stellantis has no plans of a Gen 6 Viper…unless it is electric.
From https://moparinsiders.com/stellantis-has-disbanded-the-street-racing-technology-srt-division:
Has the Street & Racing Technology (SRT) division been disbanded? Over the past week, several websites have been stating that the newly formed Stellantis group has done just that. While Stellantis itself has been quiet about the ordeal, we decided to reach out to their communications team for a real answer to what is going on.
“All of the core elements of the SRT performance engineering team have been integrated into our company’s global engineering organization”, a spokeswoman for Stellantis told us. “This action will have the two-way benefit of ensuring that our brands’ SRT and performance-focused product offerings continue to meet the highest quality standards and expectations while delivering key learnings from motorsports and other high-performance-technology applications across a wider mix of our company’s product lines”.
“These products have delighted enthusiasts for nearly two decades, and Stellantis will continue to sell and develop the next generation of Dodge//SRT-branded vehicles, as well as Jeep® and Ram vehicles that utilize high-performance SRT technology”, the spokeswoman added.
So it seems that while the SRT team has been disbanded, SRT engineers will now be mixed with performance engineers from the PSA side of Stellantis and both teams will be able to work on high-performance projects across all brands in the Stellantis portfolio.
While we said before, that it was likely would see an end to “SRT” branded vehicles outside of the Dodge lineup, it looks like that is the case going forward. Jeep already had announced that it would indeed continue the Trackhawk name throughout its lineup for its track-oriented performance portfolio during Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Captial Markets Day event back in 2018.
Originally beginning in 1989 as “Team Viper” to develop the iconic Dodge Viper from concept to production, the team merged with “Team Prowler” (the team behind another iconic vehicle – the 1997 Plymouth Prowler) to become Specialty Vehicle Engineering (SVE).
During the DaimlerChrysler era, SVE became Performance Vehicle Operations (PVO) in January 2002. Then, the Chief Operating Officer of DaimlerChrysler Corporation, Wolfgang Bernhard who had led the performance arm of Mercedes-Benz with AMG, sought to turn SVE into something similar for the Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep brands.
PVO would later go on to become SRT in 2004, as all of the group’s vehicles were carrying the SRT designation.
In 2012, Chrysler Group spun SRT into its own premium performance brand with famed Chrysler design Ralph Gilles, leading the brand. The brand was introduced with the launch of the 2013 SRT Viper and oversaw all operations of the SRT performance vehicle lineup, as well as motorsports operations. This would continue until 2014 when SRT was broken up and moved to the Dodge brand portfolio, creating the Dodge//SRT brand which continues day.
SRT continued operations with the Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep brands to create vehicles like the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, 2019 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye, 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack 1320, 2020 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody, 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, and the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX from the three automotive brand’s portfolios.
-
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.