Topic: First Drive: 2014 SRT Viper GTS

[Autos_Editor]

This SRT Viper GTS continues to embody the appealing combination of grunt and responsiveness that characterizes the brand. It's just wrapped in a tidier package.

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[wing]

More WANT than I can handle argh...

[Snowman]

I hear that an Autos contributor pick himself up a Viper recently 

[Patrick_D1]

I hear that an Autos contributor pick himself up a Viper recently 

He did indeed, but one of the old "no-driver-aids-will-probably-kill-you-dead" versions 

[tooscoops]

i have had the good fortune of driving a couple of these beasts... while i love being able to say i have driven them, i didn't love the actual experience.

while it was exciting when i would get in the car, it took quite a bit of effort. the shifting was very short and after hearing so many cases of people skipping gears by accident when downshifting, i was scared to do anything that involved more direct gear changes. the ride was uncomfortable and unrefined...

but i still think these cars are an amazing machine and hope there are enough great drivers out there willing to put their skills to the test.  luckily, the cars have been greatly improved since i had the opportunity to drive them.

vipers are the new american muscle... more power than most can handle and will get 90% of the driving public in an early grave if they were given the chance to unleash it. while the vette is just as quick, it just doesn't have that scary factor. it's like being chased by a greyhound and a doberman... both are damn fast, but i'm only worried about one killing me when it catches me... (i'm sure i look like a big t-bone to both)

[redman]

Chrysler did a good job of maintaining the Viper look with only subtle changes.

Definitely a street beast to be reckoned with that might be best suited for the track.

Danger in teenagers hands if one ever got "snuck out".

[mixmanmash]

I dunno.  No disrespect to the Viper as it is one helluva car, but I think I would rather own a C7 Vette GS with the dry sump option.

[Fobroader]

When it first came out in the early 90's, it stirred my 11 year old loins. This was my dream car, with its sidepipes and its snarling V10 engine. Now.....Im with mixmanmash....Id go Vette before Viper without even thinking about it. Seems that while the Vette might not be that awesome on a track, you can use it to take the wife on a weekend cruise or go to work, which by the sounds of the Viper, would not be a sexy good time. Cool car anyways!! 

[mixmanmash]

My reason for Vette over Viper is many:

1. Performance bang for the buck.
2. Certainly will be cheaper on repairs / replacement parts that it will need with the track abuse it will see in my hands.
3. Guaranteed a huge aftermarket following, meaning mods will be plentiful and cheap. I'm sure GM is going to be putting the new LT1 in many vehicles come 2015.

[Fobroader]

The aftermarket is huge and yeah, everything for the Vette is cheaper.

[Northernridge]

I hear that an Autos contributor pick himself up a Viper recently 

He did indeed, but one of the old "no-driver-aids-will-probably-kill-you-dead" versions 

The owner of a local Dodge store died in a high speed wreck a few years ago driving his no-driver-aides Viper.

[Northernridge]

But, you gotta love the insanity of the Viper.

[Fobroader]

When it first came out in the early 90's, it stirred my 11 year old loins. This was my dream car, with its sidepipes and its snarling V10 engine. Now.....Im with mixmanmash....Id go Vette before Viper without even thinking about it. Seems that while the Vette might not be that awesome on a track, you can use it to take the wife on a weekend cruise or go to work, which by the sounds of the Viper, would not be a sexy good time. Cool car anyways!! 

The Vette is a better track car than the Viper. The old ZR1 already beats the new Viper around the track and it's an old chassis developed a decade ago.

Really?!?! Hmmm, thought that V10 in the Viper would be damn unbeatable....well then, the Vette is better all around.

But, you gotta love the insanity of the Viper.

There is this...... 

[tooscoops]

i'd go viper for the same reasons that a bunch of you would go vette....

i don't want a car that i'll see 5 of every day... cheaper parts and cheaper to fix?... spending 100 grand on a toy car, i'm not overly worried about the other stuff.

to me a viper is something special... a vette is just a very fast car. as for the vette being a faster track car... i thought the new viper just set the record again? and from the interviews i've read and listened to, they all say the viper is "faster", but just not able to control as fluidly on a track as the vette.

[mixmanmash]

i'd go viper for the same reasons that a bunch of you would go vette....

i don't want a car that i'll see 5 of every day... cheaper parts and cheaper to fix?... spending 100 grand on a toy car, i'm not overly worried about the other stuff.

to me a viper is something special... a vette is just a very fast car. as for the vette being a faster track car... i thought the new viper just set the record again? and from the interviews i've read and listened to, they all say the viper is "faster", but just not able to control as fluidly on a track as the vette.

