The Viper Club of Ontario held a 3-day event on Sept. 13-15, 2024. Saturday's main attractions were a visit to the Conner Center with Team Viper, a Chrysler HQ photoshoot, and visit and Viper parade laps with the new Charger Daytonas at M1 Concourse with Prefix Garage, Dodge execs, designers, and our friends in the Motor City Viper Owners club! The event was planned by Enio Parete, Stellantis VP and our VCO Windsor Area Director. The many event photos hopefully include all who attended and their Vipers!
Friday Sept 13th
Toronto area members met up for the cruise to Windsor at Mike & Donna Black's garage.
They have a wonderful collection, with the 1968 Coronet being Mike's pride and joy!
Then it was off to London where we met up with more members, all in Vipers... except for Sean & Sarah who were assigned weekend cruise photography duties!
Our host hotel was the excellent Windsor DoubleTree by Hilton, located next to the Detroit River and Riverfront Trail with spectacular day and night Detroit cityscape views. Reserved hotel garage parking with overnight Viper security that the club had hired.
Dinner was a short walk to The Bistro At The River Restaurant located on the Riverfront.
Saturday Sept 14th
More local VCO members arrived to join the cruise into Detroit and on to the Conner Center with tremendous excitement for the day's activities and this epic opportunity!
The Conner Center arrival became an endless procession of Vipers pouring in & parking!
Lots of mingling with Team Viper and lots of Vipers signed by those incredible designers and engineers who had the vision and audacity to create the iconic Dodge/SRT Viper!
We gathered inside the Connor Center to enjoy a Team Viper VIP panel discussion and Q&A with the team that designed the Gen V Viper and the new Dodge Charger Daytona models that are coming to a showroom near you later this year. Enio Parete was the MC, and the seated panel who all worked on the Gen V Viper program, from left to right, Ryan Nagode, Tome Jovanoski, Ralph Gilles, Mark Trostle, and Scott Krugger.
You'll also spot Team Viper VIP's Herb Helbig (the Grailkeeper), Dick Winkles (Mr. V-10), Sandy Emerling, Bill Adams, Jeff Gale, and Ren Stone.
Our club's highest honor was presented to Ralph Gilles for his outstanding contributions to the Viper Community. We were pleased to give each Team Viper attendee a Viper Club of Ontario Honorary Membership, and panel speakers a VCO club glassware gift.
Ralph Gilles led a very interesting and animated hour-long discussion with the panel speakers, mostly related to the Gen V, and then took many questions from club members. Just a few of the highlights...I can confirm that Halle Berry's name may or may not have been mentioned in regards to the inspiration of the Gen V's form! They discussed with passion their goals for improved fit, finish, build quality, interior design and functionality, exceeding 200 mph, and all wrapped in timeless curvaceous styling. Ralph discussed the lengths the team went to keep the program under wraps, only working on it outside of their various day jobs, and how he finally presented it to Sergio for approval. The race car development alongside the street car was discussed, the championship winning success of the race team, and the dominance of the ACR Extreme setting records around the country.
The passion exists to create something special and affordable for the next generation of enthusiasts like the Gen I was when introduced at $50k, but how this isn't the right time.
The new Dodge Charger was discussed, and how this same team's interior designers went about helping to design it with the same DNA and passion. while respecting the classic Charger's past. Scott, who's the lead on the new Charger's design, discussed it being modern with hints of the iconic '68 Charger, its R-Wing and super slippery shape, its incredible handling, how it's ridiculously fast, and how it drives like a car half its size.
Ontario and Motor City clubs funded a very nice lunch organized by Maria with Stellantis.
After lunch we toured the extraordinary and diverse collection of street and race Vipers, concept, production and military vehicles, engines and memorabilia! What a collection!
Photography of the collection was limited to the Vipers displayed.
What had an amazing visit, but it was time to head off for a quick photoshoot in front of the Chrysler HQ tower with its iconic glass Pentastar that can be seen for miles!
We were then off to the M1 Concours Center and to Prefix Garage located there. Prefix Garage services the vehicles of those who own private man-cave garages built next to the track. Prefix's Jhan Dolphin (pictured speaking) and Scot Rickord welcomed us there.
We met Matt McAlear, CEO of Dodge (top pic center), and Kevin Hellman, Dodge/SRT SVP (2nd pic holding son). Matt and Kevin discussed the exciting new Charger Daytona along with Scott Krugger, Ryan Nagode, and Jeff Gale who were among its designers.
We welcomed both Matt and Kevin to the Viper Club of Ontario as Honorary Members, and expressed our appreciation for their support with a club gift. They gave everyone tee shirts with the Dodge and Fratzog logos on them, same as you see Matt wearing.
Matt jumped into his Charger Daytona AWD R/T pace car and Kevin with me in his wild red Charger Daytona Scat Pack with AWD and 675 hp/627 tq to lead the Viper parade laps around the M1 circuit! Really impressive performance cars that can be enjoyed daily.
There was no shortage of Vipers following them onto the track...
