Top News

The Dodge Viper may have vanished from showrooms nearly a decade ago, but Stellantis clearly understands that it still ranks among the most iconic performance cars ever produced in America. The latest reminder comes via a collaboration between Dodge, Lego and Microsoft, bringing the 2016 Viper ACR back to life in both digital form and as a brick-built model.

In case the last 10 years have made you forget, the Viper ACR was powered by an 8.4-litre V-10 engine producing 645 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. However, its headline numbers were only part of the story; thanks to major aerodynamic upgrades and several other revisions, the ACR remains the most track-focused Viper ever to wear number plates, setting lap records across the country. Put simply, Stellantis is not prepared to let it slip from memory.

From August 1, gamers will be able to get behind the virtual wheel of a 2016 Dodge Viper ACR finished in an exclusive Lego Technic livery in Forza Horizon 6. Alongside that, the car is also receiving the premium Lego Technic treatment in the real world; the Lego Technic Dodge Viper GTS-R Sports Car #42234 is now on sale online and in stores for $64.99.

While Ford has continued to develop the Mustang into machines such as the Dark Horse and Mustang GTD, and Chevrolet has reshaped the Corvette into the mid-engined C8 family, culminating in the ZR1 and ZR1X, Dodge’s greatest performance icon is still a car whose production ended in 2017. Yes, Dodge delivered impressive muscle cars leading up to the Challenger SRT Demon 170, but the Hellcats and Demons were more at home on the drag strip. The Viper ACR, by contrast, was engineered to dominate a road course in a way that modern Dodge models still cannot match.

If nothing else, this latest return of the Viper ACR serves as a reminder of what made it so special. Even nearly a decade after production came to an end, it remains one of Dodge’s most powerful enthusiast icons. Perhaps the time has come for Dodge to stop merely reminding us how great the Viper was and start building something worthy of carrying that legacy forward.