Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR Recaptures Lap Record at Laguna Seca
Street-le
Chris Winkler, SRT vehicle dynamics engineer stands next to the
street-legal 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR that he drove to new lap record
of 1:33.915 at the Laguna Seca raceway in Monterey, Calif.
gal, Production Supercar Sets New Mark
Monterey, Calif., Nov 24, 2009
- The Street and Racing Technology (SRT) team from Chrysler Group LLC
arrived at Laguna Seca raceway today on a mission – to recapture the
production car lap record at the world-renowned road course in
Monterey, Calif.
Mission accomplished.
Chris Winkler, an SRT vehicle dynamics engineer piloted a black and
red 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR (American Club Racer) to a lap record of
1:33.915 as recorded by Motech in-vehicle data recorder (1:33.944 - as
unofficially recorded by trackside clock) around the 2.238-mile,
11-turn course, shattering the previous lap record by more than 1.1
seconds.
“It was definitely exciting but a somewhat uneventful lap overall
from behind the steering wheel,” said Winkler, who is still learning
the intricate details of Laguna Seca raceway, having spent only one
other session on the course. “The Dodge Viper ACR has amazing power and
handles like a dream, so following my first practice here last month, I
came away pretty confident that we’d be able to set a new record.”
Despite the difficult economy, businesses and maufacturers from around the world put their products on display, and SEMA 2009 showed no sign of waning. Everything to customize and distinguish your Dodge is available. If you have a truck or car the latest wheels, interiors, lights and electronics are on display.
Many of the vendors supply products to your local aftermarket installer as well as direct to the do-it-yourself enthusiast.
Flat paint jobs are the new black. Whether you are a big fan of flat paint or just consider it a fad, the customized display cars used this finish. Black, grey, red, blue and white highlighted a wide range of Dodge, Chevrolet and Import rides.
We put up dozens of pictures in the gallery from the SEMA 2009 show, including a couple fairly exciting mods. To see them, click on Photos - SEMA 2009
Many of our supporting vendors are on site and continue to support both the Classic Dodge cars as well as the new models.
Compared to the 2008 show, a few of the really big booths may have been cut back a bit, but there seems to be twice as many new smaller niche companies in smaller booths who have lined up to take their place. After just a couple of days, my feet are aching, which is a good sign.
We have received news that U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will provide $4 billion of initial funding to Chrysler LLC from the TARP (Troubled Assets Relief Program) as a loan to help bridge the current financial crisis. We appreciate the Administration’s confidence in Chrysler.
As outlined in our submission to Congress, we intend to be accountable for this loan, including meeting the specific requirements set forth by the government, and will continue to implement our plan for long-term viability. The receipt of this loan means Chrysler can continue to pursue its vision to build the fuel-efficient, high-quality cars and trucks people want to buy, will enjoy driving and will want to buy again.
For Chrysler to succeed in its mission to return to profitability, we need the continued support of our many business partners. Terms associated with the bridge loan include Chrysler’s commitment to work with key constituents – including our owners, lenders, suppliers, dealers, management and employees – to identify and achieve the cost-savings concessions we need to build a long-term viable enterprise. These concessions discussions will happen quickly, as a full governmental review and approval of our plan is expected by March 31, 2009.
While the
world has turned itself upside down and inside out the hard working
underpaid staff (looking quite skeletal) of DODGE ENTHUSIAST has been
working for free and combing the countryside for bursts of
enthusiasm at DODGE car and truck gatherings.
There is a lot
of good to report and there is also a whole lot of bad happening to some really
good people.
First it was
the gas crunch (hit me right in the back side in my 3/4 ton pickup) and
then...well a world wide recession (shssssh guess we are still not allowed to
call it what it is WAKE UP WASHINGTON!!!!!!) and next thing you know the daily
news is all about the demise of the BIG 3 (well in my esteem it would be OK if
2 out of the 3 took a dive but hey I guess that is not too cool eh?).
Things are
tough in the car biz ...including small car mags... the DETROIT crash has more
than trickle down to us at DE.... but after shooting enough pics and
pulling enough stories together to fit into 10 mags the folks here
decided to regroup and save a few trees, a lot of bucks we don't
have and polish off this web site and give you guys some of
the stories we have been working on for the magazine.
