VENOM V
Enthusiast
I attended Maurice Liang's "Behind the Scenes with Viper Gen V" event. Ralph Gilles and Maurice were there to talk about what it was like to see the Viper rise from the dead and create the Gen V. This was not a VCA event, it was a Western Automotive Journalist's event, which Maurice is a member of. There was a nice mix of Viper and other SRT owners, and of course some members of the automotive press. There were a number of very cool Vipers there, a bunch of Challenger and Charger SRT8s, even a Charger Daytona with a matte black finish that just looked downright mean. I am fortunate to have Maurice running our region of the VCA. If any of you have ever met Maurice, you would know that he is a down to earth, passionate, self-proclaimed Viperoholic, LOL. You will not find two guys on the planet more obsessed with and dedicated to championing the Viper than Maurice and Ralph.
This was my first time seeing the Stryker Red in person, and there were two of them! One from the factory, the other one is a new owner's that lives about 1/2 hour from me. For those of you that don't know, I'm still waiting for my Viper but it's 100% built and just completing Final Inspection now. This paint is beautiful, day or night, sun or shade. One thing was clear, the polished Venom wheels with Hyperblack pockets are made for this color. The other Stryker Red had Hyperblack Sidewinder II's, the Hyperblack is a little dull looking next to the loud Strker Red. I have both sets of wheels, the Sidewinders I'll be using only at the track.
The high point for me was hanging out with Ralph. He really is a down to earth guy, he stayed until well past dark, just to chew the fat with the Viper and Challenger owners. We had some very interesting conversations. The Challenger owners wanted to know why I bought a Camaro (which I brought to the event) instead of a Challenger. Ralph overheard that, and said, "I'm listening." I explained that I needed a top-notch budget track car and wished that SRT had something light enough to compete with the Mustangs and Camaros. SRT needs to compete in this segment, the Camaro 1LE cost me less than $36K and can beat most any car at the road course at double its price. He gets it, he's on it, but can't talk about future products of course, LOL. He clearly appreciated that I was straight with him about that.
Ralph is an exceptional leader, in that he keeps his finger on the pulse of his customers. The Viper would have been dead if it were not for his passion and perseverance.
This was my first time seeing the Stryker Red in person, and there were two of them! One from the factory, the other one is a new owner's that lives about 1/2 hour from me. For those of you that don't know, I'm still waiting for my Viper but it's 100% built and just completing Final Inspection now. This paint is beautiful, day or night, sun or shade. One thing was clear, the polished Venom wheels with Hyperblack pockets are made for this color. The other Stryker Red had Hyperblack Sidewinder II's, the Hyperblack is a little dull looking next to the loud Strker Red. I have both sets of wheels, the Sidewinders I'll be using only at the track.
The high point for me was hanging out with Ralph. He really is a down to earth guy, he stayed until well past dark, just to chew the fat with the Viper and Challenger owners. We had some very interesting conversations. The Challenger owners wanted to know why I bought a Camaro (which I brought to the event) instead of a Challenger. Ralph overheard that, and said, "I'm listening." I explained that I needed a top-notch budget track car and wished that SRT had something light enough to compete with the Mustangs and Camaros. SRT needs to compete in this segment, the Camaro 1LE cost me less than $36K and can beat most any car at the road course at double its price. He gets it, he's on it, but can't talk about future products of course, LOL. He clearly appreciated that I was straight with him about that.
Ralph is an exceptional leader, in that he keeps his finger on the pulse of his customers. The Viper would have been dead if it were not for his passion and perseverance.
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
You must be registered for see images attach
Last edited:
