Thread: First drive review: 2013 SRT Viper GTS

After a two-year absence, Chrysler is back with an all-new version of the Viper, now under the SRT brand and significantly more sophisticated than the old carThe original Dodge Viper was rough as sandpaper and had the kick of fresh moonshine. But thats precisely what the folks at Chrysler had in mind when they introduced the car two decades ago. There was nothing refined about it. The original roadsters roof was barely functional and after a long run you were all-but certain to burn your legs on the side-mounted exhaust pipes. ABS, electronic stability control and airbags? Forget about it. What mattered was the massive V-10 engine under the hood and the Vipers uncanny road manners. So there was much sighing when the near-broke Chrysler tried to sell off the Viper 'brand', then decided to put the beast into hibernation when Fiat, the makers new master, came in post-bankruptcy. The good news is that the Viper is back, this time under the umbrella of Chryslers newly created SRT brand. The preview at last springs New York Auto Show drew a mix of responses. Many expected something entirely different, an all-new design and a platform derived, perhaps, from Fiats Alfa Romeo. There were even rumors of a Ferrari engine. But what rolled out on stage was a two-seater fire-breather looking much like the previous-generation GTS coupe using a Detroit-derived platform and a familiar, if upgraded, V-10.