Dodge Viper SRT10, 2008

The new 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 boasts more of what performance aficionados crave: kick-in-the-pants, throw-back-in-the-seat power, combined with benchmark braking, world-class ride and handling, a race-inspired interior and bold exterior styling. While every SRT vehicle offers balanced and overall performance, the heart and soul of the new 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 for sure is its standout powertrain. For 2008, SRT ups the ante with a new, 8.4-liter aluminum V-10 engine that produces an astounding 600 horsepower and 560 lb-ft of torque.

Standout Powertrain
Working with specialists from McLaren Performance Technologies and Ricardo, Inc., SRT engineers began by following the racer’s basic formula for more power: bigger displacement, more efficient breathing and higher engine speed.

The new Dodge Viper SRT10’s deep-skirted V-10 aluminum engine block was revised for a 1-millimeter larger bore, raising the displacement to 8.4 liters from 8.3 liters. The two-piece intake manifold combines a cast aluminum lower with smooth runners for better air flow, bolted to a die-cast aluminum upper plenum. A revised air-cleaner box with a low-restriction filter sends air through a dual electronic throttle control into the intake module.

Spent gases exit through tubular air-gap headers, which not only improve exhaust flow, but also ensure quick catalyst light-off for improved emission control. The headers’ stamped stainless-steel outer shell acts as a thermal heat shield for the individual stainless-steel runners that contribute to better flow separation and exhaust tuning.

World-class Ride and Handling
The ride and handling of the 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 is defined by a race-bred, fully independent, four-wheel suspension featuring lightweight, high-performance aluminum control arms and knuckles, damped by lightweight coil-over shock absorbers.

Where the power goes right to the road, SRT engineers retained the tried-and-true Dana M44-4 rear axle and outfitted it with a new GKN Visco-Lok speed-sensing limited-slip differential for improved traction.

The Dodge Viper SRT10 rides on polished, forged aluminum, 18 x 10-inch front and 19 x 13-inch rear wheels now available in three styles: the five-spoke, the H-spoke and the all-new Razor wheel with five U-shaped spokes. The wheels are clad in Michelin® Pilot® Sport PS2 tires. The four-groove tread-design tires provide maximum grip, reduced road noise and superior handling in both wet and dry conditions.

Bold Exterior Styling
The 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 remains available in two body styles – Roadster and Coupe. Both feature a dramatic new hood with a larger, more efficient hood scoop for air induction and larger, functional hood louvers to facilitate a greater cooling effect for the more powerful 8.4-liter, 600-horsepower V-10 engine underneath.

The Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe’s hard top with its “double bubble” styling makes it even more torsionally stiff than the Roadster. The 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe offers increased downforce and high-speed stability with its sloping roofline and deck-lid spoiler. Plus, the Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe has an additional 6.25 cubic feet of trunk space than the Viper SRT10 Roadster, for a total of 14.65 cubic feet. The roof and headliner structure offer more room to accommodate a safety cage, while maintaining as much headroom as possible.

Race-inspired Interior Design
The 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 cockpit retains its characteristic red push-button starter and performance-oriented, highly functional instrument panel with center-mounted tachometer and 220-mph speedometer. The new 2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 will arrive in Dodge showrooms in North America this summer with a new level of customization options, including five new exterior colors, four new interior color combinations and a new wheel design.

Grenade USA's 2004 Mazda RX-8

Naturally then, besides some driver skill (actually, quite a bit), a proper drift machine, which happens to match most of the characteristics of a good (RWD) sports car, is a must for proper sideways driving. Enter Mazda. With legendary sports cars like the Mazda Miata MX-5 and the Mazda RX-7 in its stable, Mazdas have been popular choices for Japanese drifters since the beginning. And now, even the four-seat, four-door Mazda RX-8 sports car is about to take the international drift stage. This month's Meet The Tuner feature, the Grenade Mazda RX-8, is slated for competition in the top North American drift series, Formula D, at the beginning of the 2006 season. A brainchild of Ken Kinoshita, a former Mazda motorsports manager who is currently an executive with The Great Co. (the Japanese parent company of Grenade USA- an aftermarket performance company that's currently making a U.S. entrance), the Mazda RX-8 won't be making headlines or carving wicked arcs just on its own merits - a legendary surname will be occupying the driver's seat when the RX-8 burns its first set of rubber.

