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Viper fans are at the Nurburgring to reclaim production-car speed record

With the outgoing generation of the Viper, Dodge missed a fabulous opportunity to set another Nurburgring lap record. The company did it, twice, with the previous-generation Viper ACR, but never went back with the latest ACR, and it definitely won't now that the car is being discontinued. This is why a group of Viper fans began fundraising back in January to take ACRs to the 'Ring for one more shot at glory. And, right now, that group is in Germany preparing for the attempt. The team made it thanks to support from GoFundMe donors, and sponsorship from Kumho Tires and Prefix, a design and prototype company based in Michigan. They're using two Viper ACR GTS-R commemorative-edition cars, which are appropriate for competing track cars since they have the same white-with-blue-stripes color scheme as Dodge's old Viper GTS-R racecars. The cars are supplied from ViperExchange and BJ Motors and equipped with Kumho Ecsta V720 tires. According to the group's Facebook page, the team has been practicing since Wednesday, July 19. A video posted today highlighted that the only mechanical issue so far has been an overheating problem that was solved with a new thermostat. Each car is running a different suspension setup for practice - one soft, the other hard - and they'll adjust them as needed. The plan is that both cars will use the same setup on the record attempt. To claim the record without any argument will require beating the 6:45.9 time set by the Nio EP9 electric car. Right behind it is the Radical SR8LM, which is technically street-legal, but not really a street car. It set a time of 6:48. As for true street cars with gasoline engines, the target the Viper team will really want to beat is the Lamborghini Huracan Performante, which pulled off a time of 6:52. You can track the team's progress at its Facebook page. Related Video: Image Credit: Dodge Auto News Motorsports Dodge Coupe Performance Supercars dodge viper acr nio ep9

Top horsepower-per-dollar cars in 2017

Bang for the buck. That quasi-scientific statistic is bandied about by motor heads everywhere from classrooms to barrooms, though the truth of the matter is that it's exceedingly complex to measure. A fair performance-per-dollar index would include something like cross-referencing MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price) with point-to-point times on a track or driving route, which is obviously hard to do comprehensively. But, for the sheer joy of talking about cars and playing with a big spreadsheet, there's always the horsepower-per-dollar index, which is more straightforward, albeit hilariously flawed. There are vagaries even with this simple formula, of course: MSRP for vehicles can change at a moment's notice, to say nothing of the bottom-line shifting that happens with local deals or showroom negotiation. For this list we're running with the straight MSRP wherever possible, and as recently reported as we can get it. All the vehicles on this list are 2017 models, and all trims are reported where the lowest price and differing power levels intersect. Some choices were made for personal preference and some for sanity, avoiding things like all 48 trim levels of the Ford Transit, all with the same horsepower). If this list were a simple top ten, or even a top fifty, you'd be bored to tears with all the red, white and blue that is represented. Following perfectly with conventional wisdom, American cars really do lead the world where hp/$ is concerned. So, for the sake of variety (and the sheer joy of seeing a minivan 'win' one round of this thing) I've sorted out some top five and bottom five lists for broad power categories. Let's dive in. Less Than 100 Horsepower Okay, okay, this is hardly a category we'll grant you. But we've often tried to click off all the sub-100-hp cars on sale in the US, and making this list gave us an excuse. It also illustrates that none of these smallish vehicles bring cheap horsepower to the table - for that you'll need a motorcycle. The segment-leading Chevy Spark (above) asks just over $139 for each hp, and that Smart Fortwo Electric Drive has hp on sale for about the same price as its very distant family cousin, the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG (insert your favorite Smart joke here... we know you want to).

The Dodge Demon's massive hood scoop sucks air like a jet intake

You know what they say about cars with big hood scoops? They usually hide big blowers. At least that's the case with the Dodge Demon and its 45-inch wide hood scoop, the largest ever fitted to a factory production car. The fifth Demon teaser, "Forced Induction," shows off the increased capacity of the car's air intake and the resurrection of the Air Grabber hood scoop on Dodge's upcoming quarter-mile killer. View 4 Photos As with previous teasers, few details have been given outside of the Subaru-trouncing scoop's dimensions. Dodge says the scoop drops air inlet temperatures by more than 30 degrees. Where the more pedestrian Hellcat only has one air catcher headlight, both inner lights on the Demon are used to feed in air. The hood itself appears to channel air in and to the right into a new airbox that appears to be fitted with a K&N-style filter. Dodge seems intent on preventing any asthma issues with the new car. Standing in front of the car might literally take your breath away. Outside of that, the images don't show any new cryptic messages like previous teasers, or at least none that we can spot. One thing we did notice was that the engine block appears to be painted red, not orange like on the Hellcat. Doing some back and forth comparison also shows that the supercharger appears to be the same size as the current one. Of course, this is all speculative, so if you spot anything, drop a note in the comments. Related Video: