09 ZR1, didn't buy it!

[fuelman]

Yesterday I got a call from Daytona Dodge, they had the president of NASCAR's 2009 ZR1 for sale, only 140 miles on it, and they gave me first option to buy it. I went down there in an 08 Viper and parked right next to it. I looked it over, sat in it, ran the engine, could have driven it ( and I am sure it would have been awesome performance) but in the end, standing next to it and looking at it next to the 08 Viper Coupe, I just couldn't over come the feeling that no matter the amazing performance and technology it looks, sounds, and feels just like another Vette. They should have done something special with the body and interior on these cars, tacking on a bunch of carbon fiber doesn't do it for me. Now I know that the Viper haters are gonna come on here and rip me one, but the car just doesn't look special, there are tens of thousands of other Vette's that just look too similar. I own Fords and Chevys too, so I am not just Dodge Blind (although I am a Mopar guy through and through,) my Ford GT looks and feels special this Vette does not. If I were in the market for a Vette, I think I would just plop down $42K for a brand new standard C6, then drop $30K into and have more power and the same looking car for half the price.

 

[seabass]

amen!!! good choice and I agree... I was originally in the market for a Z06 but fortunately I was steered in the direction of the Viper. Corvette's are very nice for what they are but they all look exactly the same and there are a ton of them... (not as many ZR-1's but who would know the difference)?

 

[slysnake]

Sometimes people say that the gen 3-4 cars look too much like a vette. But you set them next to each other and it's like night and day. Well to me anyway.

 

[2001-V10 Power Nut]

We all know you would'nt buy one Besides if you did and then you would be

 

[adamlotus]

good choice ,for the same price for a zr1 you can buy a lamborghini murci or a ford gt,way overpriced imo that car should not be more than 90 k,the 08 viper kicks ass

 

[NorthernSnake]

When a Vette goes by i have to stare at it to determine what it is.
When a porsche goes by dear god does it take close scrutiny to determine what it is.

When a viper goes by...it needs no determining. lol

 

[Viperless]

My '09 and a ZR1 that belongs to a club member. These two cars couldn't be more different in my opinion.

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[VIPER BAZ UK]

They are both awsome cars...But cant see me trading the snake for one....
I am going to see one tomorrow though in the UK.....

 

[Martin]

I think it's the air intake shape, headlight shape, and the forward sloping side vents that make the newer Vipers look a lot more like a vette than, say, a Gen II GTS. The Gen II's NACA scoop, along with the rearward sloping side vents were SO much different than anything else out there that there was just no mistaking it for anything else.

Honestly, and I know I'll get bashed for this, when I first saw the above picture, the first thing that caught my eye were the headlights and the scoop on the vette and I had to do a double-take to realize it was a vette and not a Gen 3. The forward hood vents on the Gen 4 really do set it apart quickly, though.

 

[fuelman]

I suppose if the price had been really good, I could have justified it from a collector stand point, but at $129K it was no steal. I had no room to negotiate as they had someone coming to pick it up at that price if I didnt take it. I think the biggest distingushing factor is when you sit in the cars and start them. The ZR1, really sounds and idles like a standard Vette, again I know it would scream had I driven it, but the feel and sound of the V10 when you hit the red button, you know it is something special. Something scary for the future, Daytona Dodge has been a Viper Dealer for a long time, they always have Vipers. When I was there they sold their last Viper, FOREVER, THATS IT!! They won't be getting anymore Vipers. The writing is on the wall guys. If you have been on the fence about a new Viper, I think I would get off it and make a move. The shame is they sold that Viper, a red 09 SRT10, to a couple of Vette guys that say they don't even like Vipers. Real Shame..

 

[jpa99acr]

shame is they sold that Viper, a red 09 SRT10, to a couple of Vette guys that say they don't even like Vipers. Real Shame..

Then why did they buy it? That's weird.

 

[Martin]

Then why did they buy it? That's weird.

I have a LOT of friends that love cars, but have always been loyal to their favorites (Porsche, vetts, BMWs). Last weekend I heard more people saying that they were seriously considering a Viper than I had ever heard in all the time I knew them. The feeling out there is that Vipers are going away - and the same people that have given me a hard time for loving Vipers are now out there looking for one to buy. It is a little weird, but any of us that saw cool cars of the '70s dissapear forever know what it's like to say "I wish I would have bought one of those while I could...". Just look back on Hemi Cudas, Hemi Chargers, split-window Vettes, Shelby GT500s, etc. It doesn't take much to realize that something like the Viper is going to be an icon just like those were. This time around, I don't think anyone is fooling themselves that the muscle car era is here to stay or might come back again. It took over 30 years for today's era to come around, and not many of us are going to want to wait until it comes around again. Good enough reason to buy now if you ask me - even if Viper is going to be around for the forseeable future.

 

[jamie furman]

My '09 and a ZR1 that belongs to a club member. These two cars couldn't be more different in my opinion.

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Man in this picture I have to give the nod to the ZR1, that thing looks awesome!

 

[Darbgnik]

As Vettes go, that thing looks awesome.... well minus the hood window anyways. Great wheels.

