Is The SRT Viper Not A Great Driver's Car?

[VRYALT3R3D]

Motor Trend recently completed it's annual greatest driver's car competition, and the winner, the Porsche 911 Carrera 4S is not surprising. What is surprising is what came in last: The SRT Viper. P


We've driven the SRT Viper a few times now, and it's truly a fun ride. What Motor Trend's issue was seems to run deeper than the car being fun to drive. First, they asked for the track focused Viper T/A, but were given a Viper with the track pack, which already starts it at a disadvantage.

There was also the question of quality. The Viper they had apparently broke pretty comprehensively during their figure eight test, with a motor breaking off the adjustable pedals and the brake pedal jamming to the floor.P

That's not what you expect in a $114,000 car. And that's not all. Motor Trend says a hood vent flew off on the freeway, seat bolts were loose, paint was being burned by the exhaust, and the car arrived with different tires on the front than on the back.P

Finishing in last should reignite the tiff between Ralph Gilles and Motor Trend, because a test at Laguna Seca with Motor Trend is what made the Viper T/A come to reality.P

I've also driven the Viper, not on a track, but on a drag strip and some fun roads. We experienced none of the quality issues mentioned my Motor Trend, but I do get the idea that it might not be an ideal "driver's car," especially when compared to the rest of the cars in the test.P

The Viper isn't a precision instrument, it's a terrifying monster. On a track, you don't want to be terrified. Getting loose like Randy Pobst did through Laguna Seca's fast turn one is a bad thing. A good driver's car should instill confidence, not make you run for the hills every time you step on the gas. P

In this case, it seems to me that the Viper wasn't properly suited to the competition. P

What say you? Is the new SRT Viper a proper drivers car or sledgehammer in a gun fight?

http://jalopnik.com/is-the-srt-viper-not-a-great-drivers-car-1188997156

 

[ACRucrazy]

The Viper is a Man's car.

 

[VRYALT3R3D]

The Viper is a Man's car.

Exactly.

I always thought the tagline for the Viper should be: Refinement is for *******

 

[SRTviper]

Raw is old and refinement is in. Get with the times. That is what SRT tried to do with the viper they just failed at it though.

 

[ViperSmith]

Everytime I get in my Gen V and fire it up, I love driving.

When I tested the M5, the 991S, I could have fallen asleep driving them. (991S is a great car, don't get me wrong). They just weren't fun.

What do you want in a "drivers car" - do you want your hand to be held? If so, the Viper isn't for you.

The viper has modern refinements, but it still has soul.

 

[Policy Limits]

pretty good combination/balance of rawness and refinement. Its much more of a challenge to drive than that car that parks itself, but that's what attracted me to it.

What I don't understand is, if you disagree with this and think the car is a loser or a failure, or just don't like it, why then would you come to a forum about it, specifically in the V forum portion of said forum ...constantly?

hmmmm...

 

[Voice of Reason]

I guess the next time a kid is pacing me in his Ford Focus I should be taking his picture and not the other way around?

If I wanted a car that drove itself I would have bought a GTR and saved some coin to boot. But I'm perfectly happy with my beautiful knuckle dragging track dominating 12th place mobile.

 

[Jay M]

I don't think you need to have your hand held in a Viper, but is it too must to ask that body parts don't start flying off the car on a road test? Should the man have had a lighter touch on the brake pedal so that it wouldn't have broken off? Maybe the brake pedal needs a woman's touch?

A great drivers car should, at the very least, get you from point A to point B without falling apart.

I have only heard great things from Gen V owners, so this was obviously a fluke, but it could still end up killing the Viper program.

~Jay

 

[VRYALT3R3D]

Raw is old and refinement is in. Get with the times. That is what SRT tried to do with the viper they just failed at it though.

Get with the times? According to who? The magazines?

 

[sambo32]

This is why I traded my 2014 GTR for the GEN V viper, the viper does not put me to sleep like the GTR.

 

[ViperSmith]

Get with the times? According to who? The magazines?

Listen, he is our #1 bench racer on this site. Don't question him. He has read every mag there is.

 

[sambo32]

And I have more fun appling a coat of wax on the viper than I did with the GTR.

 

[SRTviper]

Get with the times? According to who? The magazines?

How many times has Ralph said "HEY GUYS LOOK, THE VIPER IS REFINED NOW"???? Your god like figure is telling you to get with the times with his 18 speaker system and 8000 dollar sweedish leather interior, and his digital gauges. Are you blind? Or looking at Gen 1-4?

 

[VRYALT3R3D]

How many times has Ralph said "HEY GUYS LOOK, THE VIPER IS REFINED NOW"???? Your god like figure is telling you to get with the times with his 18 speaker system and 8000 dollar sweedish leather interior, and his digital gauges. Are you blind? Or looking at Gen 1-4?

He pretty much said the car will still be raw like the previous generations, but they are finally updating the interior and making it world class.

