As soon as the new SRT Viper was introduced at this year’s New York Auto Show, SRT head Ralph Gilles announced the car was going racing, too, and would debut before the end of the 2012 season. Calling that ambitious is an understatement, since it generally takes months of sorting, testing and development to go from production car to production-based race car.
As this video shows, SRT hasn’t been wasting a second of time since the New York Auto Show. In the words of Beth Paretta, director of marketing and operations for the SRT brand and motorsports, “The first on-track test of the new SRT Viper GTS-R went extremely well. Even after all the hard work by the team, it’s still incredible how fast everything has come together in the development process.”
Riley Technologies has been doing the development work on the racing Viper, and even in initial testing the car has exceeded expectations. That’s not to say the program is ready for prime time just yet, as several more track development sessions are planned prior to the Viper GTS-R’s racing debut. The first test proved that all systems worked as intended, but now comes the difficult steps of adding speed and ensuring the durability needed for racing.
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
