The Viper nameplate had a long racing history stretching back to the 1990s under the original Dodge Viper GTS-R, which competed in the FIA GT Championship, ALMS, and at Le Mans with considerable success. When Chrysler relaunched the Viper under the SRT brand for the fifth generation, it also revived the factory motorsport program. The new GTS-R continued the numbering tradition of the original car, retaining the iconic #91 and adding #93 as a second entry.
Riley Technologies handled construction of the GTS-R in partnership with SRT Motorsports. The car was built to LM GTE regulations, using Michelin GT tires. It carried the same V10 engine architecture as the production Viper, though at Le Mans the balance-of-performance regulations imposed an unusually low rev limit of 4,700 rpm. This restriction forced the team to rely on the V10's substantial low-end torque rather than high-revving power, an approach that suited the engine's character but limited outright speed on the Mulsanne straight.
The GTS-R made its competitive debut at the 2012 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge. Two cars ran, driven by Kuno Wittmer and Dominik Farnbacher in #91, and Marc Goossens and Tommy Kendall in #93, finishing 10th and 12th in the GT class respectively. The full 2012 ALMS driver lineup included Dominik Farnbacher, Marc Goossens, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Tommy Kendall, Jonathan Bomarito, and Kuno Wittmer. At the end of the 2012 ALMS season, the two GTS-Rs finished third in the GT class championship.
At the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans, the GTS-R made its debut at the French classic, finishing eighth in the GTE Pro class and 24th overall.
When the ALMS merged with the Rolex Sports Car Series to form the Tudor United SportsCar Championship for 2014, SRT entered the GTLM class. At the 2014 24 Hours of Daytona, the two Vipers finished 3rd and 6th in class. Both cars were repainted at Watkins Glen in the red and white livery that recalled the Oreca-run Viper GTS-R of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The #93 car won its class at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the Brickyard Grand Prix in July 2014, following podium results at Watkins Glen and Mosport.
SRT Motorsports withdrew from the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans, announced in March of that year. The factory program concluded at Petit Le Mans, where the team secured both the team and driver championships, with Kuno Wittmer taking the drivers' title. Following the 2014 season, Chrysler ended the factory SRT Motorsports program.
The SRT Viper GTS-R demonstrated that the fifth-generation Viper was a capable platform for top-level GT endurance racing. Its campaign directly led to the development of the customer-focused Viper GT3-R, which SRT Motorsports and Riley Technologies made available to privateers from late 2013, allowing the Viper to continue competing in GT3 championships beyond the end of the factory program.