I just got this months Car and Driver. Needless to say I love the Viper and always will, but I am seriously disappointed as I know many of you are. The numbers for the Coupe are great, in fact they are more extreme than most people can handle/want. But, the Z06 has better numbers than the coupe. I am in no way putting the Viper down, but I am very disappointed that DC has let this happen...The Z06 (whether it is in showrooms or not) has better numbers and a very large price difference from the Viper. Like I said I am not putting the Viper down, its my favorite car. I would never buy a vette no matter how cheap or how fast for the fact that it doesn't do anything for me. Daimler-Chrysler MUST step it up and put the Viper where it belongs....14 years ahead of the competition just like it did with the original 1992 Viper. I hope DC will take our advice and bump up the HP and torque for the second year Viper Coupe especially if we can't get the looks of it where we want.
PS for anyone who pulls the "You cant afford it and never will anyway so why do you care?" or anything like that GO FUCK YOURSELF!!! Long live the Viper light years ahead of the competition.
Sounds a lot like a post I just made on another website, It seems that a lot of people feel the same way......
"I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the 'official' unveiling of the SRT coupe and I must say, I was bitterly dissapointed to see that there was little to no changes made to the car from the VOI pre-release Coupe. Sure the car does look good but it doesn't have the same 'rip your head off' looks that the GEN1 and GEN2 cars had.
Instead of bumping up power like Dodge should have done, it sat at 500 and waited for the Vette to catch up. Yes I know, 500 is more than any sane person will ever need or use but the Viper deserves insane amounts of power to match its (previous) good looks. In almost everyway for many years, the Viper had a leading edge on the Vette and now that has all come to an end. Please don't see this as a Viper fan having a winge about the Vette getting better because it isn't, this is a winge about the Viper staying the same.
The new Z06 will be lighter, approx $15K cheaper, just as fast if not faster. Both cars now look very similar (which I believe is a bad thing for both cars) and neither of them look that good!
I really do like the vette, it has been a true American sportscar for many decades and has a long history that most other cars dont even come close to. We will have to wait till the cars are finally in production and are turning over some numbers but I suspect that the new Z06 will be just as fast if not faster than the Coupe. I think that everyone who are saying things like "Yes but Vipers are exclusive, vettes are on every corner" are right, but is that all we have left?
I am a diehard Viper fan, I feel that Dodge have done the cost effective thing with this car rather than listening to what the community wanted. Viper communities everywhere are dissapointed and I felt my need to vent.
Dodge really have done the ordinary when they should of done the extraordinary."
Why do poeple say the Vette has better numbers. Yes, it weighs less, but we all know the Vipers engine is underrated. Hell, look at some of the dyno sheets for stocker. They average 453 HP and usually 500ish ft.tq, at the wheels. Those are nearly the bhp numbers for a Z06. Its got atleast 50+ ft.lbs on the vette...
One of the reasons the new Viper coupe is heavier than the Z06 is that it is built off of the SRT-10 convertible structure. If it had been an entirely new design for the coupe they could have saved significant weight.
But wouldnt the convertible chassis with a roof prove to be EXTREMELY rigid? Or does there come a point in the design where all extra gussets get you is extra weight? I plead ignorance on this point.
The numbers printed in Car and Driver say that the Z06 is faster 0-60, 0-100 and 1/4 mile. It definitely is possible that the numbers are off by a few tenths of a second (faster or slower), but the fact remains that since the Viper has come out it has always been MANY tenths and sometimes a whole second faster than the fastest stock Z06 Vette. I think that the horsepower wars are a good thing because in theory it should make everyone bump the power of their cars up. I am not positive about this but didn't the first year GTS's have less power than the rest of the Gen 2 cars? If so hopefully DC will do again what it did in 97 and increase the power of the coupe at least (but should definitely do the same to SRT-10 vert)...
One of the reasons the new Viper coupe is heavier than the Z06 is that it is built off of the SRT-10 convertible structure. If it had been an entirely new design for the coupe they could have saved significant weight.
From going from a 96 Vette with a few mods to my 2000 GTS, the Viper just plain out rules for out of the box performance BUT in the Vette's defense, it was a HELL of a lot easier to road race than my Viper. I suspect the new Z06 will be a TON easier to drive than the Coupe too, but I am not sure since I never drove the GEN 3 Viper yet. Damn DC for letting their big performance edge go up in smoke. With my experience with CRAPPY service from car dealers (OMG ask me about Gary Barbera in Philadelphia (presently in NJ Superior Court)) on my beloved Viper, I truly do consider getting a new Z06 maybe in two years as a beater. Corvettes are a TON cheaper to maintain, aftermarket parts are everywhere, dealers CAN work on them BUT they are on every block in every state which is troublesome to most of us.... Good for GM on this one, maybe it will make DC get their poop together.
I expected Dodge to up the horsepower to about 550. They would have been safe enough there. The new Z06 will be dangerous, as well as the new Saleen S281 which also has over 500hp.
If the Viper had as low as a Gear Ratio, the Viper would be significantly faster....... They need to Jump to the 600hp Range......... No Fucking around, Change pistons and Valve-train. Or make the V10 Hemi being rumored so much....
The numbers printed in Car and Driver say that the Z06 is faster 0-60, 0-100 and 1/4 mile. It definitely is possible that the numbers are off by a few tenths of a second (faster or slower), but the fact remains that since the Viper has come out it has always been MANY tenths and sometimes a whole second faster than the fastest stock Z06 Vette. I think that the horsepower wars are a good thing because in theory it should make everyone bump the power of their cars up. I am not positive about this but didn't the first year GTS's have less power than the rest of the Gen 2 cars? If so hopefully DC will do again what it did in 97 and increase the power of the coupe at least (but should definitely do the same to SRT-10 vert)...
The horsepower wars are definitely a great thing, but it's pretty obvious you have no idea what you're talking about. Stock Z06's are low 12 second cars with an average driver. Since when is a stock GTS MANY tenths or a full second quicker than that? On average, yes the GTS is a quicker and faster car than the Z06, but don't say things you have no idea about. A stock '96 GTS has the same 450 horsepower as the '02 models. Face it, DC is doing nothing (yet) to counter the new Z06. Get over it and accept it. If DC continues with 500 horsepower and doesn't do anyhing about the weight, they might as well put the nails in the Vipers coffin now. Which would be a real tragedy in my opinion.
If the Viper had as low as a Gear Ratio, the Viper would be significantly faster....... They need to Jump to the 600hp Range......... No Fucking around, Change pistons and Valve-train. Or make the V10 Hemi being rumored so much....
Exactly, if the Viper had the equivelant 3.42 gears, it would make nice difference and certainly make it a solid mid 11 second car right out of the box. Why is DC so hell bent on 3.07 gears anyway?
