1997 Hennessy 650 viper

[triathguy]

i just sold my 2001 Boxter, 2002 Z06 and 1999 NSX to by one car. I found a Hennessy 650r GTS Viper blue with white strips in Orlando. It has 12,000 miles and appears to be in perfect condition for $56.000.00 HUMMER trade in at local dealer. Can you tell me about the 650r and is this a good price and are Vipers dependable. thanks gregory

 

[PhilC]

Just my opinion, but if it were me I would run as fast as I could away from that deal. You will regret it on many levels and it will likely leave you with a very bad taste in your mouth for Vipers and the right Viper at the right price can be an amazing experience.

Phil

 

[Gerald]

Get it dynoed 1st. It should read about 560-570rwhp. If it doesn't.. You have no idea what you're buying. A dyno run should cost about $100 or so. Perhaps Larry Mecedo knows the history of the car? He's in Orlando also. Perhaps he can help you out there. Good Luck.


Gerald

 

[Saleen-Explorer]

Who the hell would trade a Viper for a freaken Hummer???!?!?

Goods luck with it, but did you really need to sell all 3 of those cars, that should have came out way above $56,000. Or did you only want 1 car and some extra cash for mods

I don't know much about the 650r except there seems to be quite a variance and discrepencies in it's power output.

 

[Jerome Sparich]

Ask the man himself. Pm or email me for details on how to talk to him.

 

[1TONY1]

If the dealer wants to sell it have them take it to Larrys shop and let him look it over. If he passes it, do the deal contingent on a rwhp dyno. Not because it is a Venom car but because you are paying a premium for mods and hp,....same thing on any built or p/a car. Larry can probably coordinate the dyno also. It will be money well spent.
http://www.macedomotorsports.com

 

[DEVILDOG]

Sounds like a great deal to me!

 

[Martin D]

Greg,

I have a 650R. I can possibly help you. What the other posters are saying is accurate....aside from possibly PhilC. I would also highly recommend Larry check it out - in addition to the Dyno test.

There have been just about 80 650R's produced. A small number of those have been questioned about their actual modifications. If you get me the numbers off the dash plaque, I can personally verify them. Email me if you are interested.

Regards,

 

[ViperJoe]

Welcome to the fold.
Hopefully you have been "lurking" a while and know ALL about those cars and it's builder.

Sold all of those to get 56k, MAN those cars sure take a beatin on resale! LOL!!!!!
Thats about right though, 3 Viper wanna be cars = 1 Viper. LOL!!!

GOOD LUCK!!

 

[BigCarrot]

Should be a sweet car if it checks out! Is it just me, or did they really allow the forbidden [******] word in the title of this thread?

 

[RedSnakeGTS]

it's just you, he left out an "e"

 

[JimDavis MT 97GTS 650R]

I have been very happy with my 1997 Venom 650R. 52K miles on it now, and the dependability has been as good as any stock Viper I know. My car # 00-05 dynoed at 577.4 HP and 581 FT LBs Torque. Frankly, any such mods from most tuners have questionable resale value in dollars over a stock unit. The fun factor can be immeasurable. Larry Macedo would deffinitely be the man to contact, and a dyno test would be advisible. Welcome to the world of Vipers!

 

[Lee00blacksilverGTS]

Dyno, Dyno, Dyno. We ran about 20 cars through Jason Heffners shop last year. One of these same models only put out about 450 rwhp, other bone stock 96-97's were putting out in the 440 rwhp range. The owner of the JH car was pretty unhappy. I will leave it to your imagination as to how that could happen. I would NEVER pay extra for mods without verifying that they are successful mods. Having said that if the car dynos for real you are getting a great deal like Devildog says. Use the shop that has been suggested to check out the dyno figure, and also contemplate the future if you have problems with the car. The gentleman who modded it has a checkered history to say the least.

 

[Chuck B 98 GTS]

Who the hell would trade a Viper for a freaken Hummer???!?!?

YEAH!

 

[PhilC]

All the folks that recommend dyno and full inspection are right on the money. Yes, I may have jumped the gun assuming the result but I'd still bet the result will be less than impressive. Please keep us posted.

 

[DEVILDOG]

I agree the car should be dynoed. It is prudent to properly check out any used car. My money says the Venom will dyno as advertised and for $56K and only 12K miles and a blue/white classic you got a GREAT deal! Enjoy it. BTW, where are you located and don't forget to join the VCA.

 

[Walt McFarland]

Greg;

I do agree with dynoing it--just to see what's what. I hope you got a great car and deal. Heck, If anything's amiss it can be fixed. Enjoy your Viper and welcome to the community.

 

[Vreracing]

I agree with the post of having it dynoed.

One of the local dealers got a [******]. I don't have the details on it. I wanted to drive it to see how it compared to mine. I never got a chance to.

The dealer sold it.

A few weeks later the buyer found out it wasn't really what it was supposed to be. A few meetings with attorneys, much money changed hands, and the problem was solved.

 

[Gerald Levin]

Just as a comparable, there is a 96 650 or 700 Hennessy here in Indianapolis at Highline Motors (on E. 96th St)that reportedly has $80,000 in mods (doubtful). This car has been auctioned repeatedly on ebay and has reached appx $55k with no sale. Not sure of the price, but this car can be another option or used as a comparable. Keep in mind its been for sale for a long time so they may be more reasonable with the price by now.