It has basically been a big whaaa-fest from the Viper->ke4220 community since Dodge unveiled the Hellcat siblings, the Charger and Challenger. I can see their point in the whole mine-is-bigger-than-yours game that happens in the auto-enthusiast realm. I get it, 707 ponies is bigger that 640 horses and same goes for the torque value between the Hellcats and the Viper, but that isn't the entire picture. The Viper is a track machine that can handle twists and turns all while delivering blistering performance. Put a Charger Hellcat on the track with a Viper and get back to me as to which one is the more capable machine -- I likely know the answer. Despite logic, Chrysler and Dodge do have bills to pay, a Viper to save and customers to please, so it is no surprise to hear rumors that a supercharged Viper is on its way.

The rumor hails from folks at Allpar -- the Interwebz' utmost authority on all things under the Pentastar -- and they are saying that a supercharged V-10 is being prepped for the Viper. In fact, a new rumor also claims that Chrysler actually took delivery of a completed version of said engine.

So, just how powerful will it be? You can expect somewhere in the 800-horsepower and 650-pound-feet range. That's just enough to give the Viper a clear advantage in the numbers game. Could SRT->ke4431 squeeze 1,000 ponies and 1,000 pound-feet of twist from the V-10? Of course it could, but that would require a ton of drivetrain, chassis, cooling system and body modifications, which would make the Viper unrealistically expensive.

Besides, all that matters to the group that is concerned about this is that the Viper has more power than the Hellcat brothers, so why push the Viper any further than needed?

And before people start screaming "yay!! A Viper Hellcat!!!" please remember that Dodge->ke28 made it rather clear that the Hellcat name refers only to the supercharged, 6.2-liter V-8 and it will not affix it to any other engines.

Stay tuned for more info.

Click past the jump to read more about the Viper.

Why It Matters

The automotive dick-measuring contest is rich with tradition. All the way back to the muscle-car years, enthusiasts were constantly trying to squeeze more power from their big-block engines with not a single look given to weight savings, suspension work or braking power. Sure, there were some who were savvy enough to figure out that straight-line speed is cool but braking and handling keep you alive, but those were the minority. With auto enthusiast now more knowledgeable than ever about these important details, we are seeing fewer of them harping only on the horsepower, but they still exist. And apparently, they are plentiful within the Viper community, as I would need a whole lot of fingers and toes to count how many times I have heard someone comment about how dumb it is for a sedan to be more powerful than the famed snake.

With the Viper selling about as well as Coca-Cola at a National Dental Association convention, Dodge needs to do something to get people talking about it again. What better way than to add more power (insert random Tim Allen grunt here)

Dodge Viper

The car formerly known as the Dodge Viper, then the SRT Viper and now the Dodge Viper SRT for 2015, is a bit of a sore spot for Dodge. It has all a ton of heritage behind it, 640 horsepower, a sexy body and a price tag well below Italian supercars, but the automaker can't seem to prevent them from growing roots on dealer lots. Has demand dried up for the Viper after all of these years, or do buyers simply want more power to play with?

Well, we'll likely soon find out, thanks to pretty reliable rumors that Dodge is indeed working on injecting even more muscle into the Viper, via a supercharged V-10.