Boy. Some some people are so fickle.

[Nine Ball]

The 12C interior looks good, but not any better or worse than the new Viper. Even the steering wheels look similar. Same amount of leather covered surfaces and plastic.

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Even the base seats on the 12C are cloth.

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The Viper can also be ordered with the Laguna interior and all the carbon bits you'd ever want.

I agree, it is on par with the 458 once fully dressed.

 

[Bobpantax]

The car is a phenomenon. Yesterday we were in Coconut Grove with it. The restaurants with outdoor seating were packed with people. I have never experienced what occurred when we drove past Greenstreets and Lulus. ( Miami is used to exotics.) Everyone,and I mean everyone, turned to look at the car as we drove by. Many gave a thumbs up.

I wouldn't have even thought to consider how the TA's interior might compared to a Ferrari or a McLaren, nor particularly cared. That they would be even compared is interesting and flattering given the difference in vehicle costs, but not at all important to me in choosing a new car for its performance, driving characteristics and overall appearance. But they do all share great performance and exclusivity though, and would be great to dice it up with on the track. Not used to seeing many exotics driven well on the track, and I'd probably dial it back on the track a couple of 10ths if I owned one too. I expect buyers of the TA will buy it to more fully enjoy it for its intended use on track...and it shouldn't be too shabby for image and bragging rights either

 

[2003 Viper]

What a BEAUTIFUL Viper! Congrats Bob!!

 

[Bruce H.]

The car is a phenomenon. Yesterday we were in Coconut Grove with it. The restaurants with outdoor seating were packed with people. I have never experienced what occurred when we drove past Greenstreets and Lulus. ( Miami is used to exotics.) Everyone,and I mean everyone, turned to look at the car as we drove by. Many gave a thumbs up.

Oh, man...you obviously have absolutely no sensitivity for those of us living in the snow belt! You're killing me.

Btw, how are you finding driving it with the reduced visibility with the taller back spoiler? Do you need feel the need for a set of those tacky little round concave mirrors stuck on to the factory side mirrors?

 

[Bobpantax]

Hasn't been an issue because the aero is lower in the middle. You can see through the rear view mirror. Not perfect but enough to stay out of trouble. I do use the side mirrors a bit more in certain contexts. The rear view camera helps backing up.

I have empathy for the winterbound. I lived up there for many years. I hated the winter and was not pleased with the snow plow guy that used to smirk as he drove past our respective neighborhood driveways and sealed them up with a wall of snow after we had just finished shoveling them. Looking back on it, it was funny. At the time, it was not.

Oh, man...you obviously have absolutely no sensitivity for those of us living in the snow belt! You're killing me.

Btw, how are you finding driving it with the reduced visibility with the taller back spoiler? Do you need feel the need for a set of those tacky little round concave mirrors stuck on to the factory side mirrors?

 

[FLL-B/W-GTS]

The interior that is far ahead of all,is the 991/911 Porsche Turbo S with Full Leather and all the options.....LED Everywhere,Leather Everywhere and the computer with the carbon fiber multi function is insane nice...Carbon Fiber Everywhere also..

I now know you will bring your Snake to the Street Cars Drags,by your posts you are truly in love and will not make a appearance with it... Again,that Gen.5 TA Package has be rethinking on getting me one.Best so far, for sure...

 

[FLL-B/W-GTS]

Multi Function Steering Wheel and Center Control Panel that is....

 

[Bruce H.]

The interior that is far ahead of all,is the 991/911 Porsche Turbo S with Full Leather and all the options.....LED Everywhere,Leather Everywhere and the computer with the carbon fiber multi function is insane nice...Carbon Fiber Everywhere also..

I now know you will bring your Snake to the Street Cars Drags,by your posts you are truly in love and will not make a appearance with it... Again,that Gen.5 TA Package has be rethinking on getting me one.Best so far, for sure...

I know some here with GTS and full leather have said they'd pass on that if they were to do it again, and I saw photos of a GTS with all the interior carbon that looked way too trendy and overdone. I've had leather in just about every vehicle for decades and prefer fabric seats that breathe and grip. And after having the XKR with leather cooled seats (a/c cooled) I'll definitely look for that feature in the next car with leather. Leather may have become a symbol for luxury cars decades ago, but that doesn't apply to performance cars quite as well, IMO.

Porsche became a very popular symbol of performance that I have a great deal of respect for, but as hard as I tried I just could not get excited about owning or driving one. Spent literally weeks researching...just couldn't get excited by anything on the inside or outside. Maybe I've spent too many years tracking with them at PCA and other's HPDE and open lapping days. I've always driven more exclusive/rare/exciting cars, and I just can't get excited about driving a 911 anything. Glad you like yours though, and it's sure to be the best 911 turbo model so far.

