If you haven’t heard the news, Dodge has announced the end of the Viper. Since it won’t return in the near future, Pennzoil has decided to give it a proper farewell. In a new series of YouTube videos, “The Last Viper” showcases the abilities of the 2017 Viper ACR. In an opening scene reminiscent of Miami Vice, shady figures count a load of cash in a derelict warehouse. Somewhere a wealthy Viper connoisseur is missing his yellow car and hires a professional to get it back. Crockett and Tubbs would not be able to catch the mean ACR as it tears across the port and makes for the mainland.
In a series of high-speed action shots, the masked wheel man drifts and jumps the car while it blasts flames from the side pipes. Viper is going out on top, with is Swan Song coming from an 8.4 liter V10. The engine is the final version of Chrysler’s Magnum family that debuted in 1964. All good things must come to an end, and it does so with 645 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque. The Viper ACR stands for American Club Racer. The most hardcore of all snakes, it uses massive carbon fiber spoilers to deliver 1,700 lbs of downforce. One fact underlines the entire first video: the driver knows what he’s doing. Part 2 is a behind the scenes look at how it was filmed and we see a variety of expensive camera apparatus. We learn the identity of the master driver is none other than Rhys Millen. As a veteran of Grand Prix, Rally, and Formula Drift racing he knows a thing or two about chassis control.
The final video looks back on the partnership between Dodge and Pennzoil, and how the high-performance synthetic is literally the blood of the engine. We’re glad the owner got his car back but sad to know the Viper is leaving us. Because Pennzoil is derived from Natural Gas, it is clear enough to shoot an HD movie through. A film of oil is sandwiched between panes of glass without hindering the camera’s view. This motion picture took the efforts of Miami’s finest along with the Men & Women at Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit. Thank you for this work of art.