We are all
pitching for DODGE to catch a break in DC (if they can bail out the Wall Street
thugs why not a decent American car company). If you feel the same give a shout
out to somebody.... I personally wrote a bunch ofPoliticians,Fox News and
Tina Fey from Saturday Night Live (well the later was hoping for a
date...thought she looked hot as Sarah Palin).
Tune in to
this site for my weekly commentary on non moldy subjects (I am about 100 years
younger than Andy Rooney ) . I call it "STUFF ON MY FACE"
(until the editors clean it up and call it something else). I will also have a
new feature each week about some DODGE event, DODGE person, Tech, Install,
unabashed greedy article about free stuff a vendor gave me or interview
with a hot SEMA model.
Maybe
somewhere down the road we can have contests like where you guess which
substance I am abusing when writing my middle of the night columns!
The dude just can't abide by driving a Toyota RAM or Honda Charger...so
lets keep the force behind the suits in Michigan.
Less than a year old and Dodge Enthusiast Magazine has been invited to three of the biggest MOPAR events of the Summer, two in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and one in Canada!
On June 22nd the Old School Mopars (Cowtown and Dallas Mopars) meet the New School Mopars (DFW LX) in Arlington Texas. Details at www.dfwlx.com. UPDATE: This was a GREAT EVENT! We will have pictures in the next issue of Dodge Enthusiast.
On August 16 & 17 the largest MOPAR event in Canada will take place in New Hamburg Ontario. Details at www.moparfest.com.
On August 28 & 29 (Labor Day Weekend), the Dallas Mopar Club will be hosting their 24th Annual all mopar car show. Details at www.dallasmoparclub.com.
Nearly 2000 cars will be lined up at these three events and every one of them will get a copy of Dodge Enthusiast! We are proud to be a part of these great events.
DODGE Enthusiast is NOW available on newsstands all over the US and Canada!
Watch for features on these events in the FALL issue of Dodge Enthusiast!
In the future, the online and print editions of the magazine will be developed side-by-side, so members will have a choice of how they want to read the magazine.
SPECIAL ONLINE FEATURES: For a limited amount of time, the online edition of the magazine will be availabe for preview to all registered users (registration is free). The online edition of our magazine looks and works exactly like a print magazine, but it is completely interactive, allowing you to click from topic to topic within the magazine, and even click to off-site links (including advertisers, product reviews, and other information mentioned in the articles).
PRINT ISSUE: In the future, PAID SUBSCRIBERS will receive the printed edition in the mail and will have access to all archived online editions via this website. If you subscribed via the mail and would like to access the online editions, please register for the site, and then use the CONTACT US form to request access to the online edition.
What has muscle cars fans
squealing like teenage girls at a Hannah Montana concert?
Try the all-new 2008 Dodge
Challenger SRT8®. Just in the
first DAY of orders, more than 4,300 people plunked down a deposit
for the American muscle coupe. And more than 6,000 have made
deposits with dealers since orders opened on Monday, months before
the limited-edition Challenger SRT8 goes into production.
“This is
unprecedented,” said Mark Mallie, Challenger Brand Manager
– Dodge Marketing. “Customers were actually coming to
us and pushing us, so we thought this was a good time to take
pre-sale orders.”
We were delighted to introduce the premier issue of Dodge Enthusiast Magazine at the 2007 SEMA show. Thousands of copies of our innaugural issue were distributed by the "Mopar Girls" at the largest SEMA show ever, attended by more than 100,000 automotive aftermarket industry participants.
You can check out dozens of SEMA cars and trucks in our photo gallery, and help us choose your favorite modifed Dodge at the show. At this year's event, our editors scoured the show, both inside and out, snapping hundreds of pictures and taking notes, looking for the coolest new aftermarket products and modifications that enthusiasts and vendors are demonstrating on Dodge vehicles.
The SEMA show was held October 28 to November 2nd in Las Vegas, and more than 2000 new aftermarket products were introduced at this year's event. Early next year, Dodge Enthusiast will be giving awards for the best Dodge vehicle treatments and for the best new aftermarket products for both trucks and cars, and SEMA introduced us to some real innovators.
The Mopar Girls distributed Dodge Enthusiast magaine at both ends of Mopar Alley, which was a Mopar car show within SEMA, featuring both collectible cars, current models, and even a couple of concept cars. They alley connected the North and Central halls at the Las Vegas convention center. Mopar girls also distributed the magazine at the Mopar booth inside the central hall.
Do you have a favorite aftermarket product or vehicle created in 2007? If so, please let us know in the forums.
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