 Here are Chryslers finest...  Here are Chryslers finest hours for the 1970S and 1990s. When the Hemi E-body went away after 1971, we would have bet the farm that the musclecar era was over--forever. If someone said that 20 years later a rompin, stompin V10-powered supercar would emerge from the Dodge boys, the expected (and reasonable) reaction would be to send that person to the farm--the funny farm that is. Dont look now, but this very car appeared five years ago. |
 The Viper was a $70 million...  The Viper was a $70 million investment that Dodge Division General Manager Martin Levine thinks was money very well spent. In a September 1995 issue of Automotive News, Levine said, "Viper is our brand icon. If I had $70 million in ad money and spent it all in California, it could not have changed our image as much as Viper did. The Viper is desperately needed, even if it just sits on the dealer lots." Wed be happy to have one sit on our lot anytime. |
 Hazing the hides in the Viper...  Hazing the hides in the Viper is a no-brainer. But if you launch the car at much more than 1700 rpm, the tires go up in the same smoke as shown here. But even walking it off the line, low 13s are still no sweat. We ran a 13.1 at 113.2 mph. |
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 The Dodge Challenger body...  The Dodge Challenger body style was available with an optional SE trim package. Part of the deal was a smaller rear window that used a special piece to make up for the difference in size compared to the regular window. It also used a uniquely sized piece of glass. Another element of the package was the Special Edition trim and emblems on the interiors door panels. The SE was available on all Challengers in 1970. But Kenns Hemi SE is a rare one, as only 59 Hemi SE 1970 Challengers were built. Of those, this Plum Crazy example is one of just 22 four-speed cars. The other 37 had Torqeflite automatics. |
 The 15x7-inch Challenger wheels...  The 15x7-inch Challenger wheels and Goodyear F60-15 tires look just like the vintage items they are. At least the Hemi cars had 11-inch discs up front, otherwise youd be in big trouble when it came time to halt the 2270 pounds of front axle weight thats over them. Damn near another ton is over the rear tires. |
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 The Vipers 488ci V10...  The Vipers 488ci V10 now makes 415 horsepower, mostly due to its new-for-1996 exhaust system that eliminates the ungainly side pipes exiting just under the occupants ears. Compression is a mild 9.1:1, and most of the fun is over by about 5500 rpm. Between 1500 and 4000 rpm, the word is torque--heaped on like its been dumped from a B-1 bomber. While the1996 is available with red, black or white exterior colors, you can have the engine in any color you like, so long as its bright red. |
 And in this corner, Kenn Funks...  And in this corner, Kenn Funks factory-original 1970 Challenger SE represented the old school during our Mopar shootout. While we didnt wind the Elephant engine out in an attempt to dynamite it at every shift, we did get it leaning in the corners just a wee bit. The Goodyear Polyglas F60s are on the ragged edge here. Testing of these cars on the skidpad resulted in fairly representative numbers for the day. And on a good day, the Hemi Challenger, with about 57 percent of its 3900 pounds on the front wheels, might pull about 0.71g. The Viper? Well, it rearranged our innards with 0.96g of grip. That round goes to the Viper--hands down. |
 All Hemis in the 1970-1971...  All Hemis in the 1970-1971 E-body cars had a pair of Carter AFBs atop an aluminum intake. The compression was a mild-for-the-day 10.25:1. Just like the Vipers V10, low-end torque is beyond abundant. This car has the regular air cleaner that covers both carbs. Optional on Challengers was the shaker-hood setup in which the air-cleaner cover protruded through a hole in the hood. Only a handful of Challengers were so equipped. However, the shaker was standard on all Hemi Cudas for 1970 and 1971. |
 Interior space is tight in...  Interior space is tight in the Viper. The center console has the width of speed-limit-free Montana. Looking for amenities such as power windows (let alone roll-up ones), cruise control or plenty of storage space? Well, take a trip through the first three gears--and realize there’s still three more left--and you&8217ll get over it soon enough. No airbags are present, but they will be in the Viper GTS coupe. |
 Front wheels on the Viper...  Front wheels on the Viper are a generous 17x10-inch size. The whoa is courtesy of huge 13-inch vented disc brakes at all four corners. ABS is not offered on the Viper. |
 A huge air-cleaner box takes...  A huge air-cleaner box takes up a good part of the Viper’s underhood front end area. The mighty V10&8217s EFI system is fed air by no less than two throttle bodies, each with a 65mm diameter. They each flow 424 cfm of air for a total of 848. |
 The Challenger&8217s cabin...  The Challenger’s cabin has the space of Montana compared with the Viper. The requisite cues are all in place: pistol-grip shifter, flat seats, accordion cover for the steering column and the still-cool-looking three-spoke wheel. But we like the Viper wheel better. |
We are in a golden age for performance cars. This golden age of modern musclecars could be referred to as the "second coming of the era." The first, of course, was the musclecar era that spanned from about 1962 to what was the end of the era with the Chrysler Street Hemi in 1971. In the eyes of many (certainly Mopar fans), the Hemi-powered E-body cars for the '70 and '71 model years were the pinnacle of what a true musclecar is all about.