 

[zim32]

Have owned a McLaren 12c for 1 1/2 years...love everything about it...including the interior (full leather)..tracked it once and it was a BEAST.
Also own a comp coupe, obviously, track only....have a white TA due to be delivered in approx. 2 weeks..can't WAIT!!

 

[Bobpantax]

Great! Please post when you get her.

Have owned a McLaren 12c for 1 1/2 years...love everything about it...including the interior (full leather)..tracked it once and it was a BEAST.
Also own a comp coupe, obviously, track only....have a white TA due to be delivered in approx. 2 weeks..can't WAIT!!

 

[zim32]

Will do Bob...enjoyed your feedback,,,curious as to the comparison to the Comp Coupe..initially I expect the rubber to be the biggest difference...

 

[Bobpantax]

I have not driven a comp coupe but I think it will be a big difference because the TA is a streetable road racer with many amenities while the comp coupe is a bare bones non streetable road racer. The comp coupe is a beast. I know someone who had one converted enough to run it on the street. He had it titled as a kit car. I think it is the only one in the U.S. like it.

Will do Bob...enjoyed your feedback,,,curious as to the comparison to the Comp Coupe..initially I expect the rubber to be the biggest difference...

 

[FLL-B/W-GTS]

I actually like the Base Seats/TA Interior better than the GTS,esp.for that crazy money they want for it.I have a Jeep Rubicon, Call of Duty and the AT Interior is kind of the same but better..As,for the Porsche Turbo Ss,this is second one,all Vipers before that/ZR1s.I would have no other Porsche than the 911 TS or 918 now.I have the Turbo S because it runs close to mid 10s everytime just pushing the gas/all day long..Additional ,Porsche Company is a First Class operation in every way and the cars are near perfect.But,the Viper is the Baddest looking/Sounding Machine of today and I am very impressed with the performance.

Just checked the Dodge Dealer in Palm Beach,they have 16 Vipers from 8 to 11 Thousand off off MSRP.(No TAs)Good Deals,but my next Viper will be the car for the round a round track.(TA Viper or C7 High Po Vettte).

Good to have many choices..

 

[zim32]

Can't imagine a Comp Coupe on the street!! Takes me 5+ minutes just to get "plugged into" that thing....ambient temps above 80 degrees and it gets REAL warm in there...

 

[Bobpantax]

Latest discovery. I ride with the A/C vents set so that air comes from the top vents only. A few times on start up, the vent choice was changed to the bottom. I figured it was a gremlin. Today I found out that when you start the car and push the automatic setting, the system checks the temperature inside the car; compares it to the temperature you set;and, determines which vents to open first to most efficiently cool down the car to that temperature.

I also used the Max setting for the first time. It is very powerful.

The only thing that is missing from the A/C is a voice that says: "Is that satisfactory sir?"

On the performance front, it was in the low 60s here for awhile today and right now it is 65 degrees. I just got back from a short drive. I said it above and I will say it again. This car is fast. Very fast.

For those of you who do not own one and are interested in one, see if there is any way you can drive one so that you can feel a bit of first and second gear. Or, have someone take you for a ride. You will be surprised. The car I drove at VOI was much slower.

 

[FLL-B/W-GTS]

Better get that Snake to Palm Beach with this cool weather and maybe You could have the second Gen.5 to get in the 10s..May be even break the record ....The AT might just have the edge to do it...
Big Braging Rights...

 

[Bobpantax]

Not really. The TA is a road course car. That is its mission environment. I did not buy it to drag race. That would be like using a well trained greyhound to be a watch dog. I will probably bring the Lightning up again. The only time I felt a bit of bragadoccio is after I did my 207.43 mph/ 6.793 second run in the Top Dragster. After that run and my runs in the Supercomp dragster and Supergas door car, runs over nine seconds or so are just a little diversion and therapy. Nothing more. Nothing less. The private track rental is the perfect environment to do that. If you come on the 26th, I will see you there.

 

[FLL-B/W-GTS]

10 04 ......

 

[johniew398]

Congratulation Bob on the TA.

 

[VENOM V]

An idea to get butts in seats: if I were a dealer in it fit the long haul and I had a couple still on the lot, I would designate one as the test drive car. Let people find out how amazing these snakes are. That would lead to future sales. Down the road, sell it at a discount as they're discounting any way.

I've made offers on dealer demo cars to get the price down. In fact, my daily driver was deeply discounted because it was driven by the dealership owner for 6000 miles before I bought it.

Glad you are loving your TA, Bob!

 

[Bobpantax]

Thanks guys. I am coming up on 500 miles. It keeps getting better and better as it adapts to me and my driving style. I have a bad left knee and a sensitive lower back due to the usual disc issue. The seat and clutch on this car are perfect for me. No lower back pain and no knee stress.

The surge as you go up in RPM feels similar to a supercharger with no lag. It's fun to set the performance APP on "engine" and watch the HP and torque take off. It gives you continuous realtime feedback. Your own real environment dyno built right in. Very cool.

