There once was a time when the Dodge Viper SRT-10 ACR reigned supreme at the Nürburgring with a lap time of 7:12.13. A number of cars have since eclipsed the Viper ACR’s lap time but there is belief within Viper circles that the 645-horsepower, 2016 Viper ACR could make a serious run at the Porsche 918 Spyder’s existing record of 6:57:00. Unfortunately, Dodge doesn’t appear to be interested in bringing the sports car back to the ‘Ring, so a group of Viper owners is taking the matter into its own hands with plans to raise enough money to send the 2016 Viper ACR to the Nürburgring.

The Viper Owners Association is the group behind this initiative and it’s dead serious about its goal of seeing the new Viper ACR take a crack at the 918 Spyder’s production car lap record in one of the world’s most famous race tracks. The group even set up a GoFundMe campaign with a goal of raising $159,000 to send two Viper ACRs to the ‘Ring and cover other costs like track rental, driver payments, and the shipping of the actual cars to Germany.

It’s an admittedly ambitious goal, but to the group’s credit, the campaign is off to a promising start. As I’m writing this, the campaign has already raised $51,630 from 102 people in over six days. There’s still a little over $100,000 before the campaign reaches its financial goal, but at least it won’t have to worry about actually getting the Viper ACRs since Texas-based dealer Viper Exchange has already agreed to supply two Viper ACRs for the Nürburgring attempt at no cost to the campaign.

Only time will tell if the “Take Back The Ring Record” campaign is successful, but as someone who appreciates automotive passion in all its authenticity, I’m rooting for the people behind the movement to get to where they need to go, which in this case, would be the Nürburgring.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

In the right conditions, the Dodge Viper ACR has a shot

The Dodge Viper SRT-10 ACR may not have the same esteem as some of the other cars ahead of it in the Nürburgring lap time list, but that’s not what’s important here. What matters is that the Viper ACR has the power and performance characteristics to legitimately make a run at the record.

Look at the numbers. The sports car features an 8.4-liter V-10 engine that pumps out 645 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque, enough to propel it from 0 to 60 mph in around 3.1 seconds to go with a top speed that’s within range of 200 mph. On top of that, the ACR also has one of the most impressive downforce credentials of any production car in the market right now. Those things come into play when a car like the track-prepped Viper is blasting along a circuit as notoriously unforgiving as the Nürburgring.

The more important question is whether the Viper Owners Association can raise enough money to make an attempt at the record. The campaign has raised a little over a third of the funds needed to get the Viper ACR to the Nürburgring. The good news here is that the whole thing is being championed by a lot of dedicated people who seriously love the Viper and everything it has represented to the American sports car scene.

Now that the model is on its way to getting discontinued, there’s no better going-away present for the sports car than to make another run at the Nürburgring to see if it can reclaim the lap record for a production car that the predecessor to the current Viper ACR once held. I’m personally rooting for it to happen because if for nothing else, the Viper deserves one last crack at glory before it rides off into the sunset.

Dodge Viper ACR - Specifications

Read our full review on the Dodge Viper ACR here.