New Dodge Copperhead Sports Car Will Top the Revitalized SRT Lineup.

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Shadow3199@reddit

It better look very similar to the concept that they SHOULD have put into production back then. I don't think it aged all that bad to be honest.

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hockeyjmac@reddit

Can we just get a new gen viper instead?

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arcticrobot@reddit

Copperheads are vipers:)

I would love to get relatively affordable Viper back, but I guess producing that glorious V10 is out of question. And Dodge can still make good and affordable V8s

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Pitiful-Mobile-3144@reddit

I’d imagine they’d throw the Hellcat and Demon engines in instead of a v10. A 1,000+hp new Viper would be just insane

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arcticrobot@reddit

Viper has to have a V10. I will die on that hill.

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_Thorshammer_@reddit

You and like 3 other people.

To most non-enthusiasts - people who visit the lot to see a Viper and buy a mini-van - a "Viper" is a big, raw, fast, loud, sports car.

Cylinder count doesn't make the list of attributes for them and sales isn't losing or gaining an up because the "Viper" has a Hellcat and not a V-10.

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willpc14@reddit

I guess I'm one of the three other people. Engines are part of a cars identity especially when the cylinder count is part of the car's uniqueness.

Cylinder count doesn't make the list of attributes for them

This is an absurd statement when people shit all over the I4/V6 Camaro, Mustang, Charger, and Challenger. Also, enthusiast lost their mind when the Mach-E was introduced under the Mustang name plate.

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djwhiplash2001@reddit

Cylinder count is what makes the Viper, otherwise people would just buy a Z06.

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_Thorshammer_@reddit

I disagree.

Being insanely fast, drop dead gorgeous, and relatively unsafe is what made it a Viper.

If we had a time machine and a magic wand, I would bet very good money that FCA would have sold far more hemi-powered (2003+) Vipers than V10 powered Vipers.

Knowledgeable insiders and purists would buy the top dog V-10... even with it's $30,000 premium.

The average MOPAR fan who just cashed a lottery check would be just as happy with a 5.7, 6.1, or 6.4 liter Hemi.

Still fast as hell with nasty oversteer and movie star looks, but stays in one piece when you broadside a tree because you're going 20mph slower.

As I've said elsewhere - look at the Vette and the Mustang. There are a lot more 4 cylinder Mustangs and base engine Vette's than Dark Horses or Z06s.

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jazzmaster_jedi@reddit

So did the Viper I saw yesterday on the side on the road.

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DaOne_44@reddit

That’s probably why they’re not calling it a viper

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Developing a power plant solely for one car just isn’t economically viable for them it seems. Maybe if they could shoot for a factory endurance series with the viper it’d make sense. But even the whole race on Sunday for buyers on Monday probably isn’t as strong either nowdays.

The other reason I’m kinda glad they aren’t using the name is because a car void of abs and stability control can’t be sold according to lawyers. The viper went down in history as one of the best fully driver controlled cars.

It gets to be in the same ballpark as legends like Carrera GT or F40. By no means competitive for the top place but the Viper, especially the last gen ACR variants, definitely belongs in that conversation.

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JEs4@reddit

But the 5th gen viper had abs and stability control..?

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arcticrobot@reddit

Viper used to dominate endurance racing before 911 era. Glorious car.

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HawtGarbage918@reddit

Viper used to dominate endurance racing before 911 era

#neverforget

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SH4RPSPEED@reddit

I wish Dodge would duck tape 2 Hurricanes together to make a V12 for a potential new Viper and I will never stop dreaming.

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UmaThurmish@reddit

viper is unobtainium

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VMaxDood95@reddit

A new one yea I doubt they would take on the original formula of 2 seater V10 manual.

Older ones though, you’d be surprised how affordable they are due to the cost of ownership. I got my Gen3 last November for under $50k. Can’t beat that value for 500hp, V10, manual, side pipes, no assists, top down, and a rare American icon!

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arcticrobot@reddit

I need to research cost of ownership. This is my absolute favorite car and at and around $50k totally affordable.

I been eyeing Lexus RC F for reliability and current good racing heritage in imsa and wec, but that auto transmission is sluggish

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VMaxDood95@reddit

It’s the Viper specific parts that are ridiculously expensive (if you aren’t used to it like me). Headlights go out? They aren’t produced anymore and a nice set goes for over $8000. No aftermarket options. Gotta babysit EBay. It’s stuff like that, that keeps the cost of the car itself down. Very little aftermarket options, very rare OEM replacements. But honestly it’s such an amazing experience to drive that I took the risk anyways and don’t regret it one bit. Gen1 and Gen3 is the most affordable. The later years get more and more expensive. A C6 Z06 is faster and cheaper to mod for the same price, but it’s not the same experience at all. It’s apples to oranges even though people like to compare Vipers to Vettes.

I have a 2004, so it’s the 8.3l Gen3 with 500hp. I do my own small servicing like oil changes and light repairs. Biggest cost so far was tires. $2200 for the set, which isn’t much more than a corvette or something like that.

I think it’s fun that it’s the only Viper I ever see outside of car shows. Even then I’m usually the only one. Gets a ridiculous amount of attention everywhere you go!

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peakdecline@reddit

I'd personally find a Mustang or Camaro segment sports car more interesting. Less interest in something that starts north of $100K.

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dreaminphp@reddit

isnt that just a challenger?

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peakdecline@reddit

Well, the Challenger is dead. But even before that it was still 8"\~ longer than a Mustang or Camaro. And the current Charger 2-door is now 17"\~ longer than a Mustang.

I see this is a chance to make a real sports car or something closer to it like the Mustang/Camaro. There's definitely a gap in the Dodge lineup for it now.

