Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale: Zagato's Italian Flavored Dodge Viper ACR on Film

Over the past few months, Zagato's limited production run Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale has made several public appearances including a pass from the Concours d'Elegance Uniques Special Ones event in Florence, Italy, this past September, just before the Frankfurt Motor Show.

If you follow the break, you can get a closer look at Zagato's unique creation from the motor show events as well as on the road.

As a reminder, the Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale is a road-going follow-up to the 2010 TZ3 Corsa racing car study. But while the one-off TZ3 Corsa was built on the Alfa Romeo 8C, Zagato chose to use the Dodge Viper ACR as a base for the TZ3 Stradale.

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Posted on 09.46 / 0 comments / Read More

Dodge Unleashes Video of Viper SRT10 ACR Reclaiming Position from Lexus LFA at the 'Ring with 7:12.13

A couple of weeks ago, Dodge brought its street-legal, but now discontinued, 2010 Viper SRT10 ACR to the Nürburgring racetrack to set the record straight – literally.

In 2008, while the sports car was still in production, the Viper SRT10 ACR turned the 'Ring in 7:22.10, which at the time made it the fifth fastest production car in the world, according to the figures listed on Wikipedia.

Since then, however, many production vehicles posted better times including the Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition with 7:14.64 on August 31, 2011, which placed it in fourth position behind the Radical SR8 LM (6:48), Radical SR8 (6:55) and the Gumpert Apollo Sport (7:11.57).

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Posted on 18.05 / 0 comments / Read More

SPIED: All-New 2013 Dodge Viper Development Continues

Last time we brought you news on the next generation of the highly anticipated Dodge Viper sports cars, the Chrysler Group had uploaded a humorous photo of the new snake dressed up like a Motorhome on its Facebook page.

But now we're ready to bring you some hard evidence on the actual 2013 Dodge Viper as our spy photographers snagged a prototype out in the open. The test mule combined the body of the now defunct roadster model with the next generation Viper's front end (from the A-pillar forward).

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Posted on 09.07 / 0 comments / Read More

Battle of the Beasts: Tuned Dodge Viper ACR vs Koenigsegg CCXR

The Dodge Viper ACR is one of the fastest production cars around packing an 8.4-liter V10 with 600HP and 560 lb/ft (760 Nm) of torque that allows it to accelerate from 0-60 mph (96km/h) in less than 4.0 seconds. It has also proved its mettle by breaking lap records in famous and difficult tracks such as Laguna Seca and the Nürburgring.

But it's one thing going against a Corvette and totally different story when you're challenged by the likes of Koenigsegg and its CCXR that boasts a twin-supercharged V8 delivering close to 1,100-horsepower.

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Posted on 16.23 / 0 comments / Read More

D'oh! Ferrari 458 Italia Driver Starts Drag Race with Dodge Viper in…Reverse!

Before you watch the following video, take a minute to ponder this: You are sitting behind the steering wheel of an exotic, brand new Italian supercar, getting ready to drag race a V10-powered Dodge Viper on the quarter mile strip in front of a crowd of 100, or perhaps even more people. But when the race begins you start rolling backwards…

Oh yes, that’s right; the owner of the Ferrari 458 Italia that you’re about to see in the clip and who was pitted against a Dodge Viper at the ICAR motorsports complex situated just outside of Montreal in Canada, paddle shifted his car’s dual clutch auto transmission into reverse!

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Posted on 19.38 / 0 comments / Read More

Chrysler’s SRT Team Teases…Next Dodge Viper SRT10 on Facebook

In a very…tongue-in-cheek move, Chrysler’s newly formed Street and Racing Technology (SRT) brand responded to fans asking them on various social media sites what future products are in development by posting this…revealing sketch on its dedicated Facebook page. Here is what Chrysler’s SRT team wrote:

“Like many of you, Twitter user @DaveOrrSales asked for a taste of what's to come at SRT. We dodged death to sneak you this top-secret photo. That's all you get, crew.”

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Posted on 11.12 / 0 comments / Read More

Viper V10-Powered Chrysler PT 10 Cruiser Pickup Truck for Sale on eBay

Whether you love it or loathe it, Chrysler’s PT Cruiser was a running success for the Detroit automaker and over its ten-year lifespan, we saw countless projects cars and tunes based on the retro-styled compact model. However, ask any true Mopar fan what the ultimate modification is for any Chrysler Group model, and you’ll most likely get the answer an engine swap with the Dodge Viper’s ferocious V10 powerplant.

Here at autoscardesign, we’ve shown you plenty of Viper-powered cars ranging from a Chrysler 300 and a Dodge Challenger to a Saab 9-3 and a Jeep Wrangler. Now it’s time to add the Chrysler PT Cruiser to our list of venomous engine swaps with this eBay find.

