First Drive

[Mike Adams]

After driving car for the first time all I can say is wow.

Seats are unreal. Guages amazing.

Handling is unreal. Even on a wet coarse I was seriously impressed.

Best of all talked to Mopar guys. They have exhaust, cam, Ported heads and race computer coming. Aero kit will be available too. Giving in down force.

The base SRT is amazing most of us "VIPER" guys would be more than happy. GTS even better.

 

[Mike Adams]

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And a Carbon Fiber cross brace that only weighs 3 lbs

 

[BlknBlu]

I take it you are at VOI at the moment.

Bruce

 

[ACRucrazy]

base srt, leather seats, track package carbon fiber... mmmmm

 

[swexlin]

Sounds great, want to hear more!

 

[mnc2886]

That cross brace looks yummy. Interesting about the aero package and the mods. That hints at Gen IV potentially being mod friendly later too. Has throttle response issues been resolved from the Gen IV?

 

[Mike Adams]

SRT meeting said they worked on Throttle response as allot of complaints about it. They listened to viper owners. I would not be surprised to if they hit the Nurburg ring again. Car feels extemely nimble. Can order car cover with you car now.

 

[Mike Adams]

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FYI the Viper Stryker logo lights up as you get closer to Red line. Makes me want to go to Redline just to see it.

 

[Mike Adams]

The lower priced interior option seats still feel extemely comfortable. Fit and finish is amazing.

The evolution of this car is like the Gen 1 to the Gen 2 maybe more. Driving feel was greatly improve. Confidence in car comes quick. I drove it on a wet track and felt more confident in it, than I did in my 1998 on a dry course

 

[Mutts02GTS]

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FYI the Viper Stryker logo lights up as you get closer to Red line. Makes me want to go to Redline just to see it.

That's just to let you know that you are about to get bit!.... In the wallet if it goes boom.....

 

[Mike Adams]

i like how fast they are working on upgrades. Especially ported heads direct from Mopar.

 

[ACRucrazy]

i like how fast they are working on upgrades. Especially ported heads direct from Mopar.

It would be nice if any of these could work with Gen 4, or they have anything in the works for Gen 4 guys. Seems like the Gen 4 guys are hung high and dry as far as goodies go.

 

[Mike Adams]

Guess bankruptcy affected Gen IV the most.

 

[Smog Dog]

Mike, Can you confirm the track pack option includes different shocks, as well as tires, rotors and wheels? Thanks!

Bill

 

[Mike Adams]

Will try to find out Bill wanted to know my self.

From Road and Track

"As an option you can upgrade a Viper or GTS into an ACR, though without a wing. The option package is expected to save more than 40 lb. It replaces the Brembo all-steel rotors with lightweight 2-piece brake rotors from Stop Tech and incorporates a unique suspension with monotube Bilstein dampers and stiffer spring rates."

Does not mention but I would assume it comes with Pirelli Pzero Corsa tires

 

[Smog Dog]

Thanks, Mike! Definitely has the Corsa tires, per SRT. And a long time ago, Ralph mentioned the different shocks, too. Have fun!

Bill

 

[ViperSmith]

so, whats your estimated 0-60, 1/4mile

 

[eucharistos]

thanks for the info

 

[Steve M]

I'm assuming they aren't letting guys drive them in anger, but it is very cool that normal guys actually get a chance to sample the new car before it hits the showroom floor. Definitely one of the coolest perks of being a part of this community.

 

[Camfab]

These were straight up prototypes, four of them. It's the first time they allowed the public to drive non certified cars. My first impressions were Wow. The shifter is so incredible, I mean perfect! Pedals felt much closer together. Steering felt so tight, accurate and solid it was as though it was built to suit my exacting needs. Honestly, after driving all the SRT's today, I can say with 100% truth that all these cars have become world class. Truthfully if you'd asked me yesterday I wouldn't have said that. The Charger was the biggest surprise of all.

 

[Jay M]

I also loved it. I asked about 10 others what they thought. And they all loved it too.

I drove the GTS. Even its modest interior is better than many cars on the road today. The Gen 5 feels as good as my friends $140k Porsche. The key difference is that the Viper is ****, has more power, and I suspect it will get around a race track faster.

As Top Gear said, Porsche and Audi should be very worried.

The feel of the shifter is very short and precise, just what a Viper should have. Ralph Gilles compared it to the action on a fine rifle.
It finally has a real seat. My one minute drive wasn't enough to know for sure, but the initial impression is that it's outstanding.

~Jay

 

[viper GTS-R]

Also drove the GTS, however MAYBE it's just me...maybe...but I felt that the footwell was pretty small. My left foot was lickin' both the clutch and the brake. I'm not sure cause I went from driving the Gen V GTS to driving a Gen II GTS on the autocross and I just felt way more comfortable driving that than the Gen V to be honest.

--RS

 

[bushido]

Great reviews keep them coming. Thanks..

 

[Fatboy 18]

One of our guys got told off for pushing the car too much on the autocourse Not sure if the instructor had to reach for the scream handle!

 

[ACRucrazy]

How can you push the car to hard with traction nanny control?

 

[Fatboy 18]

I guess SRT just wanted to make sure the car did not brake, so that everyone got a ride/ drive. Knowing the driver I think he would have told the instructor to #######

Especially as he is actually thinking of buying one

 

[swexlin]

These were straight up prototypes, four of them. It's the first time they allowed the public to drive non certified cars. My first impressions were Wow. The shifter is so incredible, I mean perfect! Pedals felt much closer together. Steering felt so tight, accurate and solid it was as though it was built to suit my exacting needs. Honestly, after driving all the SRT's today, I can say with 100% truth that all these cars have become world class. Truthfully if you'd asked me yesterday I wouldn't have said that. The Charger was the biggest surprise of all.

Not a suprise. My 2007 Charger SRT8 is great handling car, so I can only imagine that the new one is even better!

 

[v10enomous]

Great News ! I guess a team that can grab the Ring record and hold it can get the other stuff right too

 

[Mike Adams]

Engineer told me the production model will have many little changes. One of which is spacing of the pedals

 

[Next Phase]

I drove the yellow base SRT with track pack. It was supposed to be the stripped out version, but it had upgraded leather seating vs the base cloth. It was more than I wanted as far as luxury and technology, but that is what everyone expects/ wants. They wouldn't allow using the launch control...I floored it and the car hooked right up, no signs of any traction control intervention. New tires were probably the reason. Clutch was really light compared to a gen II and the brakes were really touchy. Car sounded really good for stock. I was impressed that they let 850 people drive them and how accessible all the engineers were. I spent a couple of hours talking to the engineers. ****in amazing! If I buy a Gen 5, I would sell a couple of cars and make it my daily driver