The replacement load-lugger...
The replacement load-lugger will appear at September"s Frankfurt Motor Show and go on sale soon after. It follows on from the Passat saloon - officially seen already, but set to make its public debut at March"s Geneva event.
When we told you about...
When we told you about the new McLaren-powered Viper in Issue 914, we didn’t have any pictures of the Dodge-y motor. But now we do!
Take a look at the first shots of the McLaren-developed Dodge supercar, which our spy photographers caught as engineers assessed a development model in America. The McViper sounds like a match made in heaven for supercar fans, with its combination of US muscle and British engineering.
Work is clearly at an advanced stage. Inspired by a one-off model from US tuner ASC, the uprated Viper was previewed as the Diamondback concept at the Detroit Motor Show in January. It featured carbon fibre bodywork to reduce weight, as well as a tweaked V10 producing 615bhp.
As our pictures show, engineers are clearly having problems keeping the roadster’s giant powerplant cool - a problem highlighted by the Diamondback concept. Its featherweight bonnet featured numerous air vents to ensure temperatures remain under control, and so does this model. As well as the large centre vent, there are six further holes.
In production trim, the McLaren- tuned Viper is expected to boast an incredible 650bhp. Combined with its lightweight construction, that should be enough to go from 0-60mph in only 3.5 seconds. Although there’s no official word on the project, a spokesman for Dodge’s parent firm Chrysler confirmed that McLaren is a supplier to the existing Viper SRT-10 programme. However, the Street and Racing Tech-nology group’s current offering will be eclipsed by the flagship. The ÷£69,990 SRT-10 has a 500bhp 8.3-litre engine and a six-speed manual gearbox, developed with the aid of McLaren. The Formula One expert could also help with changes to the suspension of the more powerful variant, to cope with the increased performance.