If you have any doubt about the theory of two golden ages for high-performance street cars, consider what was in between. After the Hemi Mopars, LS-6 Chevys and Cobra Jet Fords died in the early '70s, we were left with a vast wasteland of Milquetoast cars that did little to boil the blood of performance enthusiasts. For those of the Dodge persuasion, it's even more evident. In between the '71 Hemi Challenger (and its sister ship Hemi 'Cuda) and the '92 Viper, there was little in the way of absolute brute-force performance available off the showroom floor. The mid-'70s to early '80s were littered with landau-roofed, K-car New Yorkers, Volare wagons and little else from GM and Ford. In the dark ages of, say, around 1977, the Firebird Trans Am and Corvette were the only real performance-minded American cars.
These two eras of the golden age are likely best represented in the form of the '70 Hemi Challenger and the '96 Viper. We've gathered the two cars to illustrate a point: The first golden age of outrageous, factory-offered performance cars was great. But the second one is better. Consider what we've seen just since the beginning of the '90s alone. Six-speed, TPI 'Vettes and 5.0-liter Mustangs were just the start. But while GM and Ford were getting the new golden era off and running, the Mopar boys were noticeably absent in the melee. That changed, however, as the outlandish Viper made its debut for the '92 model year (the same year as the LT1 Corvette).
Originally making its splash in early 1989 as a pie-in-the-sky concept car, the Viper and "the New Dodge," much to their credit, changed everything. How so? Well, for starters, the touted King-of-the-hill ZR-1 Corvette was no longer BMOC (big man on campus). Here was a two-seat roadster with a V10 engine, six-speed trans and enough torque to give a GM Terex Titan dumptruck a run for its money in a tug-o-war. It was all wrapped in bodywork that's just too macho for its own good. ChryCo was no longer just part of the golden era, they had become the definers of it. It begs the question: How does Dodge's wildest current car compare with what some consider to be the wildest car of the older golden age, the Hemi E-body?
In the past, CC compared the Viper with a Cobra (March '92), but that was a Ford-powered car. We wanted to see how a new-and-improved '96 Viper stacked up against its proverbial corporate granddaddy, the Hemi Challenger. While a Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda is mechanically identical, we wanted a Dodge versus Dodge comparison, so Glendale, California, resident and Mopar nut Kenn Funk obliged us with his very original '70 Hemi Challenger SE.
The lore surrounding the '70-'71 Hemi E-body cars is the stuff of musclecar legends (as it is with Vipers today). Beginning with the '66 model year, Chrysler offered its 426-inch Street Hemi in a number of body styles, but a Hemi ponycar was not in the cards. That changed in 1970 as Dodge and Plymouth hit us with both barrels--a stunning new Challenger/Barracuda platform and the rip-roaring Hemi mill to go with it. The combination had the 454 LS-6 and 428 Cobra Jet guys waking up at night in a cold sweat.
The debut of the Hemi E-body made a take-no-prisoners statement in the November '69 issue of Car Craft, where a four-speed Hemi 'Cuda hammered out a 13.10-second blast at 107.1 mph. Eight other cars were tested, and only the LS-6 SS454 Chevelle kept up with a 13.12-second run at 107.0 mph. The other six cars (AMC Rebel 390, Ford Torino 429SCJ, Mercury Cougar Boss 429, Olds 442 W-30, Pontiac GTO Ram Air IV 400 and Challenger 440 Six-Pak) were more than a half-second slower. The 'Cuda had the requisite dual-quad 425hp Hemi engine, four-speed trans and Dana 60 rearend with mild 3.54:1 gears.
