Gallardo.....Scuderia.......Gen V Viper

Kratos

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If all 3 were in the same price range, would you still take the Viper?


Brutal honesty......
 

shine

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Absolutely would still take the Viper.

I've no interest in maintaining a prissy Italian car.

I want a fast American car that I can work on myself.
 

ViperSmith

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Really the only other vehicles that get my interest at the moment are the 458 and the McLaren.

But buying a new house has sort of socked the "fun" fund for a few years - so I'll have to "settle" for the Viper :drive:
 

VENOM V

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Viper for me, no question. I do love the Scud though, that's an amazing car. I recently drove one on a track day, and my friend used to have one. But it doesn't stir my soul like the Viper. It's not just about the performance...

The curves on the Viper, the American come-back story against all odds, the Viper legacy, the absurd horsepower to weight ratio, and that 512 CID aluminum V10 under the hood. As Jay Leno says, "you fix it with a hammer," haha. No forced induction that needs to cool between laps. I plan on doing all the work on it myself, just like old times. I grew up wrenching on a '70 'Cuda with a nitrous injected forged 383 Magnum. The Viper has a bit of muscle car in its super car soul, yet is the king of the corners not just the straight lines.

It's more about what the heart wants, not what I need or what is the most logical choice at a given price point. The answer is simple for me - Viper :D
 

PDCjonny

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Why do I have a feeling the answers may skew towards the Viper here?
 

DMan

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No question, Viper. I could do a Gallardo, technically I guess I could do whatever, I keep my control by forcing only cash deals on myself, but only high $ car I have any interest in is the Viper. Makes me wonder if SRTs angle of attracting those buyers will work. I just feel like Viper buyers are "different". Yes, some have foreign exotics, but they or most of us want a Viper for a reason that doesn't contend with desires for other cars, it seems like anyway. We have the occassional Viper or F or L or ... but those seem rare, seems like it's gotta have a Viper or, gotta a Viper and a F, L, whatever - like the Coke Zero ad, not much "or" mostly "and". ;-)
 

BlackSnake99

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I honestly get the sense that some are 'mixing generations' like the proverbial mixed metaphor. I think the days of 'fixing it with a hammer' and wrenching on it like a '70s muscle car have been engineered out as surely as the 'cheap plastic interior' and the 'crude, unrefined' nature of the previous generations. I don't envision busting out the ratchet set when the 7-inch LED-backlit TFT electronic vehicle information display goes on the fritz. The Gen V is every bit as refined and sophisticated as the best from Italy and Germany, but I would be willing to bet that the trade off is that it will be proportionally more complicated to work on. It may be 'the best Viper ever' but is also the most complex. There is no free lunch.

MHO.
 
OP
OP
K

Kratos

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I honestly get the sense that some are 'mixing generations' like the proverbial mixed metaphor. I think the days of 'fixing it with a hammer' and wrenching on it like a '70s muscle car have been engineered out as surely as the 'cheap plastic interior' and the 'crude, unrefined' nature of the previous generations. I don't envision busting out the ratchet set when the 7-inch LED-backlit TFT electronic vehicle information display goes on the fritz. The Gen V is every bit as refined and sophisticated as the best from Italy and Germany, but I would be willing to bet that the trade off is that it will be proportionally more complicated to work on. It may be 'the best Viper ever' but is also the most complex. There is no free lunch.

MHO.


Good point.
 

Bill Pemberton Woodhouse

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Agree, good point, but having chatted extensively with some of the SRT Engineers, do not expect European Exotic maintenance --- still we be a bundle less to keep it on the road!
 

BigDawg

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Viper only because I don't do old body styles. The Gallardo is a car made for midgets so it's not an option. My buddy is 6'1" lean and looks like a stuffed sausage in it. At 6'6" getting into a convertible gallardo with the roof down is a challenge. If it was between 458 and Gen V I'd take the 458 all the way.
 

yellowmz3

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I had a Scud last year. Amazing car, but two things bothered me:
1) Seats were like concrete, very uncofortable for anything but track
2) Single clutch trannie was like hitting a wall every time you shift.
That being said, it was really a great car.
 

Paul Hawker

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Viper all the way. For under $100 grand it is a fantastic car that can hold it's own against some of the world's exotics. It is pretty easy to insure, gets good fuel economy, runs for thousands of miles with little maintenance, and gives you a thrill everytime you take it for a drive.

It can compete with the world's best on race courses and needs much less maintenance per hour of track use than anything else at those performance levels.

You can drive it to the track, beat everybody, and drive it back home.

I was a member of a car time share, and could drive all the exotics. I was always acutely aware that everytime I was making a quick shift, or putting down the pedal that it was racking up significant mainenance costs. With the Viper I never got those feelings.

