Some Thoughts on the Viper
It’s probably trite to make an April Fool’s post after only a handful of weeks blogging, so I’ll take a break from technology, coding, and other geeky topics this week to get covered in oil and dig into some of my thoughts on the Viper.
I may not be the biggest gearhead out there, but I have owned many cars throughout my lifetime, including many of the “high end” cars that cross the boundary between transportation and unadulterated fun. This gives me some perspective on the various cars out there, perhaps moreso than your typical “fanboy.”
This Christmas, I bought my wife a Dodge Viper. Viper Red, SRT-10 (the “big boy” version), every option, 6-speed manual. The link is a picture of our actual car, not some random Viper on the web, so please excuse the fact that it needed a bath. Driving this car has really given me a respect for the “raw power” the car puts down to the road. The “base” version is 510 bhp, and ours is upgraded to approximately 600 bhp. It apparently runs the 0-60 in 3.5 seconds, and the quarter mile in the low 11′s with a trap speed of 128 mph. This is some serious motion, if you’re not familiar with how to decode those numbers.
I’ve owned a race-built “stage 2-3″ Chevrolet Camaro SS, a pretty tricked out Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, a bone-stock Porsche, a lightly modified BMW, and in addition to owning these vehicles, I have personally driven a number of other top cars. There is nothing that comes close to touching the “in your face” feeling of the Viper. Corvette owners have been pretty vocal about the Vette “beating” the Viper, but I believe that Edmund’s sums up the experience (when comparing the Viper to the Corvette) fairly well:
“First, the 2008 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe: 8.4-liter V10, 600 horsepower, 560 pound-feet of torque and an as-tested weight of 3,437 pounds. Those numbers, friend, are ridiculous. And they make the Viper the highest-displacement, most powerful naturally aspirated car we’ve ever tested. Combined with its crushing road presence, they define it as America’s most soulful supercar.”
“Driving either is like combining that first date with a randy prom queen with the physics-defying performance of a 1,000cc sport bike. You can hardly wait to get to the action and then, when it starts, you’re so scared you want it to stop.”
“There are problems, however. Like the Vette’s complete lack of exclusivity. The Z06 is stonk fast but, to most, it looks like any other Vette. And, to be completely honest, when driven back to back against a new Viper, it feels utterly emasculated.”
“Meanwhile, nobody is going to mistake a Viper for anything other than, well, a Viper. Unlike the Z06, there’s no watered-down sissy version in the hands of every Newport Ned who likes its image. The Viper only comes in one flavor: Hardcore.”
“In the limitless world of instrumented testing, the Viper bettered the Corvette at every opportunity. Its 11.8-second quarter-mile time and 3.7-second 0-60-mph sprint are just plain ridiculous. And its 125 mph trap speed is the fastest we’ve ever recorded for any car in the quarter-mile.”
“Power-shifting through the gears of the Viper’s six-speed Tremec transmission is like driving a D9 Cat through a mobile home: There’s a lot going on, but hold the wheel straight and nothing matters except the thrill.”
“The Corvette is also very quick, but the experience doesn’t pack the same buzz as it does in the Viper. There’s less noise, less intensity and less risk of death. Although it crushed the 60 mph barrier in just 4.1 seconds and blasted through the quarter-mile in 12.0 seconds at 122 mph, the Vette finishes several car lengths behind the Dodge.”
“Drive the Viper hard in a series of corners and you won’t settle into a smooth rhythm like you might in a less powerful, lighter Porsche 911, Ferrari F430 or even a Z06 Corvette.”
“It might force its way down a twisty road like a parade of Nextel Cup cars, but manhandle it properly, and it does so faster than all of the above. Subtle? No. Effective? Yes.”
“At 70.8 mph through the slalom and 0.93g on the skid pad, the Z06 isn’t really in the same league as the Viper”
“Both cars also have exceptional brakes, but again the Viper’s are just a little bit better.”
“Cupholders? There are two. Which is two more than the Dodge has.”
“It’s not that the Corvette isn’t sharp. It’s just overshadowed heavily by the Viper any time raw performance is a factor.”
“The shifter for the Z06′s six-speed, for example, is fine on its own, but compare it to the Viper’s accurate shift linkage and it feels like it’s been smoothed over by a committee meeting.”
“We’re also fans of the Viper’s signature side exhaust. It’s part of what makes a Viper a Viper. It’s also the reason God invented long pants. Burning your calf on the sucker is not fun.”
“And that is why the Viper wins this test. Because it forces you to commit. Think of it like a bacon and egg breakfast. In a bacon and egg breakfast, the chicken is involved, but the pig is committed. Viper buyers take the plunge. They must commit. This car is just flat scary. Loud, rough, hot as hell and faster than a Z06, it wins this test because it deserves to – because it’s badass and it’s not afraid to admit it.”
