Last year, we waved goodbye to one of the most iconic American sports cars of all time, the Dodge Viper. In a fitting sendoff, 378 fans funded a trip to send the Viper, specifically a Viper GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACR, to the Nürburgring for one last run. The effort made history when the Viper ACR clocked the fastest time for a rear-wheel-drive car with a run of 7:01.3.
FoxPro Films was on hand to document the entire experience, and now fans can dive deeper into the record attempt in the new documentary "7:01: The Story of the Viper's Return to the Green Hell."
The film highlights the fact that Fiat-Chrysler did not support the attempt, but instead it was a passion project fueled by a love for the Viper. The effort included Lance David Arnold, a German racing driver, who piloted the car to its RWD record time. Arnold was one of several drivers used for the attempt and he put up his time on his first run.
It wasn't all joy and glee, though. Arnold and the team felt the car had more to give after setting the 7:01 time, but unfortunately, the Viper ACR suffered a tire failure during his next lap around the 'Ring. The failure occurred at 160 mph and caused the car to make contact with the guardrail and bounce off the opposite guardrail, due to speed. That was the end of the Viper's run. Thankfully, Arnold was not harmed.
Although the Viper didn't break the 6-minute barrier, the team still had a lot to be proud of with the record time, even though Porsche has since claimed the RWD time crown. And it was more than a fitting sendoff for a legendary sports car. Check out the full documentary in the video above.