Steering wheel. I thought I would not like the thicker steering wheel and the flat bottom. But I like both better. There is a little V in the wheel that you can use as a device to expedite turning the wheel.

Shifting. On my modified Gen III, I had a John Donato prepared Gen IV transmission ( Taken apart; shot ball peened; upgraded second gear synchro pack; changed 5th and 6th gear ratios.). A very robust and superb piece. I also had an MGW shifting mechanism under the shift knob. So my Gen III shifted considerably better than a stock Gen III or Gen IV. This car is equal if not better other than it has the skip shift which I had eliminated in my Gen III as part of the custom calibration done by Dan Cragin. But,as we all know, you can bypass the skip shift with a throttle blip since it is keyed in to RPMs.

Braking: The TA's brakes are, as one would expect, outstanding.

Media. I have not used a flash drive loaded up with music yet. Perhaps someone else can post about this. I have tried the adjustment that automatically adjusts the volume for the velocity at which you are traveling. It works well.

Door closure and windows. Best closing Viper doors yet. Also, as you approach the car, you can have it set where the door or doors unlock automatically. The window regulators work perfectly.

I would like SRT to add one feature to the car. It should be programmable so when I get into it, I want it to say: "Hi Bob. Good to see you." When I get out, I would like to hear: " Thank you for the drive Bob. I needed that." LOL. Driving this car is really a treat. Try it you will like it.

 

[Bruce H.]

Bob,

You've done a great job of letting everyone know your early impressions of many aspects of the TA...thanks for taking the time to share. Since I'm about to book a 3000 mile trip to a pair of tracks with a friend with a C7 and our wives, I think the thing that seems of paramount importance is how easily we'll be able to cope with the exhaust drone for that long that some say is worst around 70-75 mph in top gear. Where the limit is 75 we'll be able to do 80, but driving below 70 mph elsewhere could even be more of a pain. I'd be happy to buy hearing protection, but someone said it seems even worse with earplugs. How do you find it?

 

[Bobpantax]

In sixth gear there is no drone that I am aware of at that speed. I have used the bluetoothed phone with no problem. But my former Viper was louder so there is a subjective component involved in my assessment. I recommend that if you can, you test it out for yourself first. 3000 miles in a Viper. That is quite a ride. If you do it, please start a thread on it and report in periodically. That would be very interesting.

 

[Bobpantax]

I forgot to report on an item earlier.

The lights. I use the daytime running lights. Their use adds safety and they give the car the equivalent of a face. A very cool face. The rear lights are also very different from prior Gens and add character. The dash and interior lights are well planned and do the job well. There are settings available for almost everything on this car. For those that can, scroll through the "Settings" menu. It is quite impressive.

 

[Bobpantax]

Paint system. I have now checked the paint everywhere under fluorescent lighting. It is perfect. Back in 2012, Ralph G. had mentioned that they were going to use a new paint system. They obviously did because the difference is quite noticeable. I would guess that a much better clear coat was utilized and the finishing/buffing process must have been refined. The surface is very smooth.

 

[VENOM V]

Bob,

You've done a great job of letting everyone know your early impressions of many aspects of the TA...thanks for taking the time to share. Since I'm about to book a 3000 mile trip to a pair of tracks with a friend with a C7 and our wives, I think the thing that seems of paramount importance is how easily we'll be able to cope with the exhaust drone for that long that some say is worst around 70-75 mph in top gear. Where the limit is 75 we'll be able to do 80, but driving below 70 mph elsewhere could even be more of a pain. I'd be happy to buy hearing protection, but someone said it seems even worse with earplugs. How do you find it?

Bruce,

I am one that gets a headache from the drone on long trips, others have no issues. It doesn't bother my lady at all. I have a simple solution, although I'm sure I get slightly worse gas mileage. I use 5th gear rather than 6th when cruising around 75 or so (2100 to 2400 RPM). When going slower than that, I can use 6th because it's below the drone zone. Not the ideal solution, but it no longer bothers me.

 

[Ray W]

Bob I knew you wouldn't look back trading in that old supercharged Gen III. lol. I don't have a Viper so I can't rejoin. The other thread is now gone along with a couple of others that is why I am responding here. Looks like I should just take the hint and move on.

 

[Bobpantax]

Hi Ray. You need to buy a Gen V. I know you will like it.

 

[Bobpantax]

I have described the feature that automatically unlocks the car as you approach with the key fob in your pocket. It is called Passive Entry. It is cold here by Miami standards today. 58 degrees at the moment. This snake likes colder weather. Just did a 20 to 85 run for a small dose of post lunch velocity therapy. This car rocks!

 

[FLL-B/W-GTS]

Come on,their has got to be something you do not like.....You are soooo in Love with a car.....