Bruce H.
Enthusiast
I picked up my new black ’14 TA on April 23rd, having watched the Reliable Transport pull up, unload, and the Viper tech PDI it. I ordered it through Islington Chrysler, and Kris Rams made the transaction very easy over the phone, including pricing my XKR trade fairly. I hadn’t seen a Gen V when I ordered it, but the help received on the forums and media reviews were very effective at telling me everything I needed to know. Hopefully I can add to that wealth of knowledge here to help other prospective buyers.
The 500 mile break-in was finished quickly, as was the paint protection film and 6 point harness install, in preparation for today’s track day at Mosport (renamed Canadian Tire Motorsports Park). SRT will be running the #91 and 93 here in July in the Tudor Race Series. My very early impressions are based on having had other high performance sports cars, but never having even sat in a Viper, and the only previous experience having been chasing them around road courses for years! I’ll start with the positives…
The car is stunning visually, fit and finish inside and out looks very good, and the paint is spectacular. Everything about the car is purposeful, and if you appreciate a “form follows function” design then this is it. It has a simplicity that is refreshing, with little in the way of embellishment for its own sake. You get the sense that nothing is on the car that wasn’t needed to provide an engaging driving experience and world-class performance on the road and road course. The interior and controls is a model of simplicity, and the comprehensive U-connect infotainment system is a welcome nod to modern technology, as is the mandated and flexible Electronic Stability Control and Traction Control system. If you turn off the ESC then there’s no nannies between the driver and the car, well except for ABS.
The ballistic nylon seats in the TA are very comfortable, providing the good lower back support I require. I’m 5’10, 215 lbs, and have ample headroom even with a helmet on. These manual TA seats do lower more than the power seats in other models I understand, and if you’re much taller it would be smart to sit in one to confirm. The headliner forms a low windshield header that many complain about, but it’s just a non-issue for me, and not something I even notice after just 7 days. Pedals seem nicely positioned, and my fairly narrow driving shoes are perfect for this fairly tight area.
Performance is visceral, violent, scalpel sharp, immediate, intense…and addictive. Those are the qualities I was looking for, along with classic and timeless styling and exclusivity. Lots of great cars that offer other mixes of qualities, but not a single other car that offered this complete mix. They aren’t exactly popular goals either as exclusivity and performance generally cost beyond the financial reach of most. Just don’t be too surprised if all your car buds aren’t racing out to buy one! No excuses required.
I dropped by the track a couple of days ago and an aero dynamist I know looked over the car with great interest. He explained that the design of the 6 vent hood would be very effective at reducing drag and lift by allowing more engine compartment airflow to be released over the hood rather that under the car, and that the lowered middle section of the rear aero spoiler was designed to create air vortices rather than turbulence behind the car, and in doing so reduce drag while optimizing down-force. And I thought it was lower so you could see out the back!
The car is just a blast to drive, and it was an easy switch from the long and low Supra TT and XKR. The attention it draws is unreal, and you do have to watch that others around you don’t get distracted and cause an accident. Rear quarter vision is non-existent, but the back-up camera is excellent for showing what is directly behind you. I park in such a way that I can drive forward wherever possible. Ride quality is surprising good, and I was prepared for it to be much less compliant. It’s quite similar to the hi-po/luxury XKR grand tourer on 20” wheels we traded.
Now for the negatives…I’m going to have to get back to you on that one since after just 7 days I haven’t discovered any yet, with the possible exception of the exhaust if I find it gets annoying on a longer trip. Otherwise I love that too, and have earplugs in the glove box just in case! If you were to do a spread sheet of all the features that various super cars have you would likely find several that the TA or other Vipers don’t have. Most buyers would trade the unique points of the Viper for heated and cooled seats, or E-diff, or AWD, or an auto/DCT, or CCB.s, or a vert, or the more modern creased-edge designs or whatever, and that’s all good. But I was happy to trade-in a car with some of those features for the simplicity and performance focus of the Viper…and couldn’t be happier.
I attended a 6th Gear Lapping day at Mosport on Wednesday. It was a rather cold, blustery and wet day, but one filled with great accomplishment. I started with some informal skid pad circles in an empty parking area, gently adding speed until tire grip was exceeded. The fronts gave good feedback well before they let go, and when they did a slight throttle lift shifted enough weight over them to regain grip, and resume the fixed radius circle. The rear remained glued unless enough power was suddenly added to provoke a shift from natural under-steer to throttle-on power over-steer.
