1997 Dodge Viper

This 1997 Dodge Viper Competition Coupe won its class at the 24 Hours of LeMans Race in 1998. Viper models C-6 and C-7 were built for the 1997 racing series and raced by the French racing firm ORECA. The team debuted their cars at Hockenheim, Austria and would end up taking the FIA Series championship. Justin Bell, David Donahue and Luca Drudi drove the C-6 and C-7 at LeMans. At the conclusion of the race, the cars were retired.

The engineers in the racing program named these cars after their daughters. Some of the cars even have the tops of their roll cages signed by the girls. Car C-7 was named for engineer Pat Shutte's daughter, Kalien, while the C-6 was named for Dick Myers' daughter, Megan.

The C-7 Coupe is powered by a V-10 dry sump engine with aluminum block and heads with port fuel injection. The 8-liter powerplant is capable of producing 700 horsepower. It has a six-speed Borg-Warner Racing version T-56 gearbox and four-wheel independent suspension. The top speed is estimated to be in the neighborhood of 210 mph.

By Daniel Vaughan | Aug 2010