While there are significant competitive cars for the Viper, it still commands a compelling marketing niche in providing a home grown high performance ride that provides a fantastic ownership experience.
 

viper GTS-R

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We are obviously talking current right? There is no current Scud, so why not change that to the 458? Regardless I wouldn't take a Ferrari home anyway. The Gallardo, again which one. The current one is rather ugly to say the least. I'd rather have Jon's SL. I'm still a gen I-II guy, I always will be. I like the Gen V. Like the Gen IV but really wouldn't want to own it. Weird I know but I'm picky like that.

--RS
 

PDCjonny

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Yep agree a 100%. Let me just refraze it.

Gallargo /Scuderia= overpriced/temprametal/moody/nobody can work on/penis extention/DO NOT know how to drive but CAN afford it....blablabla

Jesus.
The penis extenTION thing is what a teen girl or old lady would say.
Only they could spell it.
 

SnakeBitten

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Viper only because I don't do old body styles. The Gallardo is a car made for midgets so it's not an option. My buddy is 6'1" lean and looks like a stuffed sausage in it. At 6'6" getting into a convertible gallardo with the roof down is a challenge. If it was between 458 and Gen V I'd take the 458 all the way.

LOL at the midget part. I'm 6'6" too and I had trouble fitting in an older GTS. I hope the Gen 5 is bigger inside or you will be using the same midget comment for it lol....
 

ferraritoviper

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Why do I have a feeling the answers may skew towards the Viper here?

Been there, done that...the F and L cars are VERY special indeed, closest thing to automotive/industrial art work imo, an example of both should be hanging in the Louvre for posteriety. However nothing quite beats American raw muscle, especially growing up in the very early sixtys...it's why I've drifted back to the dark side, twice. Must admit, I never cared for orange on a car, but your eye popping orange Lambo is stunning and evocative. Hope to see it in person some day!
 

emericr

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If my aunt had balls, it'd be my uncle...
If the Scuderia was changed to a 458, I would not think twice about picking the Ferrari but there is a reason why it is twice the price. Ferrari is on a different league when it comes to fit and finish and "cache" versus the Viper.
I am neither a Viper nor Ferrari owners but I know personally owners of both. Most of them are really 2 different breeds and will not really cross shop the cars.
For $125K, the new Gen V is my pick over any other sports cars.
 

Bill Pemberton Woodhouse

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Would have to politely disagree that Viper and Ferrari owners don't cross shop. We often make generalizations on things from folks we may know in one part of the Country , but often they do not hold true in another. Ferrari and Viper had a very strong mutual respect for a long time , as there was an annual race held at Gingerman Raceway ( Michigan ) - Ferrari and Viper Wars. May have the name slightly off but it went on for 5-6 years and was never won by Ferrari. The fact that Ferrari saw the Viper as a worthy adversary , though, says it all when it comes to respect.

Have had Viper owners buy Ferraris, and have had Ferrari owners buy Vipers, but what I think was meant to be said is there is a stereotypical buyer for each brand. I do believe the guy that buys both is a Motorhead and maybe that makes him unique in a different subset, but feel a blanket statement saying essentially they would never cross buy seems a little naive ---- since one of the guys on this Forum actually goes by FerraritoViper.

Respectfully,

Bill Pemberton
 

ViperSmith

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What is the "stereotype" for a Viper owner? I mean, we all know the Vet stereotype of being 40 and/or having a mullet - but where does the Viper owner fall in a classification?
 

Makara

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Have had Viper owners buy Ferraris, and have had Ferrari owners buy Vipers, but what I think was meant to be said is there is a stereotypical buyer for each brand. I do believe the guy that buys both is a Motorhead and maybe that makes him unique in a different subset, but feel a blanket statement saying essentially they would never cross buy seems a little naive ---- since one of the guys on this Forum actually goes by FerraritoViper.

Respectfully,

Bill Pemberton

I have to agree for the most part. When people become super brand loyal and refuse to look at other vehicles for what they are, they typically seem to fall within the common stereotypes, but when someone can appreciate different brands and vehicles, they are more likely to be auto enthusiasts and not brainwashed stereotypes.
 

Bill Pemberton Woodhouse

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ViperSmith,

Great comment and thanks for correcting me, since I was ineffectual in clarifying that stereotyping any driver of a certain vehicle gets one in a bind. What one thinks is a specific Ferrari owner or Viper owner or Corvette owner , is usually their biases and heck how can anyone really define what one buyer of a vehicle is like -- they can't .

Needless to say , the statement I should have used was since we have had Viper owners buy Ferraris and Ferrari owners buy Vipers , what is a Viper buyer or Ferrari buyer actually like?
 

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