Because it was my first time on the track since it was significantly changed last year, and my first track day in the TA, 6th Gear offered to send me out with a professional coach. I had him do the skid pad routine as well to familiarize himself with the car before I took it out on the track. He helped guide me to the best wet line, and made some helpful suggestions regarding driving smoothness that seemed rather essential in today’s conditions. He’s instructed in a number of Viper’s in the past and said this was the first one he wasn’t scared to be in! Not sure if that was because the car felt better to him, but I’m going to go with the driver’s confidence-inspiring high level of skill being the reason! He didn’t have any students for the morning so ended up being out with me for about two hours. A fellow was also there with his ACR-X but it was too wet to drive, and he came out with me for maybe 25 minutes after lunch during the only brief time it stopped raining. We also spent a long while talking Viper’s and the differences on the Gen V.
The car handled like a champ. I got it a bit loose twice, once going into T5a with a slightly abrupt downshift, and once going into T8 with a bit too much trail-braking. Rear just stepped out a little and was easy to gather up. I had the full ESC on of course, and I never noticed it intervening, although I would think it had been. Nothing like the XKR where it would kill the throttle on corner exit if it had sensed any loss of grip what-so-ever. Rear grip under throttle was better than I had expected, but there was just a hint that I was accelerating at the tire’s limit, and the coach sensed it also. A slight bump in the back straight caused a bit of slip for an instant. I saw 181 kph during one glance, and that felt plenty fast in the rain through the slight kink of T7 and cresting the hill right before T8. Great gearing, and nice close ratios where you want them. My unusual heel and toe technique doesn’t work in this car, but a wider pair of driving shoes should fix that. The car is quite sensitive to slight steering and brake inputs, and I recall Randy Pobst commenting that you have to slow down your hands on the wheel a little. A couple of other drivers commented on how much spray the car kicked up with the wide tires. Those damn mmmassive tires...I just hate that, and the thunderous exhaust that shook the tower and drew universal praise Btw, I’ve been meaning to ask...is ringing in the ears normal?
Looking forward to peeling back the next layer of performance with a dry day there on May 14th, and feel lucky my first day was focused on being smooth on a slippery track!
My 7 day ownership focus was getting it ready for a successful day at the track, and it came together well. I have 5 more track days booked before the end of next month and will be sure to share highlights of those. I’ll post some track photos tomorrow here.
Bruce
2014 Black TA 23/33 new track toy just received, 1994 Supra TT long-term track toy, 1993 MR2 T longer-term track toy, 2010 XKR track toy sacrificed for TA
The 500 mile break-in was finished quickly, as was the paint protection film and 6 point harness install, in preparation for today’s track day at Mosport (renamed Canadian Tire Motorsports Park). SRT will be running the #91 and 93 here in July in the Tudor Race Series. My very early impressions are based on having had other high performance sports cars, but never having even sat in a Viper, and the only previous experience having been chasing them around road courses for years! I’ll start with the positives…
The car is stunning visually, fit and finish inside and out looks very good, and the paint is spectacular. Everything about the car is purposeful, and if you appreciate a “form follows function” design then this is it. It has a simplicity that is refreshing, with little in the way of embellishment for its own sake. You get the sense that nothing is on the car that wasn’t needed to provide an engaging driving experience and world-class performance on the road and road course. The interior and controls is a model of simplicity, and the comprehensive U-connect infotainment system is a welcome nod to modern technology, as is the mandated and flexible Electronic Stability Control and Traction Control system. If you turn off the ESC then there’s no nannies between the driver and the car, well except for ABS.
The ballistic nylon seats in the TA are very comfortable, providing the good lower back support I require. I’m 5’10, 215 lbs, and have ample headroom even with a helmet on. These manual TA seats do lower more than the power seats in other models I understand, and if you’re much taller it would be smart to sit in one to confirm. The headliner forms a low windshield header that many complain about, but it’s just a non-issue for me, and not something I even notice after just 7 days. Pedals seem nicely positioned, and my fairly narrow driving shoes are perfect for this fairly tight area.
Performance is visceral, violent, scalpel sharp, immediate, intense…and addictive. Those are the qualities I was looking for, along with classic and timeless styling and exclusivity. Lots of great cars that offer other mixes of qualities, but not a single other car that offered this complete mix. They aren’t exactly popular goals either as exclusivity and performance generally cost beyond the financial reach of most. Just don’t be too surprised if all your car buds aren’t racing out to buy one! No excuses required.
