AutoBlog: REPORT: Next-Gen Dodge Viper could get Ferrari-derived V10

[NewsFeeder 9]

Filed under: Performance, Dodge, Maserati, Ferrari

Dodge Viper SRT-10 - Click above for high-res image gallery

Way back in 1987, Chrysler bought up a troubled Lamborghini, and within two years put it to work developing a V10 engine program that would eventually give birth to both the Dodge Viper and the Lamborghini Gallardo - two of the first ten-cylinder engines on the modern market. Two decades later, the tables have turned: instead of buying up struggling Italian automakers, it's Chrysler that's troubled and the Italians are coming to the rescue. And now reports suggest that the replacement for the Viper's V10 could be derived from Ferrari's next-generation engine program.

Chrysler's original plan was to sell of the Viper business, but since no serious offers came through, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is reportedly keen on taking advantage of the sportscar's standing as the company's halo vehicle. But rather than have Chrysler shoulder the entire burden of developing the next-generation Viper, the engine program could be derived from the same modular powerplant that will propel upcoming Ferraris and Maseratis.

Ferrari has essentially had four engine designs in its history: the Colombo design was in use from the company's beginnings all the way through the '90s. The Lampredi engine was used on a handful of vehicles in the 50's before being phased out. The Dino engine spawned V6, V8 and V12 versions and was in use until just a few years ago, while the current Ferrari/Maserati engine powers everything in the both companies' current ranges as well as the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. Its 90-degree replacement will likewise offer variable configurations: a flat-plane crank V8 for Ferrari, a cross-plane crank for Maserati and a pushrod V10 for the Viper.

[source: Car and Driver]

REPORT: Next-Gen Dodge Viper could get Ferrari-derived V10 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[Intrepidation 883]

Being derived from a Ferrari design isn't the worst company you could get an engine design from.

The Viper's engine is what makes it special, and what gives it its soul. How many engines do you know that are naturally aspirated and make 600 horsepower? It would be a shame to see it be replaced buy a different engine.

Still, I'm glad that Sergio Marchionne wants to keep the Viper going, and doesn't seem to want to turn it into some 4-banger shadow of its former self.

[Camino LS6 880]

Hmm.

Not sure this would go over very well.

[regfootball 411]

ferrari engine is nice but the rest of the viper has the aura of a kit car done in farmers machine shed in nebraska.

lets do this. bring the cool alfas. viper as a last resort.

[FAPTurbo 1,219]

I'd think some of the brutishness of the Viper would be lost in this arrangement, which depending on who you ask, would be for the better or for worse.

Edited August 10, 2009 by TheCaptain

[Hudson 16]

I don't see how the author could possibly connect the development of the Viper's V10 and the Gallardo's V10...different times, different ownership, nothing in common but the cylinder count.

I don't have a problem with replacing the Viper's engine, but it should remain a V10. By the time the next Viper hits the road, the model (and base engine) will be two decades old....and the basic structure of the engine dates back nearly 50 years. Why not move up into the 21st century?

[NOS2006 11]

I'll be a huge fan of this if they can give it a nice, American exhaust note. And keep it with a true manual transmission.

I don't want to see the Viper dumbed down with paddle shifters and an F1-like exhaust note.

[Intrepidation 883]

ferrari engine is nice but the rest of the viper has the aura of a kit car done in farmers machine shed in nebraska.

lets do this. bring the cool alfas. viper as a last resort.

That's what has always made the Viper special. It's always been about the raw engineering, not 200 computers and 70 safety nets. It's one of the few cars let that reward the driver based on their own skill.

[Camino LS6 880]

That's what has always made the Viper special. It's always been about the raw engineering, not 200 computers and 70 safety nets. It's one of the few cars let that reward the driver based on their own skill.

Yes, and this could tanish that pretty badly.

Bad idea, I think.

[Oracle of Delphi 33]

Yes, and this could tanish that pretty badly.

Bad idea, I think.

Awwww, where's your sense of adventure ??? Hmmm ???