A new Classified Ad has been posted to the Vipers For Sale section:
Description: 1998 Dodge Viper GT2 Petite Leman Championship Edition - 973 Miles - 1B3ER69E1WV401048 – Call for price - Carfax Report Available Upon Request - This GT2 # 48 comes withal original documentation making this an extremely desirable collectible Viper. Car is a one owner California car. Pictures of the drivers, pit captain, camera, lithographs, un-opened car cover, original tires and wheels, car is bone stock and the way it came delivered from CAAP. For me it is exciting to offer a rare and extremely low mileage GT2 car in its original state. In 1995, Chrysler introduced the Dodge Viper GTS-R, a limited-production racing car strictly intended for worldwide GT-class competition. The standard power train was a 525-horsepower 8.0 liter V-10, with 650- or 750-horsepower engines available as an option. It clinched the 1997 FIA GT2 championship and the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GT2 Class.
To publicize this achievement, Chrysler built 100 street-legal 1998 GT2 Championship Edition Vipers. It will be painted the same way as the GTS-R, with an aerodynamics package of fascia dive plates, black sill ground effects, a front splitter and rear wing. An enhanced power train (see the ACR description) raised performance to 460 hp @ 5200 rpm from 450 hp @5200 rpm and increased torque to 500 ft/lb at 3600 rpm from 490 ft/lb at 3700 rpm.
Special badging and graphics include a "Viper GTS-R" banner on the windshield and hood sides and an American flag appears on the upper quarter panel with "FIA GT2 Champion" underneath. 18-inch Michelin MXX3 tires and unique 18-inch one-piece wheels complete with a chrome Viper snake head logo on the center caps complete the visibility options.
The interior is black with blue accents on door inserts, bolsters, and the center console and parking brake. A dash plaque highlighting the commemorative series and vehicle identification number (VIN) is mounted on the center console. The interior comes with a five-point restraint system, identical to the restraint system used by Viper Team ORECA, the France-based factory race team that captured both championships. The retail price was $85,200 including destination.
In 1997, due to increasing interest from manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Panoz, the FIA took over control of the expanding BPR Global GT Series, standardizing the race-length at 500 km instead of the usual four hours, liberalizing the technical regulations and leaving commercial exploitation in the hands of one of BPR's founders, Stéphane Ratel, who managed to get TV support from the pan-European TV station Eurosport. The new manufacturers built "homologation specials", racing-bred cars that took full advantage of the new rules, to build quasi-prototypes with very limited production runs of 25 cars. Chrysler, Lister and Marcos, not wanting to accompany the cost escalation, moved down to the GT2 class.
This proved to be the wisest move, as Mercedes completely dominated the new category and the other manufacturers pulled out after the end of the 1998 season. This left Chrysler's Viper to become the dominating car in the series, with the aging Porsche 993 GT2 and the Lister Storm providing a certain degree of competition.
However, there was no lower inexpensive category for amateur drivers, and this led to the creation of the N-GT class in 2000. While the manufacturer field in the main class blossomed, the new category became swamped with Porsches and Ferraris, but lower running costs meant both classes enjoyed a balanced number of entries. In order to boost the championship's status, the SRO added the 24 Hours of Spa, previously a touring car race, to the calendar, where it became the series' most important race. The FIA also banned official manufacturer involvement, although certain teams had preferential treatment, with Porsche establishing a "round robin" system.
After the end of the 2004 season, the FIA renamed the classes GT1 and GT2, and somewhat liberalized the GT1 regulations, allowing "supercars". While this was made to accommodate the Saleen S7, the biggest beneficiary was the purpose-built Maserati MC12, which lead the FIA to impose aerodynamic limitations on the Italian car. However, thanks to a weight penalty system, the fight for the championship is protected from more domineering cars. The level of competition remains tight, with gentlemen drivers managing to fight for the wins with professional drivers, some of them with Formula 1 experience.
Split with the World Touring Car Championship
Before 2006, both the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) and the FIA GT Championship were broadcast by Eurosport. But Eurosport requested SRO, the FIA GT Championship organizers, to shorten their races from 3 hours to 2 hours. SRO refused and since then it has not been on the bill with the WTCC.
Ironically, after a year looking for European broadcasters for their 3 hour races, the SRO decided that for 2007, the FIA GT Championship races will be shortened to 2 hours.
Champions
Title
GT1
GT2
1997
Driver
Bernd Schneider
Justin Bell
Team
AMG-Mercedes - Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR
Oreca - Chrysler Viper GTS-R
1998
Driver
Klaus Ludwig
Ricardo Zonta
Olivier Beretta
Pedro Lamy
Team
AMG-Mercedes - Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM
Oreca - Chrysler Viper GTS-R
GT
1999
Driver
Olivier Beretta
Karl Wendlinger
Team
Oreca - Chrysler Viper GTS-R
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