When the Dodge Viper first hit the streets in 1992, the world knew something extraordinary had been created. This wasn’t just another sleek European sports car—it was a raw, aggressive, unapologetically American powerhouse designed for the elite who’d already made it.
The Dodge Viper, tuned to a staggering 2,100 horsepower, can flip backward under full throttle.
Across five distinct generations (SR I/II, ZB I/II, and VX I), the Viper stayed true to its core principles: a naturally aspirated, high-displacement V10 engine paired with a manual transmission and rear-wheel drive. Power surged from 400 horsepower and 465 lb-ft (630 Nm) of torque in the first generation to a commanding 645 horsepower and 600 lb-ft (813 Nm) in the fifth.
The final iteration, the fifth-generation Viper (VX I), produced from 2013 to 2017, stands as the pinnacle of its engineering legacy. Its hallmark remains the hand-built, all-aluminum 8.4-liter V10, officially rated at 645 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque. Despite its discontinuation, this engine retains its title as the world’s highest-torque naturally aspirated sports car engine.
Exclusively paired with the Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual transmission, the Viper embodies a pure driving experience—a philosophy that has defined its brand for decades. The model showcased here is the ultimate expression of that final chapter: the 2016–2017 Viper ACR Extreme. This American Club Racer was engineered to dominate racetracks, not just suburban boulevards.
Factory performance figures, verified through rigorous testing, are staggering for a vehicle of its size: 0–60 mph in 3.2 seconds and a quarter-mile run of 11.5 seconds at 126 mph.
At launch, a base ACR carried a suggested retail price of $122,490 (2016), equivalent to roughly $160,560 today—a bargain for track dominance even then, and one that has since appreciated rapidly.
The ACR was always destined for rarity, and its final production run cemented its exclusivity. During 2016–2017, just 986 fifth-generation ACRs were built. That already low number becomes even more striking: only 82 were delivered without the Extreme Aero Package, leaving a mere 904 equipped with the track-dominating Extreme Aero system generating immense downforce.
The ACR Extreme package solidified the car’s legend, adding jaw-dropping aerodynamics capable of generating up to 3,200 pounds (1,480 kg) of downforce at 220 mph (354 km/h) with its oversized wing alone.
This force is enough to flatten the rear diffuser by 2 inches at top speed. Such extreme velocity is kept in check by Brembo Carbon Ceramic Matrix brakes and a suspension twice as stiff as the previous TA model.
But what happens when 645 factory horsepower feels sluggish? Enter Antonio Calvo and the masters at Calvo Motorsports. Based in Austin, Texas, Calvo has established himself as one of the world’s foremost Viper authorities. They saw this already extreme ACR as the perfect foundation for a truly “ballistic” street-legal machine.
The philosophy behind this build was simple: create outrageous power without sacrificing the car’s uniqueness or daily drivability—a concept that instantly sets it apart in the high-horsepower arena. Their relentless engineering culminated in a fifth-generation Viper ACR Extreme pushing 1,850 wheel horsepower.
Calvo estimates this translates to a mind-boggling 2,100–2,200 crank horsepower. This tripling of the original output was achieved through a meticulously crafted twin-turbo system centered around robust Zona Rotor turbos, estimated at 72mm in size.
The entire setup, from steel inlet pipes to custom PTP heat-wrap “inlet gloves,” was fabricated in-house, ensuring a near-invisible fit under the hood. This bespoke chassis, originally commissioned by Tiff (whose name remains on the dashboard), represents Calvo’s first high-power customer car and is now enthusiastically driven by its current owner, Mike.
The car retains its original 8.4-liter V10 block but heavily fortified to withstand four-digit boost pressures. Engine upgrades include a dry sump system, fire-ring cylinder heads for optimal sealing, titanium and inconel valves, beryllium-copper valve seats, and a billet steel crankshaft—all essential for reliability at this insane power level.
To handle the power, the original gearbox was replaced with a PPG sequential transmission operated by an Nth Moto RPS quad-carbon clutch, somehow retaining street-friendly manners.
This monstrous power is harnessed by downforce rivaling the original ACR Extreme aero package, paired with custom spherical-bearing suspension components eliminating the slop of old rubber bushings. The result is a driving feel described as tight and distinctly European.
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