Fantasy Junction

Description

1999 Chrysler Viper GTS-R
s/n C20
Teamcar Livery with Blue Interior

By 1999, the FIA had discontinued the GT1 class of highly modified and expensive to campaign cars, focusing on the GT2/GTS cars, which visually shared more features and similarities with the cars in current production, returning tub 911 with turbos and semi-tube frame construction normally-aspirated cars to the front of the grid. Porsches would be fielded by established teams such as Freisinger, Konrad, and Roock racing, but their air-cooled platform, limited to 3.8L in displacement, was an aging and inferior one when compared to the massive 8.0L all aluminum V10 with linear power delivery, which powered Chrysler's entries.
As in years before, Chrysler Viper Team ORECA would field two cars. As a result of their prior GT2 Championship, the team was honored with start number 1 for Olivier Beretta and Karl Wendlinger and number 2 for Jean-Philippe Belloc and a rotating roster that most often included David Donohue.The 1999 specification Viper GTS-R was built from scratch at Roush and featured a mix of space/tubeframe center section to comply with FIA regulations with redesigned front box tube extensions and an integral roll cage. The track was increased four inches in front and three inches in the rear, and covering the significantly wider Viper was Reynard-designed carbon fiber bodywork. The 8.0-liter aluminum-block V10 produced an exactly equal 600 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque delivering, depending on circuit tailored aerodynamics, a 200 mile-per-hour top speed. Always focusing on the rigors of endurance racing, Oreca team principal, Hughes de Chaunac would employ an unsurpassed testing regime of 30+ hours of track time a month during the "quiet" offseason.

1999 started well for the two ex-Formula One drivers in the number 1 car taking overall FIA GT wins at both Monza and Silverstone. At round 3, the Hockenheim 500 Kms, the Oreca team rolled out this car, s/n C20, as the new number 2 car. Driven by Jean-Philippe Belloc and his teammate Dominique Dupuy to a weekend hat trick with pole position, fastest lap, and overall win, C20 was loaded into the transporting smelling of champagne on its introductory weekend! .For the fourth race, the FIA GT Championship visited the Hungaroring for the Budapest 500 Kms. While Wendlinger and Beretta were on pole, it was Belloc and Dupuy in C20 who again took the victory with both Vipers lapping the entire field composed of other GTS-Rs and 911 GT2s! Further into the season, chassis number C20 would suffer an unfortunate gearbox failure after 29 laps at Zolder, but bounced back to second place at Oschersleben.

But s/n C20's success was not limited to the European Continent. A trip to the United States for rounds 8 and 9, both 3-hour races at Homestead, Miami and Watkins Glen, New York saw David Donohue join Belloc for the first time since FIA GT rounds 1 and 2 at Monza and Silverstone. The Homestead race was an anomaly with the blue and yellow Paul Belmondo Racing's Viper GTS-R taking the win, the only time a non-Oreca car took an overall victory that season. After a series of two relatively disappointing races, the Watkins Glen 3-hour race proved to be chassis C20's finest hour.Driven by Jean-Philippe Belloc and American David Donohue as race number 2, the duo would again capture the weekend hat trick of pole position, fastest race lap, and the overall win in this very car. Belloc recounts the former Formula One venue as a “fast and dangerous track” and his victory with “an American driver (Donohue), in an American car was something special.” As the season was drawing to a close, it was clear the Viper GTS-R was simply unbeatable and at “The Glen” it was a patriotic all-American victory for both car and driver. The season ended with GTS-R C20, Belloc, and his co-drivers finishing in second place to their teammates Beretta and Wendlinger in China at the Zhuhai 500 Kms.

Moving into the next century, C20 would be acquired by entrepreneurial Domminique Dupuy, and entered in the Championnat de France FFSA GT under his own Dominique Dupuy Organisation (DDO) with Oreca support. Dupuy was quoted to say "It was to date the best handling Viper I had ever driven.” when he shared his reasoning to pair his efforts with C20.

