The all new
SRT Viper was revealed today at the
2012 New York Auto Show, along with an announcement from
Chrysler that a race focused GTS-R will be returning to the American Le Mans racing series in 2012.
The GTS-R will be a non-street legal Viper, and will be backed by an SRT factory team in the Le Mans series. “Racing has been a significant part of the illustrious history of Viper not only with wins on the track, but also in the continued development of the street cars – and our new 2013 SRT Viper models are proof of those lessons learned,” said Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of
SRT.
Two identical Viper GTS-Rs will compete in the production-based GT class, and four drivers have already been confirmed for the SRT factory team.
Even the organizers of the American Le Mans series are excited for the return of Viper to high stakes racing. “I don’t think it’s possible to overstate the significance of the SRT Viper returning to the top level of professional sports car racing,” said Scott Atherton, President and CEO of the American Le Mans Series. “The Chrysler Group has a long, storied and very successful history of competing with the American Le Mans Series. The fact that they’re coming back concurrently with the introduction of the new production car and doing it simultaneously, we would be hard-pressed to come up with a better-case scenario. What a great way for SRT Viper to come back to racing.”
The Vipers race history will be carried on by the new SRT Viper GTS-R, and as they say, win on Sunday, sell on Monday. This will no doubt be the hopes of Chrylser for the all new Viper.
PHOTO GALLERY: 2013 SRT Viper GTS-R
PHOTO GALLERY: 2013 SRT Viper GTS