The PT/10 Cruiser Pickup Truck is said to have been built in 2000. It is based on a custom chassis with power coming from the Viper’s V10 engine churning out 500 ponies. Other goods sourced from the Dodge sports car include the 6-speed transmission, rear suspension, steering rack and seats.

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Posted on 16.35 / 0 comments / Read More

Insane! Swedes Turn a Dodge Viper into the Saab 9-3 SRT10 MegaPower

Proving once again that there is no limit to what one can build when you let your imagination take over, a team of Swedes transformed a Dodge Viper into the menacing Saab 9-3 SRT10 MegaPower you see in these pictures.

It all started when a man bought a wrecked Dodge Viper SRT-10 with the intention of rebuilding it. However, it soon became obvious that task was far more difficult than he originally thought due to the extent of the damages and the lack of parts. It didn’t take long to come up with a fresh idea: strip the Viper’s body clean and use the mechanical hardware and parts of the chassis on a Saab 9-3 Sport Combi.

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Posted on 07.31 / 0 comments / Read More

Zagato’s Dodge Viper-Based Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale Smiles at the Camera

Thanks to the interwebs, we now have the first video clip of Zagato’s spanking new Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale that was introduced to the world just last week. Hiding underneath the Italian suit are the platform and the mechanical hardware of the now-obsolete Dodge Viper ACR including the 8.4-liter V10 engine. Zagato has not yet given information regarding output and performance numbers.

The Italian coachbuilder plans to build only 9 examples of the Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale with the American heart, with the first three cars having already been spoken for. To get a look of the new coachbuilt Alfa in the flesh and on the road, just hit the jump below.

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Posted on 07.02 / 0 comments / Read More

Zagato TZ3 Stradale: A Dodge Viper ACR Dressed as an Alfa Romeo

We don’t know if Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne’s future plans for the upcoming, next generation of the Dodge Viper include the development of a corresponding Alfa Romeo model based on the underpinnings of the muscle car, but famed Italian coachbuilder Zagato has given the formula a try with its new TZ3 Stradale.

You see, Zagato’s TZ3 Stradale is an Alfa Romeo bodied sports car based on the platform and mechanical hardware of the track-conquering Dodge Viper ACR, which features the same 600HP 8.4-liter V10 engine as the standard Viper SRT-10 along with a 6-speed manual gearbox and a race-spec suspension. All parts of the TZ3 Stradale’s carbon fiber body are new with the cherry topping being the classic Kamm-tail (K-tail) layout.

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Posted on 06.24 / 0 comments / Read More

Next Generation 2013 Dodge Viper Undergoing Testing in the Snow

Although roughly a year away from launch, Chrysler has published the very first official photo of a development mule of the next generation Dodge Viper undergoing testing in the snow. The prototype mule is based on the now obsolete 2010 Viper that was discontinued in the summer of 2010.

Not surprisingly, the Auburn Hills-based automaker released very few details on its upcoming high-performance sports car as the only piece of information we get is that “SRT engineers expanded the development scope for the next generation Dodge Viper to include stability control tuning for the first time.”

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Posted on 07.34 / 0 comments / Read More

Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR Shatters Corvette ZR1’s Record at Miller Motorsports Park [with Video]

The Dodge Viper SRT10 American Club Racer (ACR) broke the production car lap record at Miller Motorsports Park, dipping below the 2-minute mark for the first time ever at the 3.048-mile Outer Course configuration. Dodge driver Kuno Wittmer stopped the clock at 1:59.995, beating the previous record held by Jan Magnussen in a Corvette ZR1 by almost four seconds (2:03.86).

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Posted on 15.06 / 0 comments / Read More

It Came from eBay Hell: Thunder Ranch Riot with Scat Crate Engine

If Geo had asked Isuzu to design them a car that would appeal to California’s surfer crowd in the mid-1990s, chances are it’d look a lot like the Thunder Ranch Riot. A fibreglass bodied, Volkswagen Beetle-based turnkey kit car, the Riot looks like a Geo Storm that’s been cut, shut and had Dodge Viper parts tacked on to its exterior. And it can be all yours for the low, low price of US$12,000.

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Posted on 13.58 / 0 comments / Read More

Report: Zagato Rumored to Build Alfa Romeo TZ4 Stradale Based on Dodge Viper V10

A little less than a year ago, famed Italian coachbuilder Zagato celebrated Alfa Romeo’s centenary with the reveal of the TZ3 Corsa at the Villa D'Este Concours. Based on the hardware of the Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione, the TZ3 Corsa paid homage to its TZ predecessors. It was built as a one-off for a wealthy German collector named Martin Kapp.

