dakrt99 said:
To be absolutely honest, I don't like the idea of "cheating" to get more power. I would rather see a NA Hyper-Viper versus a supercharged Hyper-Viper. IMO, not going to happen, just a feeling. Uncork the big V10 and see what falls out - 700+, relatively easy. To me, the finest cars ever built (F40 notwithstanding) are powered by a honest-to-goodness naturally engine. No boost please.
Cheating? What's cheating about using the latest and greatest science and technology to create an incredible machine? Was the Model T "cheating" when it beat out the horse and buggy as a mode of transportation? Of course not!
Supercharging is an excellent way to go for the SRT Viper. No spooling lag whatsoever. Little weight. Sure, it sucks up hp, but it creates even more than it uses.
With that said, while I don't think creating a 700+ hp engine is easy by any standards, I do agree that this engine can use a dose of refinement. While it does boast the highest torque of a NA engine, some modernization like Direct Injection can pull its hp figure
closer to 700.
For comparison, let's look at the hp per liter ratios for some performance engines:
SRT Viper: 76.2 hp/L
Mopar V10 crate engine: 95.2 hp/L (Mopar's 800 hp version of the NA Viper engine for drag racers)
Corvette C6 ZR1: 102.9 hp/L (supercharged)
Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG: 176.5 hp/L (turbocharged)
Shelby 1000: 206.9 hp/L (supercharged)
There's clearly room for improvement.