Hellcat Redeye-Swapped Viper Drag Races “Stock” 920 HP Viper GTC, It’s Domination Time

Warning: you may have to lay on a couch and face the “how does that make you feel” question by the time you’re done with this drag race. And it may be a bit confusing—do you love or hate the world’s first Hellcat Redeye-swapped Viper, a project backed by Dodge itself?

Back in 2017 when Dodge sent the (way less expensive) Viper to haunt Italian exotics in supercar heaven, we didn’t really go for the argument that it all had to do with the American supercar not being able to fit curtain airbags. It seems way more plausible that in the ever-greener car industry, there was no room for two flagship offerings, the Viper and the Hellcat brothers.

So when the crew over at the Throtl YouTube channel stuffed a Gen II Viper with a Hellcat Redeye and a Tremec T56 six-speed manual offered by Dodge back in the summer, we were startled. Then the Franken-Mopar started winning races at the 2022 Roadkill Nights Dodge Direct Connection Grudge Match (it made it to the final) and somehow found its way into our hearts. Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis even talked to the said crew about a potential Direct Connection official Hellcat swap kit for the Viper, but no fresh info on that possibility has surfaced since.

However, those were 600 feet, arm drop runs with zero timing, so we had no idea how fast this thing really was. Fortunately, Hoonigan’s latest This vs That video is here to help. And we get to see the possessed Gen II battling a Gen V that’s supposed to make cops believe it’s stock.

Are 1,000 feet enough to establish the more venomous creature? Certainly!

The Gen V comes from Texas, which has some of the most permissive car modding legislation in the US, but stuff like a straight pipe is still off limits.

Regardless, the factory 8.4-liter V10 is mostly untouched. So, how did the engine go from 645 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque at the crank to a high school dyno-proven 920 hp and 1,050 lbs at the wheels? For the record, that means the Dodge now sports over a thousand ponies at the crank! And no, there’s no mention of mods for the factory six-speed manual.

The answer comes from a generous 300 shot of nitrous, and we honestly hope the humorous activation button of the kit will prevent the connecting rods from fulfilling its heaven-related prophecy. This is a 2016 Viper GTC, basically the equivalent of the current Hellcat Jailbreak. So, instead of the usual a la carte range, buyers could customize their spec. As such, this example seems to be a GTS sporting multiple bits from the ludicrous ACR track weapon, such as the seats and, more importantly, the 335/30R18 rear tires.

Speaking of rubber, the somewhat awkward stance of the throtl’s Hellcat-animated Gen II Viper is there to ensure maximum grip at the rear. Now, many Hellcat owners have found out that drag radials don’t work well on unprepped surfaces, but throtl put this kind of tires on the car (they’re 15×10.5 Mickey Thomspons).

And with the supercharged 6.2L HEMI being pumped up to around 850 hp via custom injectors and a supercharger pulley, those MTs were all throtl’s Rickie Fernandez had when trying to keep the car straight in the fight against the newer V10 Viper, which also happens to be some 150 lbs lighter.

Remember, kids, back in 2001 when this second-gen example was built, the Viper had only recently received ABS, so we can’t even discuss traction control. And seeing Rickie almost drifting the thing throughout the races against the nitrous-fed Gen V will remind everybody why the Viper is an ode to the widow-making Shelby Cobra story that kicked off in the 1960s.

The venomous Dodges duked it out on three occasions, all of them involving standing starts, as the biting nature of the Hellcat-swapped example meant a rolling start was out of the question.

No, these were not quarter-mile (1,320 feet) runs. But, even while trying to avoid spoilers, we can tell you that the snake clearly dominated the day. We’re not sure how much of that was down to the tires, but this is one brawl we’ll never forget.

COMMENTS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

RELATED