At the start of the year, we learned that Dodge Viper fans were raising funds to see the car make one final attempt at the Nürburgring production car record before being discontinued. In case you’ve forgotten, the Viper will be no more after the 2017 model year.
A crowdfunding initiative was launched by Viper enthusiast Russ Oasis with the goal of raising $159,000. Well, thanks to 378 dedicated fans, that goal has been surpassed—the final figure came in at $165,160—and now the attempt is on. The funds were required to ship the Vipers to Germany plus pay for use of the track and all the other expenses.
The Viper Exchange dealership in Tomball, Texas has been gracious enough to supply two Viper ACRs equipped with the car’s available Extreme Aero Package for the attempt, which will take place in July. Kumho is supplying tires and has helped with organizing track time, while a company by the name of Prefix is helping with spare parts.
The previous-generation Viper ACR managed to lap the Nürburgring in a time of 7:12.13 in 2011. That’s still one of the fastest times for a production car around the notorious German race track and was a record for rear-wheel-drive cars that stood until December 2016 when a Mercedes-AMG GT R set a time of 7:10.92.
The current Viper ACR is an even quicker beast, thanks in part to its Extreme Aero Package. It’s already set lap records at 13 race tracks in North America, including Laguna Seca where it ran faster than both the McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder. If it wants the overall production car record at the 'Ring, the time to be beat is the 6:52.01 set by the Lamborghini Huracán Performante in October 2016.
Doing the driving will be German racing drivers Dominik Farnbacher and Luca Stolz. Both know the Nürburgring intimately. Farnbacher was the driver of the Viper ACR that set the record in 2011, while Stolz regularly races at the ‘Ring.
We’ll keep you updated on the progress of the group.
