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Privateer Viper team sets a 7:03.45 time at the Nurburgring (UPDATE)

Update: The Viper record crew have uploaded video of the official lap. According to the group's Facebook page, they believe a sub-7 minute time is possible. They will try to return to the 'Ring in August when there are some open slots at the track, and they will be raising money to pay for a return trip. The group of Viper fans we told you about last week now have their first Nurburgring record attempt out of the way according to Road & Track. The automotive publication reports the team set a time of 7:03.45 with a 2017 Viper ACR. That's a bit over 8 seconds faster around the 'Ring than the previous-generation ACR. Unfortunately, the time puts it behind the Porsche 918 Spyder's 6:57 time and the Lamborghini Huracan Performante's 6:52 time. We've reached out to the privateer team for additional info on the attempt, and whether they will be able to make more attempts on this trip. We will update this as soon as we hear back. The team making these attempts got its start with a GoFundMe campaign to pay for a trip the Nurburgring to set times. The reason for this trip was the fact that Dodge never took this generation of Viper ACR to the famed German racetrack, despite going around setting fast laps at North American circuits. With funding from donors, sponsorship from Kumho Tires and Prefix, and provision of two Viper ACRs from Viper Exchange and BJ Motors, the team was able to make the journey.Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: Road & Track, Viper Ring Record Run / FacebookImage Credit: FoxProFilms / YouTube Dodge Coupe Performance dodge viper acr

Dodge Challenger Hellcat valet mode angers parking attendant

I spent over three years as a valet. It was good money and an excellent second job when I was getting my start as a writer – ten hours per week at the small restaurant I worked for was good for anywhere from $150 to $250. Over those years, I can say with absolute confidence I never goofed off in someone's car. Unfortunately, not all valets are so trustworthy. Like these idiots. Apparently, a Dodge Challenger Hellcat owner captured the valets at Universal Studios in Florida on his dashcam messing about behind the wheel of his 707-horsepower muscle car. One valet is behind the wheel and there's another riding shotgun as they aimlessly wander about the parking lot, lamenting the fact that the owner (wisely) engaged valet mode before handing over the keys. "We can't do anything," they whine. The owner, for his part, seemed pretty cool about the whole thing, writing in the YouTube description that he purposely kicked up the exposure at the end of the video to hide the identities of the valets. He also added that they didn't do anything wrong – this former valet agrees to disagree, based on the over four minutes it takes to actually park the car – and that he was thankful for valet mode. You can check out the video above – be warned, though, there is some language in it. And remember, if you valet your car, use valet mode, check the odometer when you drop off and pick up, and if everything checks out, give the poor guys a tip. Want more recent Hellcat news? Check out the Wrangler Trailcat concept headed to the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, photos of a possible Hellcat HD Ram pickup, and spy shots of the Hellcat-engined Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk. It's been a good week for 707-hp Mopars. Related Video:

Junkyard Gem: 2007 Dodge Caliber SXT with 5-speed manual transmission

When DaimlerChrysler unleashed the Caliber as a Neon replacement for the 2007 model year, the American car-buying world was put on notice that cute transportation appliances would be kicked to the side by the hobnailed boots of a new generation of angry, brutish, truck-influenced transportation appliances. The Caliber sold well enough at first, but eventually blurred into the fleet-car background noise and got shoved aside by the Alfa-derived Dart after 2012. Since I'm always on the lookout for super-rare three-pedal cars while I'm poking around in junkyards, I check out discarded Calibers in the hope of spying such a machine. This work paid off when I spotted this first-model-year '07 in a Northern California yard last month. In fact, the 5-speed manual transmission came as standard equipment on the non-R/T Calibers in 2007, but nearly every Caliber buyer opted to get the continuously variable automatic instead. That odd-looking horizontal shifter rod reminds me of the one in the early-1970s Honda 600. One reason I check out junkyard Calibers is that I'm trying to find a Boston Acoustics "MusicGate" speaker box, an optional rig that went on the inside of the hatch, to use in my next car-parts boombox project. I haven't managed to find one yet, but I'm not giving up. This car is a luxurious SXT, the trim level that squeezed between the bare-bones SE and the high-zoot R/T. When you bought the SXT, you got the pimp-grade Chill Zone™ (a beverage compartment with internal air-conditioner ducts) as standard equipment. Now this rare Caliber sits among the discarded PT Cruisers and Avengers of the yard's Chrysler section, on the flight path of the big C-5s heading into Travis Air Force Base. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Dodge's marketers tried hard to make the Caliber look tough, even murderous, the kind of car that would use an old Polara bumper jack to beat cuddly cartoon characters to death in a spray of flying teeth and blood-spattered fur. If all Calibers had come with manual transmissions, perhaps this macho image would have stuck better than it did. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Silly little fairy!