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To Top of PageAuburn Hills, MI -- It has its roots in a visceral back-to-the-basics, uniquely American sports car, the original Dodge Viper RT/10, but the 1996 Dodge Viper GTS Coupe reaches into a new, more sophisticated arena, offering more in the way of comfort and amenities than its Roadster sibling.
"From the beginning, developing the GTS Coupe was a more difficult task than the Roadster because the car evolved with a broader character," says Roy Sjoberg, Team Viper Executive Engineer.
For Team Viper the challenge was to make the GTS Coupe more refined, yet remain true to its original Viper character.
"The Roadster was designed for the aggressive, wind-in-the-hair driver. The GTS Coupe has the same capacity to exhilarate the senses, but in a more refined manner," said Sjoberg. "We were clearly looking to do more than just add a roof to the Viper. Our goal was to create the GTS in the mold of the world's premier Grand Touring cars."
While the GTS continues to retain the look of the original Viper Roadster, more than 90 percent of the car is new. To start, there's a new body, new interior and a modified V-10 engine with less weight and increased horsepower. But make no mistake -- while the Viper GTS Coupe "character" is more sophisticated, it can still make the heart race with its brute performance.
Horsepower in the GTS increased to 450 from 415 in the current roadster, and the torque is boosted 10 additional pound feet bringing it to 490 at 3700 rpm. A NACA duct design on the hood of the car force-feeds oxygen into the V-10's intake and E-type louvers above each of the front wheels prevent air pressure from building under the hood.
As a Coupe, the GTS is all-season and more "user-friendly" in varied weather conditions -- in cold temperatures and during precipitation to name two. Enclosing this Viper necessitated a new weatherstrip system for the doors and glass. Cooling the closed body also required a more powerful air conditioning system. Other engineering challenges included packaging dropped glass in the doors and designing an innovative electronic entry system.
For "openers" the GTS Coupe, like the Viper Roadster, has no traditional door handles. "Obviously, this was not a problem with the roadster because you could simply reach inside and open the door," explains Sandy Emerling, Manager of Body Development, "You can't do that with an enclosed Coupe." To maintain the clean lines of the door-handle-free Viper, the team devised a system where pressing a switch on the door frame activates a solenoid that unlatches the door. Door locks are controlled by a remote.
To improve the overall driving experience, the Viper team pioneered a unique adjustable pedal system that allows the driver to move the clutch, brake and accelerator pedals up to four inches closer by simply turning a knob mounted under the steering column. This manual system, coupled with a tilt steering wheel and seat that allows generous fore-and-aft adjustment, provides for an optimal driving position for a wide range of people.
The GTS' roof is made from a resin transfer molding process as are most of the body panels. The hood is made of sheet molding compound. The sweeping shape of the car resulted in improved aerodynamics, dropping the coefficient of drag to 0.39 from the Roadster's 0.50. With the enclosed cockpit, the GTS has about 12 percent more torsional rigidity than the Roadster.
Even with the addition of the roof, backlight and roll-up windows, the weight of the GTS is actually 60 pounds lighter than the Roadster. Team Viper's re-engineering of the frame, a lighter-weight aluminum suspension, new castings for the aluminum engine block and cylinder heads and new seats dropped GTS weight to 3345 pounds.
Sjoberg noted that the weight reduction makes the GTS more nimble in both cornering and straight-line performance. In terms of handling, the team felt the GTS had to be a little more neutral than the Roadster. The GTS spring rates, shock valving and anti-roll bar sizes have been recalibrated. "The goal was a little more built-in understeer," Sjoberg noted.
Other significant features that differentiate the GTS Coupe from the Roadster include: a rear storage compartment designed to stow a full-size Viper tire and increase cargo capacity; redesigned interior trim; dual airbags: a new instrument panel with revised gauge locations; and on the exterior: a racing-style fuel filler cover; a twin-bubble roof line that provides ample headroom; and one piece glass bonded hatch with defroster.
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