In December of the same year, Zagato sent out a holiday card featuring the older TZ1 and TZ2 alongside the latest TZ3 and one more unnamed fourth model wrapped in a bow, hinting at a new TZ4. Fast forward to today, and German car magazine Autobild is reporting that the Italian coachbuilder is indeed planning a fourth TZ model, which could carry the TZ4 Stradale nameplate.

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Posted on 14.24 / 0 comments / Read More

Dodge Says Next Viper's Looks to be Inspired by “a Naked Woman on the Beach”

Speaking at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit, the head of Chrysler design boss and head of the Dodge brand, Ralph Gilles, told reporters today that the next generation of the Dodge Viper is going to be “drop-dead beautiful” sporting a look inspired by “a naked woman on the beach”.

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Posted on 12.41 / 0 comments / Read More

Meals on...Exotic Wheels: Gotham Dream Cars Helps Feed the Elderly, so you Best Give a Damn

In charity-oriented news, Gotham Dream Cars recently assisted Pascack Valley, New Jersey's Meals on Wheels program in delivering food to some of the area's age- and hunger-impaired citizens. Edibles were brought door-side via cars like a Viper SRT-10, Lamborghini Gallardo, and Maserati Quattroporte, among others. The best part? Well, that depends.

Most people would say it's feeding those in need. Normal, right? Unfortunately, the press seems to think the story is the cars. That's right; instead of people who require help, the exotic transportation became the story. It's insane.

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Posted on 13.00 / 0 comments / Read More

Chrysler Confirms 2013 Dodge Viper, Says It’s Not Going to be Based on Alfa's 8C Competizione

When the last Dodge Viper rolled off the assembly line in July, there were only rumors about a new generation. A couple of months later, new information leaked about a possible successor, said to have been an “Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione with a Viper face”, much to the dismay of Viper fanatics. Some even went as far as to speculate that the Viper could be based on the Alfa's platform.

Now, The Detroit News reports that Chrysler officials confirmed that next summer we will see the 2013MY Viper adding that it won't be based on Alfa’s supercar. In particular, Dodge CEO, Ralph Gilles, said that the new Viper “is not based on anything else” and any similarity with the Alfa is accidental, as the two cars have different proportions.

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Posted on 11.05 / 0 comments / Read More

Viper-powered 300 SRT10 was one man's garage job (and Chrysler should be ashamed they didn't do it first)

It looks like the Viper-powered Chrysler 300 teased on the group's Dodge Youtube channel is nothing more than the dream of one man: David Ekins. The 300 SRT10, it turns out, started as an unsuspecting 2006 Chrysler 300 Touring (which initially came with a V6); now it's got four more cylinders and puts down a claimed 525-550 horsepower.

Mr. Ekins is said to have built the project himself (except for some specialty work), having sourced the 10-cylinder 8.3-liter engine and T-56 Tremec transmission from a wrecked donor car. Other than the power train, a slew of other systems obviously had to be upgraded in order for the car to become a 300 SRT10 and not just a 300 Touring with a massive engine.

This homemade project now rides on Eibach coilovers and gets a new sway bar kit, as well as a little bit of extra cooling up front in the form of a 3-inch thick radiator and "custom" oil filter. Other additions include a new fuel tank mounted in the trunk and the little styling tweaks found throughout.

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Posted on 12.02 / 0 comments / Read More

Vipervette is the latest project to kill two performance nameplates in one go

The 1986 Vipervette is exactly what you think it is: part Dodge Viper, part Corvette, all painful. Riding on a 1986 Corvette chassis, the Vipervette is said to have inherited its body (and not much else, apparently) from a 2000 Dodge Viper. Because of this hodge-podge mix of machinery, we have a car with some very awkward proportions.

The car is motivated by the '86 Vette's power train - a 5.7-liter V8 and a 4-speed stick - so don't expect to be going anywhere in too much of a hurry. Inside is more of the 1980's, with the Corvette interior color-coded to line up with the Viper exterior (meaning it's the mighty played-out red and black).

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Posted on 09.38 / 0 comments / Read More

Hell Yeah; Dodge Teases Viper V10-Powered Chrysler 300 SRT10 on Video

Dodge has published a video of a current generation Chrysler 300 badged as the SRT10 and fitted with a Viper-sourced 8.4-liter V10 powerhouse on its official Youtube channel. The company did not provide any intel on the car, but it did ask the question, "What happens when you put a Viper engine into a Chrysler 300?". Feel free to post your answers in the comments section below.

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Posted on 14.01 / 0 comments / Read More