My reasons are from a track usage perspective.  I know what some simple parts on a Viper cost and for how much I would use it on a track, it wouldn't make monetary sense.

[tooscoops]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DLa3l_UX77c#at=13

here's the viper T/A beating that record the vette set in your video. these two are close cars... no doubt about that. and as i posted previously, the viper is faster.. even probst said as much in his first drive... he said it just was harder to get to it's limits, where the vette made it more accessible (which generally would mean it's a quicker track car for most people).

ralph gilles claimed motor trend was scared to drive the viper... while i agree, i feel they *should* be afraid. and that's what i would want! who wants a racecar that grandpa can drive!?

and in response to mix.... would a viper OR vette make monetary sense to purchase? whatever the usage? no.... cars like this don't make sense. they just make my pants fit funny

[mixmanmash]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DLa3l_UX77c#at=13

here's the viper T/A beating that record the vette set in your video. these two are close cars... no doubt about that. and as i posted previously, the viper is faster.. even probst said as much in his first drive... he said it just was harder to get to it's limits, where the vette made it more accessible (which generally would mean it's a quicker track car for most people).

ralph gilles claimed motor trend was scared to drive the viper... while i agree, i feel they *should* be afraid. and that's what i would want! who wants a racecar that grandpa can drive!?

and in response to mix.... would a viper OR vette make monetary sense to purchase? whatever the usage? no.... cars like this don't make sense. they just make my pants fit funny

Say that to the GT-R owners.  Lol.

True, they may not make sense to purchase.  I mean it from a strictly toy usage perspective.

[neil]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DLa3l_UX77c#at=13

here's the viper T/A beating that record the vette set in your video. these two are close cars... no doubt about that. and as i posted previously, the viper is faster.. even probst said as much in his first drive... he said it just was harder to get to it's limits, where the vette made it more accessible (which generally would mean it's a quicker track car for most people).

ralph gilles claimed motor trend was scared to drive the viper... while i agree, i feel they *should* be afraid. and that's what i would want! who wants a racecar that grandpa can drive!?

and in response to mix.... would a viper OR vette make monetary sense to purchase? whatever the usage? no.... cars like this don't make sense. they just make my pants fit funny

Ah, the Viper T/A. A track tuned special edition of which only 33 are being produced. So SRT needed to being out their special edition Viper early just to avoid the embarrassment of having their asses handed to them by an 8 year old outgoing C6 Corvette.

Listen the Viper is the modern day interpretation of the Cobra. It's rough, raw, and it will kill you. I see the appeal and I've always like the GTS but it needs some proper engineering work. Kudos to SRT, though, for entering ALMS as they obviously see the value of taking lessons from the race car to the street car.

The Motortrend test had the Viper underbraked compared to the ZR1. 

[Patrick_D1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DLa3l_UX77c#at=13

here's the viper T/A beating that record the vette set in your video. these two are close cars... no doubt about that. and as i posted previously, the viper is faster.. even probst said as much in his first drive... he said it just was harder to get to it's limits, where the vette made it more accessible (which generally would mean it's a quicker track car for most people).

ralph gilles claimed motor trend was scared to drive the viper... while i agree, i feel they *should* be afraid. and that's what i would want! who wants a racecar that grandpa can drive!?

and in response to mix.... would a viper OR vette make monetary sense to purchase? whatever the usage? no.... cars like this don't make sense. they just make my pants fit funny

Ah, the Viper T/A. A track tuned special edition of which only 33 are being produced. So SRT needed to being out their special edition Viper early just to avoid the embarrassment of having their asses handed to them by an 8 year old outgoing C6 Corvette.

Listen the Viper is the modern day interpretation of the Cobra. It's rough, raw, and it will kill you. I see the appeal and I've always like the GTS but it needs some proper engineering work. Kudos to SRT, though, for entering ALMS as they obviously see the value of taking lessons from the race car to the street car.

The Motortrend test had the Viper underbraked compared to the ZR1.

To be expected - steel vs. carbon ceramic.

[tooscoops]

agree v.

i'll be interested to see what happens with the new vette. i think we are getting to the point where the performance is maxed out... now its a question of physics being overcome! and when that doesn't work, they will make them more comfortable, or add 25 speaker sound systems and 20 airbags making them actually slower.