Quotes from stories in CC during the same time period make the Hemi ponycar even more incredible. The same November '69 story explained, "We were told that our test car was capable of 12.90s at 108-110 mph on a good track, but we found that it ran 13.10-13.18 with speeds of 106-107 mph." After a few months to let the dust settle, CC got its grimy mitts on another Hemi 'Cuda, this one an automatic with 4.10:1 gears. Christening the car as the official "Woodward Avenue Survival Kit" in the February '70 issue, it easily ran in the mid-13s at 106 mph. The car was run several times on its Goodyear Polyglas F60-15 hockey pucks set at 32 psi. The three quickest runs were a 13.64, 13.61 and 13.53--all at 106 mph. On top of that, "Total weight with a three-quarters-full tank was a heart-sickening 3930 pounds." Basically, Hemi 'Cudas and Challengers were the quickest musclecars you could buy off the showroom floor in 1970.
They didn't drive too badly, either--for their day. Kenn Funk's super-original Challenger SE felt pretty good on the street, but only as good as the technology of a 25-year-old tire design would allow. Put a set of modern radial tires on the car and the difference would be like night and day. But you'd still have to take the sour pill of a car that, according to the February '70 CC story, got 7-9 mpg.
Just that alone makes the Viper's EPA highway rating of 21 mpg look like the eighth wonder of the world. While no Geo Metro, the Viper's 12-mpg city rating proves that it was never meant to be one in the first place. It was meant to be, however, brutally quick. And on our test day at Pomona Raceway, the silver-striped black '96 ran a 13.11 at a screaming 113.2 mph. In deference to those who'd rather walk than drive a modern-tech '90s car, the Viper does have the advantage of huge P335/35ZR17 Michelin Pilot SX tires out back.
Getting to the engine and its components, '96 brings about more change--for the better. The rear halfshafts have been enlarged to handle more power. And more power there is, as the new under-the-car exhaust system bumps the 8.0-liter V10's output from 400 horsepower to 415 horsepower at 5200 rpm. The new exhaust setup also gets rid of the milk-truck sound under full wail. Now you only get it at idle. For torque, there's one lb-ft at 3600 rpm for each of the engine's 488 cubes. Clutch and rearend pieces have also been made beefier. But why all the changes? Mainly because the new equipment will be found on the soon-to-be-released Viper GTS coupe.
But consider the Viper's numerous upgrades for the '96 model year, and the gap widens. Basically unchanged from '92-'95, the '96 car has been put on a weight-saving program that puts a two-ton Hemi E-body to shame. The '96 Viper's frame is lighter by 60 pounds and also has a 20-percent improvement in torsional stiffness over the '95. In addition, the '96s get cast-aluminum A-arms, replacing the welded tubular versions. Along with hollow antisway bars and slightly lighter (and better-looking) wheels, unsprung weight is reduced by about 15 pounds--at each corner. Other suspension updates include improved geometry at the rear and new locations for the shock attachments, which move them closer to the lower ball joints for better control of slight suspension movements.
So how does the Viper stack up against the time-honored Hemi car? We didn't actually hammer the hell out of Kenn's Challenger specifically, considering the car is probably worth more than the new Viper. But after a few blasts around the Pomona raceway, it's safe to say that its 425hp street Hemi does a commendable job at mimicking the V10's feeling of earth-moving torque. In fact, the Hemi engine is actually rated with an extra two lbs-ft of torque (490 at 4000 rpm), as long as you remember that's a gross rating as compared with the Viper's SAE net figures.
Some may call it crazy to compare a new car that has huge 13-inch disc brakes, modern-tech engine control, six forward gears and nearly 1g road-holding capability to an old car that has lousy drum brakes at the back, two obsolete carburetors, four forward gears (with no overdrive) and about 0.70g of skidpad grip. However, both cars are close because they both ran in the low 13s during their respective days in the limelight. In that department, consider it a wash. But in the end, both of these legends (old and new) are winners because they truly represent not just one, but two golden ages for all-out performance cars we're not likely to see again. Let's just hope this second golden age never ends.