 

[MoparMap]

If you just want to go fast, buy something else. If you want to have fun, a Viper suits the bill pretty well and is damn fast in the right hands. Hell, years ago people used to say the 3 series BMW and Porsche 911 were death machines because they were so tail happy. Pretty sure they didn't have any trouble staying in the market.

 

[TrackAire]

Raw is old and refinement is in. Get with the times. That is what SRT tried to do with the viper they just failed at it though.

I was pretty shocked at how much they had issues with the Aston Martin....I thought for sure it would be a benchmark ride. Regarding the Viper, usually the fastest cars on the track are often are the "worst" drivers cars because of the compromises made to get the fast lap times. And for every second you go faster, compromises go up exponentially. I don't follow the MT drivers car results too much from the past, but has the fastest car tested ever won the drivers car award? I'm guessing no, but I'm sure somebody will be able to post past track times vs drivers car standings.

Cheers,
George

 

[ViperSmith]

I'd really like to know how the hood vent flew off the car, here is a high res picture of it installed on my car. Each is virtually the same

You must be registered for see images attach

My guess is some dum dum pulled the vent out without depressing the tabs in the back, thus breaking the tabs and simply pushed the vent back in. Even with any three tabs broken, it should have stuck in place. I don't see how on Earth the vent just randomly flew out of the car without someone doing something stupid.

 

[ACRucrazy]

You can see some shots with the vent missing, front passenger side

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Looks at the rough finish/paint chipping. I am pretty sure this is an early build Viper that was mentioned by SRT Engineers or someone who is "in the know" a while back.

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[BlackSnake99]

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Look at that hood alignment forward of the wheel. Look like that car has been hit in the right front to me.

 

[SRTviper]

He pretty much said the car will still be raw like the previous generations, but they are finally updating the interior and making it world class.

No he said we have 2 models. The SRT for all the raw people who refuse to change on their ways and the GTS model for all the guys who like a refined ride. Hence the extra stability controls and adjustable dampers. The GTS was suppose to pull ferrari, porsche, lambo, aston guys. None of these buyers would take a 2nd look at the base SRT. The GTS is a different story. Unless they just hate American cars which most people who buy imports tend to.

 

[elanderholm]

No idea why you would bother to send a beat up test car to a test like this. Makes no sense. It would of made more sense to just tell them you are going to pass.

 

[VENOM V]

Raw is old and refinement is in. Get with the times. That is what SRT tried to do with the viper they just failed at it though.

Well pink shirts are in right now too, you had better rush out and buy one so you can fit in with the times.

I'm not a follower, I'm a leader. Viper is for those who like to set their own trends, do their own thinking.

This is not to make an excuse for SRT's failure in this comparison, but I'm not going along with your "get with the times" mentality.

 

[Ev1E9]

It's almost as if someone loaded the wrong car in the trailer.

 

[2003 Viper]

Exactly.

I always thought the tagline for the Viper should be: Refinement is for *******

Thanks for the laugh!

 

[Policy Limits]

Didn't a similar thread get the axe already?

They messed up; everyone makes mistakes.

Moving forward is anyone gonna trade in their V because of this? Hundreds of us bought way before this test and sight unseen and in driven. That's what consumers whom know exactly what they want do.

 

[SRTviper]

Well pink shirts are in right now too, you had better rush out and buy one so you can fit in with the times.

I'm not a follower, I'm a leader. Viper is for those who like to set their own trends, do their own thinking.

This is not to make an excuse for SRT's failure in this comparison, but I'm not going along with your "get with the times" mentality.

You are a follower from 20 years ago when raw was in. Refinement has been in for quite some time now. Flying cars would be being a leader And you are not a leader.

 

[VENOM V]

You are a follower from 20 years ago when raw was in. Refinement has been in for quite some time now. Flying cars would be being a leader And you are not a leader.

Honestly, you have not the respect of a single person on this site, we've been tolerating your silver spoon spoiled brat mentality for a long time. It's getting old, kid. Come back later after you've matured, you really have no clue.

 

[v10enomous]

Sure..... we can do refined

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[MoparMap]

Raw and refined have always been "in" throughout the years, each one just caters to its own market. Look back at the 60's and early 70's. Muscle cars with nothing but engine and no frills were hot, but so were monster Cadillacs the size of a city block with tail fins big enough to be wings. That's why they make so many different kinds of cars. The problem is trying to make ones that blur the lines. Something like a GTX of yore. Huge engine, crazy power, but all the trim options. The same with the V series Cadillacs today. They put tons of power with tons of leather and wood, but you compromise because cars with that many options weigh as much as a battleship. If you want to go faster than the guy next to you, you're going to have to give up some stuff. That's why there are "********" and track day versions of so many cars. People will pay Ferrari to REMOVE stuff from their car to make it faster and they don't complain.

 

[ROYMAN]

Did any of the journalists actually define what they meant by "drivers car" or even stipulate some sort of quantifiable attributes or behaviors (aside from the standard numerics) that they would be using in their evaluations?