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One quarter century after putting the first Dodge Viper on Chrysler dealership showroom floors,
and on the last year of the Viper's long production run, Chrysler- now FCA- has brought
a new roadster to market. The FIAT 124 Spider may be no Viper, but with proven chassis engineering
from Mazda and an Italian-born 1.4L turbocharged engine from FIAT, it can slither through a road course
like a snake! Having been without an autocross car since the sale of our 1996 Dodge Neon ACR Coupe (Project Venom), we've been waiting for something to come from Chrysler that starts out as something good that we can make even better, just as we did with Project Venom. Seeing the 124 as a great starting point, we purchased a 2017 Classica, and as homage to the 1992 Viper, with its American and Italian (Lamborghini) heritage, have dubbed her Lil Mamba! Starting out as a 2017 FIAT 124 Classica with plain white exterior and black interior, aside from the 7" screen with backup camera, she's as spartan as possible. Mamba is powered by FIAT's 1.4L turbo i4, which is much more at home in the 124 than the heavier Dart and Renegade it's also used in. Mazda's 6-speed manual, carried over from the previous generation MX-5, is race and street proven already. Now it's up to us to help Mamba live up to the name we've given her as a fast, agile, venomous snake!  01/01/2018: We have the first race season behind us, as well as almost 10,000 miles of street driving. Mamba has been a blast to drive, and while we kept the mods mostly mild for the first year, just about every change netted a measurable improvement in performance, from our brake vent kit to our solid poly rear differential mount. R&D is currently underway for improved aerodynamics, and next year's mod list is getting longer all the time. As always, twe'll be making a number of unique items available in our product lineup, as well as other brands we also carry. |
Modifications
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