Steps to a Viper GTS-R

[Pennzoil GT-R]

I make it no secret i am not a fan of road Viper's, i think they are heavy and bad handling brutes. BUT, i do respect the GTS-R's alot as there racing record speaks for itself. What i would like to know is what steps would you need to do to bring a Viper GTS up to the kind or performance of the GTS-R.

[v10_viper]

Weight reduction and more power for major things. um...aerodynamics kinda, i dont know if they are lowered or not but maybe stiffer/lower suspension. you'll never get the results of the GTS-R because all of it's tests were done on slicks and such but with the right tires you can get close i bet.

[v10_viper]

The 2000 Team Oreca Dodge Viper GTS-R is made of a carbon fiber body and has a steel space frame. It uses 15-inch carbon fiber brakes in the front and 14-inch carbon fiber brakes in the back. All four Michelin Pilot SX Radial Slicks are on 12 by 18 inch BBS one-piece magnesium rims.

-good luck on any of that stuff. it only weighed 2640 lbs too, not bad

The engine and transmission are lowered 2.5 inches and set back 2.8 inches in the frame for a lower center of gravity and improved weight distribution for racing--about 47/53 percent front/rear on the GTS-R versus 49/51 percent for the upcoming GTS coupe. Relocating the engine also allows frame cross-bracing over and in front of the engine, and it gives more clearance for the oil tank in the V-10's new dry-sump oil system.

For the engine, that's just the start. The racing V-10s, assembled by Caldwell Development, will be available in three forms. The standard "club" V-10 doesn't need many changes to make its 525 horsepower: just a racing camshaft with more lift and duration, and Borla headers. The "endurance" engine includes those changes, plus there's a velocity-stack intake manifold with ported heads, solid-lifter roller rockers, higher-rate valve springs, and chrome-moly Carillo connecting rods. Output is 650 horsepower. The "sprint" engine, at 700 horsepower, is an endurance engine with larger valves, an even more aggressive camshaft, and valvetrain changes that allow a higher 7000-plus-rpm redline. All three engines are based on the '97 block design, which was lightened and strengthened with new cast-in cylinder liners. Each optional engine will add about $30,000 to the GTS-R's expected $200,000 base price.

To boldly go where no Viper has gone before, Chrysler welcomed many original-equipment suppliers to its in-house effort. The transmission, for example, is a racing version of the Viper's Borg-Warner T-56 six-speed. The rear differential is a big Dana 60 with an aluminum case, specifically designed for the Viper GTS-R's tremendous torque (more than 650 pound-feet on the optional engines). The shock absorbers resemble Indy-car Konis, the steering rack is the Viper's stock TRW with revised valving, and the brakes from Brembo are whoppers--eight titanium pistons per caliper at the front, four-piston calipers at the rear, grasping either carbon-fiber or cast-iron discs. Michelin stepped in with custom Pilot SX racing slicks.

There's also a Tilton carbon-fiber triple-disc clutch and eight-pound flywheel (versus 32 pounds for the stock Viper). The center-lock three-piece BBS wheels have cast-magnesium centers. Goodyear racing tires will also be tested and offered.

All of this is wrapped up not by the Viper coupe's 350-pound resin-transfer-molded body, but one done completely in carbon fiber by Indy-car chassis builder Reynard, for a 200-pound weight savings. The body sports a biplane-type rear spoiler that increases downforce, although that will be changed to a single spoiler due to the sanctioning-body rule changes.

Nice résumé. But does it work? Chrysler wouldn't allow us behind the wheel to answer that question because the GTS-R being tested was the only one in existence. With the program timing already behind schedule, trashing the mule would mean . . . no program.

But we're sure that it has no problem going, stopping, and turning. At Sebring, Chrysler did some preliminary tests with our equipment and one of their drivers. With a stock transmission, an early endurance engine, and a lousy launch, the GTS-R still leapt to 60 mph in only 3.8 seconds. It continued accelerating as if a Saturn V booster were strapped to the roof: 100 mph in 7.1 seconds, the quarter-mile in 11.5 seconds at 132 mph. Top speed should be over 200 mph, a velocity the car could reach at Daytona or Le Mans.

Despite not being optimized for such a dainty task, the brakes can haul the 2910-pound Viper from 70 to 0 mph in 148 feet. Around one 140-foot-radius curve, the GTS-R was managing 1.90 g of grip, with negligible downforce from the rear wing.

As for its ability to get around the track, that's another story. The team has been track-testing frantically for a number of months, undeterred by weather, part failures, or even hawks crashing through the windshield at 140 mph (at Road Atlanta). At Sebring in early December, the car was understeering excessively at speed, the rear end was bouncing too much, the shock valving was all wrong, and the car was too hot inside. We asked 1995 Le Mans winner Andy Wallace, sitting in the cockpit after testing, if the GTS-R was fun to drive, and there was a pregnant pause, the result perhaps of years of talking to automotive writers. "It will be," he replied. Another pause. "When it's right, it will be fantastic fun," he added. Even the ever-smiling Martindale, putting in six 12-hour days a week as engineering chief since the GTS-R was approved, seemed weary.

And there was already good news. Driver Hannemann says the GTS-R's handling is quite forgiving--a relief from a car so closely related to such a brute-force street car. Just a few weeks later at Atlanta, the GTS-R had improved considerably. The problems at Sebring had mostly been solved, and the emphasis was now shifting toward driveline durability. "On a scale of one to ten, at Sebring, I'd say we were at four. Here at Atlanta, I'd call it a six or seven," said Martindale.

Engine guru Mallicoat was more smiles, too. The engine labs were reporting little wear from a recent teardown of the development engine. Furthermore, the motor was running well with relatively lean air-fuel ratios, meaning the GTS-R's Achilles' heel--uncompetitive fuel economy--was being improved. More promising were the lap times at Atlanta of under 1:19, exceeding the goals set by the team for the first time.

Chrysler intends the first four GTS-Rs (built at the company's new Conner Avenue assembly line in Detroit) to go directly to two racing teams: Canaska-Southwind Motorsports in Toronto, for the Daytona and Sebring events, and ORECA S.A. of France, for Le Mans. Assuming those races go as planned, the company will then offer between 30 and 50 GTS-Rs at an expected base price of $200,000, roughly the same as the Porsche but a steal compared with the nearly $1.1-million racing McLaren F1 car. Chrysler plans to sell most of the cars to racing teams.

Second priority will be car collectors who want a piece of history. Good history, the company hopes. For the GTS-R to even finish at Daytona would be an accomplishment.

Critics have already tarred Chrysler's efforts with its still-young sports car as quixotic, but that's a bit like slagging the fat guy at the gym. The GTS-R is a remarkable display of corporate determination. Even if it fails to make it out of the pits, the engineers have already learned some lessons as a result of this program that they will apply to the 1997 Viper. The stock '97 heads will be derived from the GTS-R's, for example, and the block design has already been strengthened by what the team has learned.

One thing's for sure: Many eyes will be on this Viper in the next few months, and for once it won't be because of that hot curvy body.


that's all I could find on the GTS-R, hope it satisfies you Pennzoil. it is quite an amazing car

[v10_viper]

I also have a book on the Viper that includes info on the GTS-R, i could find that to see what is has to offer for information if you want.

[Pennzoil GT-R]

thanks alot for all that. helped alot, that and seeing the Viper's up close in the FIA GT makes me realise alot more of what is different about them.

[Neutrino]

That is some very nice info thanks V10.