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Chrysler's Street and Racing Technology (SRT) team on Wednesday took to the tar at Laguna Seca raceway in Monterey, California to recapture the production car lap record.

The team walked away with their prized crown after SRT vehicle dynamics engineer Chris Winkler piloted a 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR to a lap record of 1:33.915 around the 3.6-kilometre course, beating the previous lap record by more than 1.1 seconds.

In 2008, professional road racer Randy Pobst drove a 2008 Dodge Viper ACR to a one-lap, production car record of 1:35.117 at Laguna. That record stood until 6 August 2009 when the most recent record of 1:35.075 was established by a one-off exotic prototype.

Winkler said: "It was definitely exciting but a somewhat uneventful lap overall from behind the steering wheel. The Dodge Viper ACR has amazing power and handles like a dream, so following my first practice here last month, I came away pretty confident that we?d be able to set a new record."

New for the 2010 model year is a shorter fifth gear ratio for improved high-speed acceleration and higher straightaway speeds.

There is also a new short-throw shifter and the rear wing profile and end plates have been redesigned to optimise vehicle aerodynamics and improve rear yaw downforce. These changes raise top speed by 6km/h to 294 km/h.

Powered by the an 8.4-litre, V10 engine with 450kW and 760Nm of torque, the Viper ACR accelerates from 0-100km/h in under 4 seconds, clocks the quarter-mile in the mid 11-second range and runs zero-to-160-to-zero km/h in 11 seconds flat.

The four-wheel independent suspension has high-performance aluminum control arms and knuckles, KW suspension and two-way adjustable competition coil-over shock absorbers with remote reservoirs.

The aerodynamic package features a carbon fiber "fanged" splitter in front and adjustable carbon-fiber wing that developes 454kg of downforce at 240km/h.

The Viper heads into its final year of production for the current-generation model. Approximately 500 Vipers will be produced next year. The 2010 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR will make its worldwide debut on 2 December 2009 at the LA Auto Show.