This exclusive concept of the EV Viper render could be a reality soon.
Back in the late 1980s, a group of frisky engineers at Chrysler had the idea of putting together a modern interpretation of the Shelby Cobra. The Shelby Cobra was the result of Carroll Shelby fitting a massive powertrain under the hood of the British AC Ace sports car. It had a big V8, massive fender flares, and pretty much nothing else. Fittingly, we have imagined what a modern interpretation of that car might look like. That was the idea behind this new Chrysler product, and they thought they could make it work. Amazingly enough, Chrysler’s board of directors actually approved this idea after an overwhelmingly positive public reaction to the concept car, and the engineers started to work. Being a modern interpretation of the Shelby Cobra, they thought of an equally venomous snake to name their new project after: Viper.
They couldn’t exactly invent hot water here, so they went with whatever they could find. The V10 engine under the hood used Chrysler’s LA V8 as a starting point, and thanks to Chrysler ownership of Lamborghini at the time, they were able to help with the development and turn it into a V10. Eventually, the production Viper, which they ended up badging as a Dodge, arrived in 1992, and it was absolutely insane, but if you could handle it, it was epic fun. The Viper bowed out in 2017, and with modern regulations, we will likely never see another internal combustion engine Viper ever again. It really was the last American sports car. That hasn’t stopped us, with the help of digital artist Rostislav Prokop, from imagining what an electric Viper might look like in a car rendering.
This EV Dodge Viper Brings Futuristic Design To The Performance IndustryHotCars | Rostislav Prokop
Realistically, the only feasible way that Dodge could bring back the Viper currently is with an electric powertrain. Electric performance cars are coming in left, right, and center; and a new electric Viper would be a perfect return to form for this iconic name. Prokop has used the final generation Viper, which first appeared in 2012 for model year 2013, as a starting point here. He has given the front end a complete redesign, with much slimmer headlights, somewhat reminiscent of those found on the Porsche Taycan, which recently broke the EV lap record on the Nurburgring. There is also a redesigned version of the Viper’s crosshairs lower grille. The signature Viper hood scoop is gone, and in its place there appear to be two air channel that allow air to pass over the hood and the car itself, very similar to what the new Dodge Charger SRT Daytona Concept also has, and that’s just one its many cool features. Prokop has also sculpted the sides of the Viper, for better aerodynamics, a design somewhat reminiscent of the Ferrari F12berlinetta, a car that we think every gearhead should drive. The rear, meanwhile, gets a complete redesign, with a slim light bar and a giant rear diffuser. Prokop has given it the same wheels as the previous Viper, and he has also given it a coat of very sinister-looking gray paint.
The EV Dodge Viper Would Deliver 1,000 HP3 Images
A Viper with a massive V10 simply wouldn’t really work in today’s automotive world. As a refresher, the final generation Viper used an 8.4-liter V10, appropriately titled the Viper V10, with 645 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque, which went exclusively to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. The electric Viper would most likely use some type of dual-motor configuration, with an output closer to 1,000 hp. Speculating about an electric Viper powertrain has suddenly become more interesting, as we can base those speculations on the Dodge Charger SRT Daytona’s powertrain. The new electric muscle car concept uses an 800V system that Dodge has named Banshee. They haven’t confirmed power outputs or battery pack sizes just yet, but the 800V architecture allows for improvements all across the board, especially with charge times and cooling. It’s safe to assume that an electric Viper would also use this architecture, but with even more power.
What’s more, the SRT Daytona Concept debuts some world-firsts for electric cars, including an actual “engine sound” which Dodge is calling the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust, as well as a shiftable multi-speed transmission. With the Dodge Viper’s reputation of being a more back-to-basics sports car with supercar-rivaling performance, these components would most likely appear on a hypothetical EV Viper as well. However, Dodge would most likely make a few changes to make these components more Viper-appropriate, especially that Fratzog Chambered Exhaust. The latter needs more fine-tuning anyway, though. A new electric Viper would most likely make power well above the 1,000 hp range, which is very impressive, but it’s also a fair bit behind the current crop of electric supercars in 2022, all of which are in the neighborhood of 2,000 hp or thereabout. If an EV Viper ever happened, it would likely appear when more electric supercars with more “normal” power outputs would also be on the market, so the competition could end up being pretty fierce.
An Electric Dodge Viper Would Be A Great Addition To The New EraHotCars | Rostislav Prokop
Maybe. We already know that Dodge will continue to make exciting performance cars well into the electric future, and they’re not ready to give up on their heritage and their history of making tire-shredding cars for quite a while longer. It’s very possible that after the production eMuscle, which we also took a stab at imagining, debuts in a couple of years’ time, they could get around to tackling the Viper, and bringing it back as an electric sports car that could destroy the best that Europe has to offer on the race track, or at least give it a pretty good challenge. If it looks anything like this, we’re up for it.