A few GTS Questions.

[Blue Beast II]

G'day everyone.

I am from Australia & am looking for some information on the GTSR's, as well as the SRT coupes (will be posting that in SRT sub forum). Anyway, I will come straight out & say it, that I am not in the market, probably wont be for about 3-5 years. Im working on shortening that down, but as a contradiction to that, its going to take time. I love all Vipers, have since my dad & I saw a model in the shop & realised "HEY THATS A DODGE!!". Dont get me wrong, but for me I think of the viper I go weak at the knees & & a tear comes to my eye. But when I think of the GTSR & GT2, well......... That has me convulsing on the floor. Thing is I love the viper so much, I that dont just want one. But 2. One of the early model shape & one of the later (I wouldnt have a clue on the exact model designations, but I'm here to learn) So keeping my usually ambitious sights high, I would like in that 3 to 5 year time frame, buy a GTSR or GT2 & ship it out here. Now I know that the GT2 was a limited production run of 100 units so minus any crashes, steal & burns, they are as rare as rocking horse poo, & as a result, come up for sale once in a blue moon. I did see a thread on here of one guy wanting to sell a GT2 & another that got passed in on Ebay. But on average, which is of course dependant on milage & condition, what would you be expected to pay for a GT2. Say Good to VG condition, 5000 miles or less? Just as a baseline.

Now after reading a little around this site, I have come to a thought that the GTSR was never a road going version, right? Im guessing they were only what the competition coupes were. A purpose built racecar. What year did they come out 97? I think I am right on the year. But I am sure there had to be a road going version, because the class that the vipers were entered into for racing needed to sell a road going car. So was there a road going version, & if so what were its numbers? & Just out of interest were they & the GT2's built on the same assembly line as the main Vipers? & Once again if there is a road going version of the GTSR, what (using the above example) would one be worth.

It would be handy to note that I would want a road going verion of one of these to drive & possibly race now & again here down under.

As a side note, I feel that I already know the answer to this one. Changing such a rare car to RHD would be sacrosanct, I would be burned at the stake no doubt! Just throwing it out there. Because honestly, shifting gears with my right hand........ I cringe at the thought!

Like I said, Im not in the market RIGHT now, but I want to get a bloody good head start on research, numbers, facts, figures & faults, So when the time comes, I am more than well informed & not overwhelmed at everything. Please post up your thoughts. It's ok. I like straight-to-the-point stuff.

Cheers,
BBII

P.S. Just out of interest what is considered the ultimate viper before the new shape came out? Be it factory or aftermarket tuners?

 

[DrumrBoy]

The GT2s/GTSRs are indeed very rare. They can be registered and road driven but few do....too rare and expensive. I track my GTSR-engined GTS and recently broke the crank. You don't even want to know how long and expensive the process of finding parts for that engine is. If you're looking for a car to enjoy, the better value is the SRT coupe. (BTW, I lived in OZ for a couple of years and it only takes a couple of weeks to get used to shifting with "the other hand")

 

[Dom426h]

The 1 of 100 GT2 is somewhat of a waste of money IMO. Its nothing more than a regular GTS with a wing(that you can buy) and a non-functional front splitter(that you could buy, but you wouldnt as there are functional ones out there that more closely represent the true GTS-R. Same goes for the ACR. Waste of money for what? Oversprung springs that many switch out and leaky shocks?

If you want a viper that looks AND performes closer to the true GTS-R racecar then i recommend buying a GTS and putting a Functional splitter and wing on it as well as a rear diffuser. Also a set of KW or Moton shocks. This car would perform and look more authentic to a GTS-R over the 1-100 gt2 and the Gen2 ACR.

More info on the GT2's here:
http://www.allpar.com/model/vipacr.htm

 

[Timnineside]

Hate to Hi-jack this tread, but I think you may be surprised but some of the GTS's are in your price range.

I agree with DOM, just buy a GTS and add on anything you may want later on. Most things are cosmetic, and as far as motor you can get the same or a hell of a lot more with a TT system, or Supercharger.

Just buy mine! It's a 99 so its all forged internally!

http://classifieds.viperclub.org/sh...er-gts-custom-matte-black-hre-895r-27s&cat=18

Good luck with buying a Viper either way!

 

[Blue Beast II]

Wow, that was a bit of any eye opener. I thought that the R had better suspension, an aero package tht worked, motor that could pull the world on its opposite axis & brakes that would pull your face off when you stopped. So its really nothing more than a GTS with eyeliner? Thats a bit sad!

