Just got a real drive and ride in a Gen 5.

[MoparBoyy]

Here at Chelsea Proving Grounds for the SRT dealer event, they let us drive all the SRT products on a autocross style track. Then the Gen 5 we got to actually put a couple miles on the car and put it thru a few paces. Got to do a full run thru the gears all the way up to a bit over 100mph back down and a few turns. Car felt amazing.

Then the better experience was they put you in the passenger seat and took us on a balls out lap of the road course. Thats where the car REALLY shined. I informed the driver I was a current owner, and he said "i'm gonna show you why this car is SO much better" he ran the car up to about 150-160mph which made it there amazingly fast. Then thru a set of curves that were all higher speed, he mashed the pedal at the apex and you could feel the ESP in action, was never intrusive and kept the car on the perfect path thru the turn, when we came back in hes like "your viper would have been in the weeds at that point" which was very true.

New car was amazing, a much better Gen 5 experience than we had at VOI, but there was also a lot less people at this

 

[SilveRT8]

Thanks for sharing !
Great review

 

[01sapphirebob]

Awesome!!! The more I read about this car the more I want it!!!! :drool:

 

[Moundir]

Did you test the launch control and traction control? You lucky dog!!

 

[bushido]

Very nice info. Can't wait to get one..

 

[DMan]

he mashed the pedal at the apex and you could feel the ESP in action, was never intrusive and kept the car on the perfect path thru the turn, when we came back in hes like "your viper would have been in the weeds at that point"

At the risk of sounding like Chuck, I think the same can be said for the GTR but I wouldn't buy one. Was it an SRT or a GTS? If GTS do you know what mode it was in? On or track mode? Thanks for reporting.

Dave.

 

[MoparBoyy]

Did you test the launch control and traction control? You lucky dog!!

no launch control, and the TC only kicked in when he flat footed the pedal right at the apex to show me how its not very intrusive at speed and just barely came into play to get the car from spinning coming out of the turn. as far as TC kicking on off the start, I never dropped the pedal hard, mostly just roll onto the power and hammer the gas, TC never came on gave you a little spin just like most the other SRTs.

At the risk of sounding like Chuck, I think the same can be said for the GTR but I wouldn't buy one. Was it an SRT or a GTS? If GTS do you know what mode it was in? On or track mode? Thanks for reporting.

Dave.

they dont have any SRTs as they were all pre production cars. we drove and got drove in cars that were all in standard mode.

 

[DMan]

Great to know it was the normal setting, thanks!

BTW if you meet a guy named Shawn Kapolchak, tell 'me Dave says hi, he's a local dealer service mgr here, he just bought a set of oil lines from viper spec to install when he gets back. I hope he has a local debrief for us here, lol.

Thanks again for taking the time to share the great info.

 

[kdaviper]

the yellow SRT's probably getting moparized for SEMA

 

[Boxer12]

great news! Your car is a gen 2 GTS? Have you ever been on track in a gen 4 ACR? jc

 

[MoparBoyy]

great news! Your car is a gen 2 GTS? Have you ever been on track in a gen 4 ACR? jc

yes sir, not mine so I could not beat it like a red headed step child

 

[SADVIPER]

would you say there are noticible differences, if any, between SRT and GTS? interior-wise!

 

[DMan]

would you say there are noticible differences, if any, between SRT and GTS? interior-wise!

Interior wise the answer is definitely yes. I drove the SRT with track pack, and sat in the GTS with the best interior option, Sepia I think they call it. The SRT interior blows me away, it's super nice, as nice as I'd care to have in a perf car. The GTS is all out exotic or custom interior level of quality, smells like the inside of a womans coach purse, the texture is supple and the stitching and everything about it is like Ferrari or Lambo without any exageration. If anyone thinks the GTS interior is lacking, then that person cannot be pleased by any car. THe SRT is excellent inside, the GTS is exotic-level. IMO

 

[bcmarly]

Interior wise the answer is definitely yes. I drove the SRT with track pack, and sat in the GTS with the best interior option, Sepia I think they call it. The SRT interior blows me away, it's super nice, as nice as I'd care to have in a perf car. The GTS is all out exotic or custom interior level of quality, smells like the inside of a womans coach purse, the texture is supple and the stitching and everything about it is like Ferrari or Lambo without any exageration. If anyone thinks the GTS interior is lacking, then that person cannot be pleased by any car. THe SRT is excellent inside, the GTS is exotic-level. IMO

Did you sit in a GTS without the $7500 interior leather upgrade? If so, what were your impressions?

 

[01sapphirebob]

Interior wise the answer is definitely yes. I drove the SRT with track pack, and sat in the GTS with the best interior option, Sepia I think they call it. The SRT interior blows me away, it's super nice, as nice as I'd care to have in a perf car. The GTS is all out exotic or custom interior level of quality, smells like the inside of a womans coach purse, the texture is supple and the stitching and everything about it is like Ferrari or Lambo without any exageration. If anyone thinks the GTS interior is lacking, then that person cannot be pleased by any car. THe SRT is excellent inside, the GTS is exotic-level. IMO

Did you sit in a GTS without the $7500 interior leather upgrade? If so, what were your impressions?