I dropped by the track a couple of days ago and an aero dynamist I know looked over the car with great interest. He explained that the design of the 6 vent hood would be very effective at reducing drag and lift by allowing more engine compartment airflow to be released over the hood rather that under the car, and that the lowered middle section of the rear aero spoiler was designed to create air vortices rather than turbulence behind the car, and in doing so reduce drag while optimizing down-force. And I thought it was lower so you could see out the back!
The car is just a blast to drive, and it was an easy switch from the long and low Supra TT and XKR. The attention it draws is unreal, and you do have to watch that others around you don’t get distracted and cause an accident. Rear quarter vision is non-existent, but the back-up camera is excellent for showing what is directly behind you. I park in such a way that I can drive forward wherever possible. Ride quality is surprising good, and I was prepared for it to be much less compliant. It’s quite similar to the hi-po/luxury XKR grand tourer on 20” wheels we traded.
Now for the negatives…I’m going to have to get back to you on that one since after just 7 days I haven’t discovered any yet, with the possible exception of the exhaust if I find it gets annoying on a longer trip. Otherwise I love that too, and have earplugs in the glove box just in case! If you were to do a spread sheet of all the features that various super cars have you would likely find several that the TA or other Vipers don’t have. Most buyers would trade the unique points of the Viper for heated and cooled seats, or E-diff, or AWD, or an auto/DCT, or CCB.s, or a vert, or the more modern creased-edge designs or whatever, and that’s all good. But I was happy to trade-in a car with some of those features for the simplicity and performance focus of the Viper…and couldn’t be happier.
I attended a 6th Gear Lapping day at Mosport on Wednesday. It was a rather cold, blustery and wet day, but one filled with great accomplishment. I started with some informal skid pad circles in an empty parking area, gently adding speed until tire grip was exceeded. The fronts gave good feedback well before they let go, and when they did a slight throttle lift shifted enough weight over them to regain grip, and resume the fixed radius circle. The rear remained glued unless enough power was suddenly added to provoke a shift from natural under-steer to throttle-on power over-steer.
Because it was my first time on the track since it was significantly changed last year, and my first track day in the TA, 6th Gear offered to send me out with a professional coach. I had him do the skid pad routine as well to familiarize himself with the car before I took it out on the track. He helped guide me to the best wet line, and made some helpful suggestions regarding driving smoothness that seemed rather essential in today’s conditions. He’s instructed in a number of Viper’s in the past and said this was the first one he wasn’t scared to be in! Not sure if that was because the car felt better to him, but I’m going to go with the driver’s confidence-inspiring high level of skill being the reason! He didn’t have any students for the morning so ended up being out with me for about two hours. A fellow was also there with his ACR-X but it was too wet to drive, and he came out with me for maybe 25 minutes after lunch during the only brief time it stopped raining. We also spent a long while talking Viper’s and the differences on the Gen V.
The car handled like a champ. I got it a bit loose twice, once going into T5a with a slightly abrupt downshift, and once going into T8 with a bit too much trail-braking. Rear just stepped out a little and was easy to gather up. I had the full ESC on of course, and I never noticed it intervening, although I would think it had been. Nothing like the XKR where it would kill the throttle on corner exit if it had sensed any loss of grip what-so-ever. Rear grip under throttle was better than I had expected, but there was just a hint that I was accelerating at the tire’s limit, and the coach sensed it also. A slight bump in the back straight caused a bit of slip for an instant. I saw 181 kph during one glance, and that felt plenty fast in the rain through the slight kink of T7 and cresting the hill right before T8. Great gearing, and nice close ratios where you want them. My unusual heel and toe technique doesn’t work in this car, but a wider pair of driving shoes should fix that. The car is quite sensitive to slight steering and brake inputs, and I recall Randy Pobst commenting that you have to slow down your hands on the wheel a little. A couple of other drivers commented on how much spray the car kicked up with the wide tires. Those damn mmmassive tires...I just hate that, and the thunderous exhaust that shook the tower and drew universal praise Btw, I’ve been meaning to ask...is ringing in the ears normal?
Looking forward to peeling back the next layer of performance with a dry day there on May 14th, and feel lucky my first day was focused on being smooth on a slippery track!
My 7 day ownership focus was getting it ready for a successful day at the track, and it came together well. I have 5 more track days booked before the end of next month and will be sure to share highlights of those. I’ll post some track photos tomorrow here.
Bruce
2014 Black TA 23/33 new track toy just received, 1994 Supra TT long-term track toy, 1993 MR2 T longer-term track toy, 2010 XKR track toy sacrificed for TA
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