Dodge Viper ACR for Targa Tasmania

Multiple Targa Tasmania winners Jason and John White have swapped Italian exotica for American muscle, purchasing a Dodge Viper ACR for this year's Targa Tasmania.

The switch has come about due to the Targa regulations, introduced to return the focus to showroom-specification vehicles and curb speeds slightly. There are two categories, GT2 and GT4, dealing with two-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles respectively.

A 481kW/813Nm V10-powered American track car might not seem like the obvious weapon, but Jason White told MOTOR it was "the cheapest option, [we] didn't really look that hard."

Cost was a major consideration thanks to the severe fire that enveloped their previous Lamborghini Gallardo Squarda Corse at the 2014 Targa Wrest Point which required the White Hot Motorsport crew "spend two years of budget fixing it."

The Lamborghini is still eligible in the Modern competition, but is far too highly modified for outright honours, packing a six-speed Holinger gearbox, massive aerodynamic devices and trick Bosch electronics.

It was a devastatingly effective package, the Whites' steering it to four of their five Targa Tas victories. Just how effective can be seen in the video below taken from Targa Tasmania 2012.

White Hot Motorsport took delivery of the Viper just eight weeks prior to the start of this year's event, giving it a brief shakedown at Targa Hellyer Gorge before stripping it to fit the required safety gear.

The Whites will face stiff competition in the GT2 category from the likes of Jim Richards in a Porsche Cayman GT4 and Matt Close in a Porsche 911 GT3.

The 25th running of Targa Tasmania takes place from April 11-16.