The cars at VOI which is where he is talking about had only the top of the line interior.

 

[DMan]

The cars at VOI which is where he is talking about had only the top of the line interior.

This ^^^

Maybe MOPARBOY is getting some variety, hopefully we'll get another update.

 

[aries]

How did the transmission feel? Is it smoother and easier then the previos one? Is it notchy?

 

[MoparBoyy]

would you say there are noticible differences, if any, between SRT and GTS? interior-wise!

they didn't have any SRTs at this event, they are were all GTSs, again they were all pre-production cars so the interiors had issues... the one i drove had HORRIBLE wind noise at 100mph from the drivers window and parts of the door panel were missing, and they mentioned many times, this cars are NOT production, they are test cars so they have been beat to within an inch of there lives.

How did the transmission feel? Is it smoother and easier then the previos one? Is it notchy?

it felt good, they mentioned to us they changed the spacing between gates to provide a better feel, along with a shorter throw shifter. It was much nicer than stock Gen 4, but i still perfer the HURST shifter in mine. (but i'm also used to it)

 

[zoomie]

thanks for the information report MoparBoyy.

DMAN, keep us posted on anything local ? Which local dealer ?

great stuff all .

 

[ViperGTS]

>>>Then the better experience was they put you in the passenger seat and took us on a balls out lap of the road course. Thats where the car REALLY shined. I informed the driver I was a current owner, and he said "i'm gonna show you why this car is SO much better" he ran the car up to about 150-160mph which made it there amazingly fast. Then thru a set of curves that were all higher speed, he mashed the pedal at the apex and you could feel the ESP in action, was never intrusive and kept the car on the perfect path thru the turn, when we came back in hes like "your viper would have been in the weeds at that point" which was very true.<<<

You cannot beat physics with software - that's exactly the reason why the cars will be wrecked anyway! Of course, some incidents will be fixed by ESP etc. - dream on!

P.S.: since I saw many drivers during VOI's I think ESP is good for 99% of them! Especially, when they drive a Viper with 10, 11 or 12 years old tires.

 

[DMan]

thanks for the information report MoparBoyy.

DMAN, keep us posted on anything local ? Which local dealer ?

great stuff all .

The local dealer is Criswell Dodge, my jury is still out on recommending them though, I've had a bad exp with them that they're working on correcting, so I can't vouch for them .. yet.

 

[SADVIPER]

I've noticed that all the show cars, test cars, have been of the best interior option and that worries me what the srt interior is actually like! Though I trust Dman word but damn I want that top notch stiching

 

[DMan]

I've noticed that all the show cars, test cars, have been of the best interior option and that worries me what the srt interior is actually like! Though I trust Dman word but damn I want that top notch stiching

To be clear though, the SRT I drove had the upgraded leather interior, not the base faux interior, so I don't know if anyone has seen the real base interior.

 

[Torquemonster]

Great write up - thanks for posting. The GTS is the one for me.

 

[VYPR BYT 94]

Interesting... thanks for the descriptive experience.

 

[SADVIPER]

To be clear though, the SRT I drove had the upgraded leather interior, not the base faux interior, so I don't know if anyone has seen the real base interior.

Now you confused me base interior..

 

[kdaviper]

To be clear though, the SRT I drove had the upgraded leather interior, not the base faux interior, so I don't know if anyone has seen the real base interior.

Are you sure? you know the SRT has SOME leather in the interior as well without the upgrade.

 

[bcmarly]

The dash in the SRT is leather but cannot be ordered with contrasting stitching. You can however order the leather seats as an option. At least that's my understanding of the information on Drive SRT.

 

[DMan]

Are you sure? you know the SRT has SOME leather in the interior as well without the upgrade.

Yea, I talked to the engineer riding with me about it. He was trying to describe the faux material, but I'm not sure I got it or could try to describe what he was saying, but he said he liked the base interior and the seats were better at keeping you in place on the track.

 

[Bill Pemberton Woodhouse]

The base interior for the GTS will keep your butt in place alot better , as it is not all leather. This is the interior one can upgrade to in the SRT, and will likely be what folks want that will track the car. The car feels stout due to the 3.55 gearing and the things that amazed me were the stability at high speeds ( felt like I could drive it with one finger ), the supple ride and the shift linkage was sweeter. Though I would still put in an MGW short throw kit ,as there is nothing made that is it's league in my estimation.

Going into turn two the car brakes on relatively poor pavement ( bumpy) and it seemed to really handle that extremely well. Was the most impressived with that , as the brakes have been great since 2003 , but they really hauled things down under less than ideal conditions with the new tires, suspension mods, and the fine tuning of the brakes showing a generational improvement!

No wind noise at all in the car I drove, and let it be said, even those these are pre-production models , the fit and finish is still better than in the past. This will move the Viper upscale , as it is still the same old beast , but the beauty is there too in spades!!!