Established in 1997 by Patrick Peter as a successor to the international BPR Global GT Series, the FFSA GT series was perhaps the perfect landing place for the very successful Viper. The 2000 FFSA season featured seven events, often with two races per weekend. Of the 15 races that year, chassis C20, with Dupuy and François Fiat sharing driving duties, captured six wins, 12 podiums, and the season championship. 2001 was a very similar story for the professional team with four overall wins, 12 podiums, and a second consecutive series championship! DDO continued to campaign the car in 2002 and 2003, and although it was built to an earlier set of regulations and outpaced by a new generation of competitors, chassis C20 still delivered impressive results with its endurance minded reliablity—scoring four more wins and 11 podiums. In 2004 Viper GTS-R C20 was acquired by Lease Plan and continued to race in the FFSA GT Championship fielded by the highly regarded Autovitesse team. Upon acquisition in late-2003 Autovitesse sent the chassis to Oreca for upgrades. These included a revised suspension, a Hollinger gearbox, wider track and bodywork, carbon fiber brakes, a larger rear wing, and a high-downforce splitter and rear diffuser. The chassis and body were also repainted orange at this time. The car continued to perform strongly in the French FFSA GT Championship for the next three years. Despite fierce competition, the C20 secured four additional victories. Anthony Beltoise, son of former Grand Prix driver Jean-Pierre Beltoise, delivered the standout performances, often outperforming rival Vipers and taking pole at the Dijon circuit in 2004, outpacing the best of his rivals by nearly a full second!

By 2007, now retired from professional racing, s/n C20 was under the ownership of its first historic racing-minded collector, and was restored back to its 1999 FIA GT Championship configuration—specifically that of Belloc and Donohue's victorious weekend at Watkins Glen. The work was carried out by a European modern GT racing specialist firm, without regards to cost. Fortunately, most of the original parts removed by DDO and Autovitesse were retained, and as the car remained in excellent condition the restoration was a comprehensive but straightforward one.

Once finished, in 2008 and 2011 chassis C20 competed in prestigious events throughout Europe including the “GT90s Revival,” organized by Stéphane Ratel (SRO). In 2011 the car traded hands, yet was stored and maintained by the previous owner for the new caretaker. Just as it did in 1999, C20 would travel to the USA and appeared at the Classic 24 Hour at Daytona four times as well as the Sebring Classic 12 Hours. In Europe it competed at Le Mans Classic, Spa Classic, Silverstone Classic, Castellet 10,000 Tours, and numerous test days. “Of the 13 races, it never failed to finish and was always a faithful racing companion.” stated a previous owner, outlining just how easy to live with the robust V10 is, housed in the endurace-tested GTS-R platform. Between 2019 and 2021, C20 received a significant restoration with over €150.000 spent to bring C20 to the highest mechanical standards. In 2023, the car, along with numerous other GT1 and GT2 racers from the same era, was brought to the 80th Goodwood Members Meeting with GT racing specialist Mark Sumpter at the wheel. Clearly the car has not lost a step with Sumpter commenting that, “The C20 ORECA Viper has a flexible engine, massive torque and big horsepower, superb brakes and great vision. The car feels extremely well engineered and has a sense of durability.” It is almost assured that if the car were raced in Europe it would be unbeatable against the 993-generation GT2s in the highly competitive Endurance Racing Legends by Peter Auto GT2 category, particularly on higher speed circuits where the 8.0L V10 can stretch its legs. Further, the linear power delivery of the normally aspirated power plant makes this Viper easier to manage in adverse weather conditions, when compared to the Turbo'd variants it competed against in period. Having had the opportunity to pilot sister cars C11 in FIA GT competition, and C33 in American Le Mans Series in 1998 and 2000, we are well positioned to understand just how competitive and easy to drive C20 will be for its next owner in historic racing, both Stateside and in Europe.

A factory Viper Teamcar with victories at Hockenheim, Budapest, and Watkins Glen in 1999, plus two French GT Championships, GTS-R s/n C20 is offered with an elite pedigree and exacting restoration by European specialists. Presented today in its iconic Watkins Glen-winning livery and meticulously maintained, C20 offers a passport to the world's top historic racing events—a race and championship winning example of American and European racing history, to collect or compete with, you decide.

The above vehicle information is complete and accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time it is posted to this website. Corrections or additional information is always appreciated. All advertised prices exclude government fees and taxes, any finance charges, any dealer document preparation charge, and any emission testing charge. Vehicles are subject to prior sale. All advertised to be true but not guaranteed. We assume no liability for errors or omissions.

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Fantasy Junction  •  510-653-7555  •  1145 Park Ave, Emeryville, CA 94608