A Closer Look at the 2013 SRT Viper Aero and Mopar's Other SEMA Concepts
Mopar's Eight SEMA Concepts Visit SoCal
The SEMA show is a great place to check out hundreds of concept cars in one place, but it's not always so good if you want to get up close and personal with the cars. That's a shame for companies like Chrysler's aftermarket arm, Mopar, which celebrated its 75th anniversary this year with over 25 SEMA concepts. To give journalists a better look, Mopar brought eight of its favorite concepts, including the 2013 SRT Viper Aero and the Jeep Wrangler Sand Trooper, to El Segundo.
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The 2013SRT Viper Aero looks even more gorgeous outside of the dim and dark artificial lighting of the SEMA show floor. The color and its curves just pop out at you, really making it the kind of car you can stare at for hours and never get bored.
Though it hasn't entered production yet, Mopar lightly modified the Viper Aero with Mopar's aero kit, which includes a carbon fiber front splitter and ducktail rear spoiler. The modifications are good for 300 pounds of down force at 150 mph and 500 pounds of down force at V-Max. The Viper Aero also benefited from a new carbon fiber "X-Brace" under the hood. The new carbon fiber piece weighs half as much as the aluminum piece it replaces, and is also stiffens up the front end. Completing the package, the Viper Aero had a coil over suspension kit, racing buckets with five-point harnesses, and a new carbon fiber trim piece between the driver and passenger seats that not only acts as a storage cubby, but also includes a GoPro mount.
Mopar says most parts of the Viper's factory-backed modifications will be available soon after the 2013 Viper's launch. In the works for the SRT Viper's future are headers and a full exhaust kit. Mopar wouldn't confirm or deny a forced-induction kit being in development, but did say that the 2013 Viper's engine architecture makes doing so "easier."
Though Mopar's PR reps wouldn't let us take the Viper out for a spin, the V-10 poweredDodge ChargerJuicedwas a different story.
Purely a concept, the Charger Juiced sports Mopar's crate 8.4-liter V-10 under the hood, good for a whopping 650 hp. That's not even the best part; Mopar managed to fit the Viper V-10 to the Dodge Challenger's six-speed manual transmission - all the stories you've been told about a manual transmission not fitting into a Charger is pure hogwash. Though it's in need of a good tune (the Charger Juiced's builder told us the concept was loaded on a truck bound for Vegas the moment it was ready) there's something just epic about driving a Charger powered by a loud, raucous V-10 engine. It fits the evil demeanor of the car, and the fact that you're doing the shifting yourself makes everything better. The chances of production are slim to none, but a factory Dodge Charger SRT10 would officially be the world's coolest family car.
The Jeep WranglerUnlimited Sand Trooperis perhaps a bit more realistic than our V-10 Charger fantasies. Built to celebrate Mopar's new Jeep Wrangler-dedicated off-road arm, the Wrangler Sand Trooper used countless parts from the Mopar catalog. Some of the standout pieces include the military-grade portal axles that debuted on the Jeep FC Concept (which are good for a 5-inch liftwithouta lift kit), 42-inch tires, Fox Racing shocks, and of course Mopar's crate Hemi 5.7-liter V-8 paired to a five-speed auto, good for 375 hp and 410 lb-ft of torque. The Sand Trooper also included quite a few prototype pieces, like the eight-lug bead lock wheels, Cobra CB radio, and front and rear bumpers. Mopar told me that all the prototype pieces are being considered for production.
Though still obviously a work in progress, the Wrangler Sand Trooper was much more drivable than the Charger Juiced. The Hemi makes all the right noises and gets the Sand Trooper motoring down the road with next to no effort. The Jeep may not need it, but a Hemi-powered Wrangler from the factory would be pretty great. With no off-road obstacles to test out the Wrangler Sand Trooper's off-road prowess, it took every ounce of self-control to resist driving up and over the cars parallel parked up and down the street during our brief spin.
Mopar's 75th Anniversary celebrations may be coming to a close, but if vehicles like the Viper Aero, Charger Juiced, and Wrangler Sand Trooper preview what we can except from Mopar in the future, its future looks bright.
I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.
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