Dodge Viper Race Car Location Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway, Virginia 2018

The styling doesn’t immediately evoke a Corvette to our eyes. By shifting the engine behind the driver, the design no longer needs the classic long hood and short rear deck proportions. Instead, the nose is low, and there are small front overhangs. A large central intake dominates the fascia, and ducts in the hood would direct airflow to other vital areas.

In profile, the huge, pointed intakes immediately catch the eye. They look capable of sending plenty of cool air to the mid-mounted engine. Compared to the road car’s test mules, the pieces on the racer appear significantly larger.

The large wing that perches on the tail is the most distinct element at the back. There’s also a big rear diffuser for cleaning up the underbody airflow and improving performance at the track.

The powertrain for the road-going C8 Corvette remains a mystery, which leaves the engine motivating the race car a conundrum, too. The existing C7.R packs a 5.5-liter V8. Rumors the street-legal version could be available with as many as three engines: a 460-horsepower (343-kilowatt) 6.2-liter V8, 650-hp (485-kW) 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8, and a 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 with as much as 850 hp (634 kW).

At first glance of this rendering that’s making its way around the internet, we weren’t sure what the heck we were looking at. Then it became apparent that it’s supposed to be a mid-engine version of the Dodge Viper, and we had to go take a breather. It looks like Lamborghini more than anything from Dodge, but then we got to thinking, is this what a mid-engine Viper would look like? And would such a thing make any sense at all?

The initial appeal of the Dodge Viper to the world is that it was a car unlike anything anyone had ever seen. It was exaggerated and impractical, the overdone version of the Corvette. While the car was designed with the idea that it would be somewhat of a novelty, it would go on to be a staple in the world of speed in the years to come. Obviously, as the popularity of the Viper fell and FCA failed to see the need for the Viper, the American made supercar had worn out its welcome.

But what if the Viper was able to get back to its roots as an exaggerated car that upstaged the Corvette? Since the Corvette has moved into the mid-engine arena, it would also have to be a mid-engine car, plus some extra, to achieve that. This rending might be pretty close to what something like that would look like.

Rain Prisk, the person behind the rendering wanted to share it, but did admit ”The ugliest thing I have ever done. I feel ashamed,” and “It began as a Viper, didn’t use any parts from other cars. It’s just a mess,”. However, we’re glad that he did post it, because it’s sparking some interesting conversation.

The idea for the mid-engine C8 Corvette looks like a full-blown exotic. It almost seems like it’s gone a little too far to be sold on the American market. After all, the Corvette has some exotic flare, but its recognizably a Chevy Corvette. Regardless, this is nothing more than a conversation piece. It’s unlikely that there’s a Viper revival in the works now that the Challenger lineup has proven itself to be a the tractor beam model in the Mopar world. Not to mention, Mopar seems pretty dead set on Hellcat-ing all of the things, so they’re got their handful in the meantime.

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Amazon will say it doesn’t fit the C7 Corvette but it does I put them on my car! Used the links below for perfect match and part number.