Timnineside. That is a weapon. It looks the absolute biz. I usually dont like that "all matt, all black" look. But that really looks like i would frighten women children & small animals......

 

[72hemi]

The GT-2 also had a Dana 60 rear instead of the Dana 44. Not sure about other upgrades though from the standard GTS. As for a GTSR they do not have VIN numbers and therefore for the most part cannot be put on the street (although I am sure some people have), plus they typically sell for more than $300k!

 

[GTS Dean]

GTS-R racecars all had S/N (VIN) tags that started with "C"

Search for GTS-R posts by Nadine.

 

[okloneranger]

Blue, Do all automobiles driven "down under", reguardless of age, have to be right hand drive? I don't understand the logic behind that as most, if not all other countries allow either right or left hand drive on their streets. The cost for change over would doubtless eliminate most otherwise fine cars from being considered. Who and how does this protect? If and when you decide to use a Viper, most of us, in my opinion, would recommend a "standard" model of what ever year you decide on. It will be special and unique enough on its own after conversion reguardless of how you finish it out. My 2 cents

 

[Blue Beast II]

Blue, Do all automobiles driven "down under", reguardless of age, have to be right hand drive? I don't understand the logic behind that as most, if not all other countries allow either right or left hand drive on their streets. The cost for change over would doubtless eliminate most otherwise fine cars from being considered. Who and how does this protect? If and when you decide to use a Viper, most of us, in my opinion, would recommend a "standard" model of what ever year you decide on. It will be special and unique enough on its own after conversion reguardless of how you finish it out. My 2 cents

No not ll cars here have to be RHD. But I for one do not relish the idea of going LHD. I cringe at the thought. Some people may say that it's easy to wap & get used to. But it would feel uncordinated & unnatural. For once I dont want to even consider trying something different. Usually I do. But not this time. I want to stick with what I know & would be confortable with. Just my preference.

As for a straight GTS. Yes your right. Taking a run of the mill, dressing it up & tuning it how I want would feel better than being afraid to modify a rare edition.

 

[Martin]

No not ll cars here have to be RHD. But I for one do not relish the idea of going LHD. I cringe at the thought. Some people may say that it's easy to wap & get used to. But it would feel uncordinated & unnatural. For once I dont want to even consider trying something different. Usually I do. But not this time. I want to stick with what I know & would be confortable with. Just my preference.

As for a straight GTS. Yes your right. Taking a run of the mill, dressing it up & tuning it how I want would feel better than being afraid to modify a rare edition.

Are you sure about the ability to keep a car LHD when it's imported? I work for a company in Sydney, and I go over there often. At one point, I thought about staying there a bit more permanently and was thinking about bringing my car with me. I found out that they wouldn't even let my car into the country until it was converted over to RHD, and it's almost impossible to do. I'm not an expert on the subject, but from my limited experience checking out the rules/regulations, it made me think that it was almost impossible to get away with.

 

[JonB]

The GT-2 also had a Dana 60 rear instead of the Dana 44. Not sure about other upgrades though from the standard GTS. As for a GTSR they do not have VIN numbers and therefore for the most part cannot be put on the street (although I am sure some people have), plus they typically sell for more than $300k!

This tidbit above is NOT CORRECT. The 102 GT-2 GTS-R Replicas have the standard Dana 44 with the 3/8" Ring gears!

 

[DarcShadow]

No not ll cars here have to be RHD. But I for one do not relish the idea of going LHD. I cringe at the thought. Some people may say that it's easy to wap & get used to. But it would feel uncordinated & unnatural. For once I dont want to even consider trying something different. Usually I do. But not this time. I want to stick with what I know & would be confortable with. Just my preference.

As for a straight GTS. Yes your right. Taking a run of the mill, dressing it up & tuning it how I want would feel better than being afraid to modify a rare edition.

At the very least, I'd say to drive it for a month or so before doing the conversion. You might find you like it. A buddy of mine from the UK, lived in the states for a few years and when he went back took his Mustang with him. The looks he gets are great and he actually enjoys being on the "wrong" side, oncoming cars usually give him more room because they think he can't judge his distance as well, when in fact because he's on the road edge side, he can get even closer to the edge so there is actually a pretty large amount of space between the two cars as they pass by.