Specialist race engineering company Prodrive, the force behind the Subaru World Rally Championship team and the management brain behind the BAR Honda F1 team, will soon be getting Dodge Vipers ready for European roads.
The Banbury-based company will carry out the engineering work necessary for the Viper SRT-10 to meet European road regulations - some 55 modifications. The Viper last sold in Europe in 2001.
DaimlerChrysler plans to sell hundreds of the new Viper in Europe every year, including the UK where it will be available in left-hand-drive only unfortunately.
Prodrive will carry out the work on the 8.3-litre V10-engined two-seater sports car at a special facility in Zeebrugge, the European import centre for the car.
The Viper, which will be available from the end of this year, is part of a new model offensive from Chrysler Jeep in the UK, which will also see the arrival of the huge Chrysler 300C saloon at the luxury end of the range.
The 300C is powered by an-equally massive 5.7-litre V8 engine which features 'cylinder deactivation', a system that shuts down four of the cylinders when they are not required.
It will be introduced around October next year at what Chrysler Jeep describes as a "very competitive" price in the luxury segment.
Interchange News Agency - 25 Jul 2004