Guys/Gals:
Just a question for you all to get your opinion.
I should be able to put together 50K by the end of the year (If it all works out). I am considering 2 Options.
1.) 2001 Z06 (about 30K) and get the Lengenfelter Darton Sleeve 427 Upgrade (20K). 21'st Century Musclecars is local to me here in Dallas.
2.) 2000-2001 Viper GTS (about 50K)
I can't afford a new Viper, or don't like the new Corvette Design, so there out of my option list.
I am extremely busy with work, and will only be able to have time to drive the car 3000 ish miles a year. I also have kids on the way. Wife wants me to get my dream car so she is OK with this (THANK GOODNESS !). She tells me that I better choose the car I REALLY want because We both agree I will not be able to afford another for a very long time (paying off house, 2 trucks, college funds etc...)
Some factors/concernsI have on both.
1.) Is the LPE package emissions legal? I don't want to have to worry about that now or 10 years from now.
2.) Reliablity of either car.
3.) Cost of ownership
There is a Viper Club, and a few Corvette Clubs local here in Dallas that both appear to be good to get into.
I'm looking for something special that will be just as attractive, and fun to drive today as it will be 10 years from now. Neither car is intended to be an "investment". I plan to drive when I get time.
Which car is faster or has more power is not really a concern of mine. I know the 427 Z06 would be faster obviously.
Which car would you want 10 years from now ? (be honest)
You'll see another Vette just about every day you drive yours. No one will know its special except you and a few that get close and personal.
A nice Viper with good exhaust upgrade will sound unique and look amazing even in 10 years time - it'll also be the ONLY one you see 9 out of 10 times you drive. It'll be an event everytime you get in it or even look at it in the garage - it has a presence the Vette doesn't have....
As a head turner there is no comparison, you'll feel like a movie star in the Viper - and its torque will make it a more impressive cruiser than the Vette - which will need more rpms to really perform.
I was going to do the same engine package....Darton 427 for my Trans Am. But I thought since I was blowing that much money I might was well go for a C5R block and be much more at peace with the engine reliability. Yes the 427 vette is going to be faster than a stock viper. Possibly more enjoyable depending on the owner. But if given the choice, I'd take my Viper any day over a modded C5. It's just an all around better car.
Get the viper, and maybe later down the road, you can start modding that thing up. When you do that, the 427 vette will only be a distant spec in your mirror. Plus, people will go nuts over a viper all day long....they see vettes at every street corner. Exclusivity is a large factor in Viper ownership.
I've had 2 Z06's and they were good cars. However, I wouldn't give my Viper for both of them. For what you say you want the car for the Viper would be perfect. My brother has a LPE S/C 02 Z06 nice ride and fast but it just doesn't compare to the Viper. Besides you can get a 96-99 forged piston viper add a 7500.00 Roe S/C run 5-10psi and put the hurt on most cars out there. Buy one that has a few mods. like exhaust, headers, throttle bodies, etc.... they work well the the Roe S/C. If you want a badazz muscle car buy the viper you won't regret it.
When you think about the ROI, the $20k you spend on the 427 package will probably yield only return of about $2-3k when you go to sell the car. The Viper has more inherent value and will be worth more now and in the future.
01 Z06s can be purchased for the low 30's, of course they may need the 're-ring' which mine is going to be getting (on warranty) in the next month or so.
Of course, if you're going to do a 427, then it needs new rings anyway... However, I would get the Viper. I also have a 99 GTS and although I put three times the miles on the Z06, if I had to sell one of the cars, the Corvette would be outta here.
I just like the Viper better. I has the looks - and the stock engine is smooth, powerfull, and passes my local emissions tests with no problem. I don't doubt that the LPE car would be faster, but you will have all the not so good charactersitics of a tuner modified car.
I'm keeping the Viper as my long term play and 'daydream' car. Twenty years from now the Viper will still be cool.
I had a Corvette and really enjoyed the car. But the Viper is just a different animal.
Even with the power being comparable the Viper is truly unique, and Gen II Vipers will be even more rare and desirable in 10 years time.
To get a car like the Viper that makes people scream and wave as you drive by, you would need to get something like a $$$ Ferrari Enzo, Lamborghini or McLaren. If you don't want to be noticed, the Viper is NOT the car for you.
Short of getting a Ford GT or Saleen S7, the Viper is as close as you will get to an American exotic car.
And yet it's reliable enough to drive it every day if you like (I do). [img]/images/graemlins/smiles[/img]
since, as per your own words, youre not concerned about "which car is faster or has more power" it seems youre all about the poser, that makes it easy, VERY easy...VIPER.
BTW, whats the HP/TQ of this LPE vette??
the only upside to the vette is the collectability as I would think that might be something worth considering in the future with it being an LPE vette. BUT, again as for aesthetics, its still just a vette on the road of looks and posing. its "nice", a viper is always "WOW"
The HP/TQ of the LPE Z06 will be somewhere around 550 Crank HP and TQ. I'm just looking for something a little different than the norm. Just don't want to have something that EVERYONE else has.
Is the reliability of the GTS good ? I have heard rumors that its in the shop a lot. That may be a bad rumor though.
I'll tell ya, my Viper is broken a lot less than any of my Vettes! I live in Dallas too, and I see Vettes EVERYWHERE! I see a Viper once in a blue moon. Hell, I see more Ferraris around here than Vipers! Stock, my Viper put down 436hp & 490lbs of torque at the rear wheels. If you use the standard 15% drivetrain loss, my STOCK Viper was doing 510hp and 575lbs of torque at the crank, and looks better than a Vette any day of the week!