Rod Millen is a name that few enthusiasts are not familiar with. The brother of another racing legend, Steve Millen, Rod created his legend in a 30+ year career in motorsports filled with rally, road, and off-road racing titles on two continents. The native Kiwi first got the racing bug in the 1970s and earned three consecutive New Zealand rally championships before he came to the U.S. to challenge America's best. While he may be best known for his record climbs up 14,110 ft. high Pikes Peak in 1,000 hp cars (he still owns the absolute fastest Pikes Peak climb record of 10 minutes, 4 seconds), Millen has also built a relationship with Mazda fans that goes back to his earliest U.S. rally days. In the late 70s, Millen campaigned factory-backed first generation Mazda RX-7s in rally competition to great success. Kinoshita made the easy connection to reunite Mazda and Millen when his drift project was born. While the fact that a rally legend such as Millen entering top drifting competition behind the wheel of a Mazda RX-8 is enough to stoke white hot fires in the hearts of any Mazda fan, when you throw into the mix the not so coincidental fact that Rod's son, Rhys Millen, is the current Formula Drift series champion, you have the makings of a spectacular and unique rivalry set to take place only a few months from now. Of course despite the all star cast of the Grenade Mazda RX-8 drift team, the car itself deserves its own spot light.

The RX-8 started out just as any ordinary production line RX-8. Shipped to RMR (Rhys Millen Racing) Products, the Renesis-powered sports car was stripped to bare metal promptly. RMR crafted a special cage that had dual roles of protection and chassis stiffening to meet the demands of top drift competition. Of all the pieces of the original well-appointed RX-8 interior, only the factory shift knob, e-brake handle, and dash (only the top portion) is reused. Even factory gauges are deleted in favor of a lighter, single Autometer Phantom tachometer. A pair of Sparco Pro 2000 competition seats and safety harnesses was added along with other matching Sparco driving accessories, including the steering wheel and pedal set. To contrast the almost plain, all business interior, the exterior of the Grenade Mazda RX-8 is used to showcase some of the latest, expressive Grenade performance products. The Grenade 4-piece body kit adds an aggressive edge to the RX-8's new-age shape and the resulting attitude adjustment is perfect for filling competitor's mirrors during tandem drifting runs. A Grenade carbon fiber hood also lends its help in creating the new image and also aids in ventilating the engine bay through several artfully crafted vents and scoops. A drift-spec adjustable carbon fiber rear spoiler sits high on the RX-8's trunklid and helps in creating downforce vital in high-speed drift control. Bronze GT-spec Grenade 18" six-spoke wheels wrapped with Yokohama 255/40 (front) and 255/35 (rear) rubber fill the carved wheel wells of the RX-8 and complete the exterior transformation.

While a factory spec RX-8 is probably driftable as is, competing against racers with 500-600 hp entries requires an equal attitude adjustment in the RX-8's hood compartment. To answer the challenge, Great shipped a fully-built turbocharged 13B (1.3 L two rotor) rotary engine from its Yokohama, Japan facility. The 13B is boosted with a huge HKS GT3040 turbine to make 400 hp - which combined with its light weight and inherently balanced structure, will be more than enough to compete with even higher horsepower competitors. The turbo system rids itself of extra boost between shifts through a SARD J Type wastegate mounted on a Great Co. exhaust manifold. Charge air is cooled via a horizontally mounted Blitz Type C intercooler and is then mixed with fuel courtesy of four SARD 850CC fuel injectors. Everything is then placed under the watchful electronic eye of an APEX-I Power FC engine management system. The job of managing physical power transmission though is relegated between an Ogura clutch, a stock Mazda 5-spd transmission, and a stock Mazda diff modified with a KAAZ limited slip differential. Beefing up the power train of a drift car without modifications to the suspension is akin to strapping a rocket pack to an ice skater, so Japanese suspension expert JIC Magic was enlisted to provide a custom solution. The JIC coilovers are mated with equally exquisite JIC lower tie bars, trailing arms and suspension rods for a fully adjustable suspension ready to meet the unique demands of any drift course.

To gauge an idea of the expected impact this RX-8 will make in the drift scene, you only have to note that the Grenade RX-8 has already been featured in Drifting Magazine and RX-7 Magazine and honored at events like the annual SevenStock gathering before it has even turned a wheel in competition. With Rod Millen in the driver's seat, an RMR-prepped chassis, and backing from Mazda, Yokohama, and JIC, the Grenade Mazda RX-8 is one drift-spec Mazda that is ready to, well… explode onto the drift scene.