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Low_Succotash5073@reddit

Viper has name recognition. Copperhead can be confused with a sunscreen brand.

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cpttucker126@reddit

The should really get a Challenger going instead and undercut the Mustang if anything two door sports car with a V8.

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bluizzo@reddit

Fun fact: Copperhead and the Viper had blinker fluid.

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kingofhan0@reddit

The poster car from my childhood. I hope is just as cool! Probably won't be but one can hope.

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CorgiLord408@reddit

Great day to be a Mopar guy

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KingMario05@reddit

Indeed. :)

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narwhal_breeder@reddit

“the hard points suggest that this range-topper is based on the Charger.”

Ehhhh that pretty much evaporated my hope of this being a hurricane SRT Baby Viper.

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Throttlechopper@reddit

The fact it’s based on the Charger ruins everything, let’s hope Stellantis can engineer some chassis dynamics into the platform.

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SacredWinner442@reddit

Stellantis is cooking

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AmNoSuperSand52@reddit

If they could only figure out how to make their cars go further than 1000 miles without actually cooking

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SacredWinner442@reddit

you drive a volkswagen. they should take your own advice.

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PurchaseStreet9991@reddit

they should take your own advice.

Prose to rival Shakespeare himself…

Inability to form sentences aside, you can both be correct; Stellantis is cooking, but they also make almost universally low quality vehicles

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_Thorshammer_@reddit

100%.

The new guy knows his shit.

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Eggith@reddit

So is this gonna be called the Copperhead or are they gonna have to change its name to the "SRT Sports Car"? again

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speedinsh1t@reddit

Whatever it is, I want to see it race in GT3

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leasthoodinthehood@reddit

Sounds like it's just a V8 charger with some extra scoops and vents.

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Crapitron@reddit

Nothing about this article suggests that, but I guess if you're willing to be this obtuse everything is a charger.

"This new Dakota is just a V8 charger with a bed."

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Tuxedo_Muffin@reddit

A chair is a shelf for your butt.

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Crapitron@reddit

No it isn't - it's a Charger with 4 stationary legs instead of wheels.

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Tuxedo_Muffin@reddit

I think you mean a Charger is a rolling shelf. Enough for 5 butts.

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Privateer_Lev_Arris@reddit

Get to the Chargah!!

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AmNoSuperSand52@reddit

“The body is long and low, with a sleek and aggressive two-door shape. The hood isn't as lengthy as that of a Viper, however, and the hard points suggest that this range-topper is based on the Charger.”

He’s not being obtuse, he just read past the first paragraph of the article

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stoned-autistic-dude@reddit

Oh no. I don’t want to be tempted by a Dodge.

Please, Dodge. Don’t fuck this up.

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89LSC@reddit

I always felt like a hemi/auto combo as a base viper so normies could drive it would have been a good idea

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_Thorshammer_@reddit

I think you're right.

Look at the traction both GM and Ford get selling a few low volume high dollar super cars (Dark Horse and ZR1X).

Those two sell a lot of 4 cylinder Mustangs and base(ish) spec Vette's.

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Repulsive-Club7866@reddit

Nothing on a Miata fighter yet?

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adotang@reddit

For exactly three seconds I read this as "Miata fighter jet" and imagined a Miata and a Viper (funnily enough, a nickname for the F-16) dogfighting over the Rockies.

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yobo9193@reddit

A Dodge roadster would be hilarious

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GTOdriver04@reddit

Lightweight, RWD, roadster with a V8?

Miata on crack and steroids.

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J_NonServiam@reddit

They would be wrapped around every tree around the dealership lol

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_Thorshammer_@reddit

Only dealerships near military bases.

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UmaThurmish@reddit

a dodge roadster would weigh 3800 pounds

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VMaxDood95@reddit

Would be cool but it wouldn’t be a “Miata fighter”
It would be $20k+ over the price of a Miata. Still would love to see it anyways haha

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AmNoSuperSand52@reddit

Idk how successful Stellantis would be at developing a brand new compact sports car platform and pricing it competitively to a $32k Miata

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CayenneHybridSE@reddit

They did make the Fiat 124 which was a reskinned Miata, so that’s probably as close as we will get for now

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LongjumpingLock5875@reddit (OP)

Car and Driver got a sneak peak that they aren't able to show yet, but they described the new sports car, and it sounds like it will use a V8: "Dodge didn't outright say what powers this new SRT trim, but hinted at it by saying "you saw what we did with Ram," referencing the return of the Hemi V-8 in the Ram 1500 pickup."

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TopHatTony11@reddit

An all aluminum V8 from Dodge? In the year of our lord 2026? Blasphemy!…

I really hope it is aluminum and not the iron block the rest of the lineup gets.

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_Thorshammer_@reddit

Let's be honest - if Dodge produced a big, loud, and nasty 2 seat convertible with the legal minimum safety aids and side pipes, would an iron block Hellcat under the hood really be a deal breaker?

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Throwaway_the_gr8@reddit

That particular bit was referencing the upcoming SRT trim for the Charger, not the Copperhead. Still cool though.

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Enough-Scientist1904@reddit

Since the Copperhead will be the top of the line model I guess its the successor to the Viper. I just hope the base model cost less than 80k.

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GVIrish@reddit

What year is it??? I am just floored that over a quarter century later they just up and decided to make the Copperhead.

Kinda disappointing if it's gonna be built off the Charger platform because in all likelihood it would probably be very heavy. But hopefully they'll be able deliver a compelling sports car at a not crazy price.

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Mojave_Idiot@reddit

Hopefully it gets the full range of engines offered in the rumble bee.