Chrysler’s Street and Racing Technology (SRT) division has chosen this weekend’s 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance to debut the new 2013 Dodge Viper. The car on display will be no ordinary Viper though, because SRT is celebrating the introduction of the fifth-generation Viper with a limited run of unique launch models dubbed the Dodge SRT Viper GTS Launch Edition.
The SRT Viper GTS Launch Edition pays homage to past Viper Coupe reveals in 1996 and 2006, by virtue of its blue paintwork with dual white stripes running the entire length of the sports car. The Launch Edition also rides on a set of polished, forged-aluminium, five-spoke alloy wheels, while the tradition grey Viper badges have been replaced with a new ‘Stryker’ badge that has a blue background.
The interior of the special edition model features a unique numbered plaque on the dashboard, while black leather with contrast stitching will cover the seats, door trim, instrument panel, steering wheel, grab handle, shift knob and center console. In addition, the headliner is done in Alcantara while the white bezels are finished in Satin Silver.
The Launch Edition receives no more power than the standard Viper, which churns out 477 kW and 813 Nm from its all-aluminium 8.4-litre V10 engine. Combined with the car’s carbon-fibre and aluminum bodywork and weight reduction over the previous generation car in the triple figures, the 2013 Dodge SRT Viper offers the best power-to-weight ratio of any Viper to-date.
Chrysler didn’t say how many Viper GTS Launch Edition it plans to build, but either way, being an exclusively left-hand drive car, we won’t be seeing any Vipers in South Africa, at least officially.