Too bad for the Viper that the new Vette took many of the styling cues, definitely makes the Gen 2s look more distinct.

Same raised fenders, same intake duct, same lights......and theres a ton of 'em to boot.

 

[Greg 99ACR Red and Silver]

Is that ZR1 lowered a bit or is that the stock ride height?

 

[Nine Ball]

Is that ZR1 lowered a bit or is that the stock ride height?

Appears stock height. But, you can lower any 1997-2009 Corvette in about 20 minutes for free, with just a floor jack and wrench. They have threaded pucks at each corner, to contact the traverse leaf springs.

I'm with the original poster, the ZR1 just doesn't have enough unique factor for the pricetag. I think my '09 Z06 looks better, and it only cost half as much with all these rebates ($66K new).

Tony

 

[fuelman]

Then why did they buy it? That's weird.

I think they realize that some day that 09 Viper is going to be worth more than any of their Vettes.....

 

[Spdrcrj25]

I agree, the ZR1 is an awesome performing machine and I'm a Chevy guy. But the Viper offers 100 times the exclusivity. Went by my local Dodge dealer that has an '09 Viper Red coupe on the showroom floor. Man, I wish my future was set after next year. I'd be in.

 

[Les Quam]

Why is the ZR-1 129K?? Is that MSRP? I thought MSRP was closer to 100K?

 

[adamlotus]

with all options zr1 is msrp is around close to 120k people are buying them at over msrp but vipers go for 20k sometimes more understicker i nver did get that.

 

[Viperless]

Is that ZR1 lowered a bit or is that the stock ride height?

Stock height. One of the things they did right. Why can't Dodge figure it out??

 

[black mamba1]

I LOOVVVEE Vettes! The C6 styling is spot on and the wider stance and aggressive styling of the Z06 and the Zr1 turns my head every time I see them.

But they are in a completely different class from the Viper. The Vette is a man with a pistol. The Viper is an army with tanks. The Vette is an aggressive blue jay during mating season...the Viper is a hungry Eagle on a hunt...the Vette is Rocky Balboa....the Viper is Mike Tyson on steroids....

You get the picture!

 

[FLATOUT]

When I first saw the new ACR in red and black I damn near fell out of my chair it was so amazing.

The ZR1 never even remotely made me feel that way. I remember telling my wife that the Viper just looks ready to destroy anything in it's way.

Love the new ZR1 but would take an ACR over it any day of the week.

Andy

 

[Newport Viper]

I just can't get past the hood window. Why do I want to look through the hood at a plastic engine cover. It would be cool if it showed the blower or something.

TACKY TACKY TACKY

 

[bluesrt]

the zr-1 is cooooool! viper is coooooool! they are both american muscel cars.they will not be around new for long

 

[MbnViper]

same thing happened to me, i parked my ACR and when i came back saw a ZR1 parked next to it.


then i realized money well spent on the ACR

there is no shame admitting im a Pro viper guy, yet i do like the ZR1 and vettes and respect people choices.

and as always all cars are good.

 

[Dads Toy]

Both are amazing cars and I would love to own either. I was at a chevy dealer yesterday and a salesman took me to the service bay and asked me to look through the window and tell him what I saw. I looked and said nice vette. He then told me it was a ZR1, I looked again and then noticed it was. That's the difference, you DO have to look hard to tell a Base Vette vs a Z06 vs a ZR1. Vipers are easy to spot.

I don't care which is faster or has more HP because with $$$ you can make either faster. I just love that we have/had two American muscle cars that can put foriegn super cars in their place at a fraction of the cost.

 

[-FROG-]

That ZR1 is sick! I have seen 2 in person here in Austin and they are lookers without doubt. But yea, they just don't have enough to set them above the other vettes as far as looks. I mean... in that picture, it looks much better than a stock C6, but...

My friend just bought a black C6 Zo6 this weekend for $43,000. I was heading over to his house to see his new car, following my buddy in his widebody kit C6 and we pull up to a light, where another C6 Z06 was sitting. The Z06 is pretty incredible too, but I saw 3 of the "same looking" cars in a matter of 15 mins. Maybe even passed another C6 or two, on the way.

My friend LOVES his C6 Z06 and had a Z51 package C6 before he just purchased his Z06. I kept trying to explain to him that getting into a nice Viper for that $43,000 would have been a big deal, but he just didn't care. Granted he got a killer deal on the Z06 and it is pretty bad ass, a Viper at that same price would have put him in the Exotic car territory and he would be more "Elite".

 

[AZTVR]

I just can't get past the hood window. Why do I want to look through the hood at a plastic engine cover. It would be cool if it showed the blower or something.

TACKY TACKY TACKY

Exactly my reaction !!!!! What is more bizarre is to see one at a car show with the hood up. *** ? There is absolutely nothing to see under the hood other than what you can see through the window when the hood is shut.

I want to say to the guy, "Great looking brake fluid reservior you have there !" but, I know that he is just as enthusiastic about his car as I am about mine.

 

[johniew398]

I had never owned a Viper and I was originally in line for 14 months to buy a ZR1. Glad I didn't. I like my Z06 but wouldn't part with my Viper now and there is no comparison in looks.

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