In the early 1990s, first-generation Dodge Viper RT/10s had been modified by racing teams for use in GT racing in North America and Europe. Although its V10 engine was powerful, the car was not adapted to racing and teams lacked the funding to build a car that could compete with factory efforts. One key issue was that the Viper was a roadster, therefore lacking the rigidity that a coupe bodystyle would have. Following the sales success of the first generation Viper, Dodge began redesigning the car in 1995, upgrading the roadster while at the same time adding a new coupe, known as the Viper GTS. Chrysler approved the development of a racing program centering on the Viper GTS which was still in development at the time.
Chrysler believed that in order to adapt their car not only for North American but also European circuits, they would require outside assistance. An agreement was made with the French racing and engineering firm Oreca, who had many years of experience in sports car racing as well as assistance in the Mazda 787B's win in the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans. Oreca would construct and maintain the racing cars in their shops, as well as run Chrysler's official factory teams in Europe. For North America, Chrysler would recruit the Canaska / Southwind Team to operate the factory effort.
Although Oreca would construct the cars, key elements would come from British engineering firm Reynard Motorsport. This would mainly consist of the construction of the car's basic chassis and other integral parts before they were shipped to Oreca for assembly. As for the Viper's engine, it was ideally suited for competition at the time due to limits of 8000 cc being just beyond the Viper's 7998.5 cc. Modifications were therefore light for the 356-T6 V10, with concentration on redesigned intakes for horsepower and reinforcements for endurance.
In terms of design much of the bodywork of the Viper GTS was retained on the race car. Mandatory elements such as a rear wing, rear diffuser and front splitter were added for aerodynamics, while initial cars had their fog lights covered over before being put back for increased visibility at night. To aid in lighting, optional lights were able to be placed in square notches above the grill. The exhaust would also be routed out the side of the car, just under the doors, about halfway between the front and rear wheel wells. Side exhausts had been a feature of the first generation American-market RT/10s, but were no longer used on the GTS. Vents were also added to the hood for cooling the engine, while intakes were placed on the roof and rear fenders.
In total, 57 Viper GTS-Rs would be built. After the production of an initial five prototypes for testing and early usage by Oreca and Canaska / Southwind, 52 more cars would be built. Oreca built a total of 18 chassis. Although some would be used by the factory teams, most would be sold directly to customers for use in whatever series would allow them. Viper GTS-Rs continued to be built into 2005, after which Oreca concentrated on maintaining and supporting the existing Viper GTS-R fleet.
Although the production cars have mostly been known as Dodge Vipers, the Dodge brand did not sell the Viper in Europe. Because the new cars, named GTS-R, were built in Europe, they were mostly known as Chrysler Viper GTS-R. However, cars racing in North America usually ran under the Dodge banner, making them Dodge Viper GTS-Rs. The cars themselves actually carried no badging for either Chrysler or Dodge, with only the Viper GTS-R name appearing on the side of the bonnet.
Debuting in 1996, two racing teams separately developed the Chrysler Viper GTS-R coupe for competition. Canaska Southwind started in the North American IMSA GT Championship GTS-1 class at the 1996 24 Hours of Daytona, managing to finish in 29th place. However, the team would improve with a twelfth-place finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring. Both teams appeared at the 1996 24 Hours of Le Mans, with Canaska Southwind achieving a 10th-place finish overall (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_Viper_GTS-R).
In 1997, Oreca focused on the new FIA GT Championship, competing in the GT2 class and winning the championship. The team also returned to Le Mans, finishing 14th overall. In 1998, Oreca dominated the FIA GT Championship, winning all but one event. Oreca also achieved the Viper's first class victory at Le Mans, finishing 11th overall.
In 1999, Oreca expanded to a two-front campaign, competing in the American Le Mans Series and FIA GT. Oreca won six races and the ALMS championship, while sweeping nine races to take another FIA GT title. At Le Mans, Vipers occupied the top six positions in their class.
In 2000, Oreca won ten races in the American Le Mans Series, eventually falling to Corvette late in the season but once again securing the championship. Oreca would also outperform Corvette at Le Mans, winning their third straight class victory with a seventh-place finish.
Since its racing debut in 1996, the Viper GTS-R has achieved many victories or class wins in competition, as well as many series championships.
Following Dodge's official end of their factory-backed racing program in 2001, the first generation GTS-Rs were retired. Dodge persevered in motorsports competition by backing a different type of racing endeavor, selling Dodge Viper Competition Coupes to customers who wanted a ready-made track car. Oreca ran the Viper Competition Coupe program, building the cars for Dodge.
In 2012, Chrysler returned to motorsports competition under the SRT Motorsports banner in the American Le Mans Series with the SRT Viper GTS-R race car. After winning the GTLM Class of the Tudor United Sportscar Championship in 2014, factory support was again terminated. Nevertheless, private racing teams were still able to compete with the 2013 release of the Dodge Viper SRT GT3-R.
With the FIA GT2 Team and Driver championship wins in October 1997, Team Viper set forth with the creation of a unique Viper called the GT2 Champion Edition. There would be 100 cars offered through the top Dodge Viper dealers, featuring the same white with blue stripes paint scheme as the race cars, as well as a large rear wing, front dive planes and splitter, side sills, BBS rims and GTS-R badging. The GT2 also features an Oreca 5-point racing harness, and the center dash plaque with the vehicle's unique production number.