Monday we find out who is faster at Laguna Seca, ZR1 or Gen V

[Lespauldude]

The latest "Tweet" from Sir Ralph :


Ralph Gilles‏@RalphGilles

@haroldsmith3rd We'll send our pro out to Laguna and see what he can do...


5:42 AM - 18 Dec 12 ·

 

[bluesrt]

i dont think they went out there blind folded, they are doing this for some reason

 

[v10enomous]

Let's wait for a few more tests and to hear from the owners once they have taken delivery of their Gen V's. The car can probably do better than it did and SRT will be able to work some magic with aero and braking and tires and whatever else for a few model years. At the end of the day though, the outgoing C6 corvette is still a fresher more contemporary design than the just released new generation of the Viper. While both are high powered American 2 seat front engine RWD sports cars they are very different in drivetrain layout and chassis dynamics. The new Viper still whoops a lot of much higher priced cars and may still whoop them all but at some point there will need to be a clean sheet redesign that incorporates the latest advancements and design features like a rearward transaxle or AWD while preserving the identity of the car.

 

[Ray W]

Not going to work with this guy that lost his heart to Viper for the rest of his life. Take another good look at the right things and you will see that Team SRT overcame a seemingly impossible mountain to preserve the Viper spirit to the fullest of their abilities.

If Ralphs' hands were tied and he got as much as he could, I thank him for the effort. Now Fiat needs to know that maybe they should have given him more. What better way to tell them than with our wallets. It's an American car and we want more of everything not equal and certainly not less.

 

[ferraritoviper]

Boy I hope all the haters here never have a loved one let them down, or maybe one of your children get one bad grade. We have really seen some pettiness and I doubt the true Viper guys or the Vette guys would have ever fallen on their swords so fast, just sickening and not what the forums use to be... I'm disappointed to, but not so much in the Viper.

Respectfully, a true Viper guy

Well stated Mark! Although from a business standpoint image is everything, and in this department SRT has failed miserably. As noted elsewhere, their silence is deafening, and calling the Viper track test driver "scared", ain't gettin it! Make it right swiftly Ralph, before Sergio calls you on the carpet...if he hasn't already.

 

[utahviper]

Im out until they regroup and come out with something worthy of being called a VIPER. I bought my first viper 1997 because it annilated the competition period and was just in your face mean looking. Nothing was even close. Now, we are settling for performance standard from 4years ago. GARBAGE!!! When I drove the new car at VOI it was nice but it didnt feel any faster than my Gen4.

Dont forget, we have the 2nd best power to weight ratio of all production cars. That was the justification for the WEAK HP #'s, 640HP is so 5 years ago. Someone needs a new calculator because the math isnt working !!!

They wrapped a FIREPOWER powertrain in Viper skin. We need Viper Power to go with the Skin.

 

[ACR steve]

One track ,one test and you guys wrote off a car ????????? It wasn’t even the final production spec. or our track model....Only a few months ago you guys were cheering that we destroyed the world at the Ring Just relax and stop whining like babies Damn I feel like I am in the P_ssy Forum

 

[daytonprowler]

The latest "Tweet" from Sir Ralph :


Ralph Gilles‏@RalphGilles

@haroldsmith3rd We'll send our pro out to Laguna and see what he can do...


5:42 AM - 18 Dec 12 ·

..........+1

One track ,one test and you guys wrote off a car ????????? It wasn’t even the final production spec. or our track model....Only a few months ago you guys were cheering that we destroyed the world at the Ring Just relax and stop whining like babies Damn I feel like I am in the P_ssy Forum

..........+1

 

[yellowmz3]

I see a lot of members are questioning why someone would want to give up their order. I have to say that we're talking about a car that may cost 150K or more and to have a negative test result, (granted only one), that makes people nervous. Typically, every new generation is significantly better than the last so you know what you're investing in. Here, there is too much uncertainty and when you're putting down that kind of cash, you better be damn certain you're happy. I'm gonna wait for another test or two before I get my deposit back, but I for one am pretty dissapointed.

 

[ViperTony]

Wow...this thread is so full of fail that it's actually a win for the wrong reasons. Not the desired result for SRT in this comparison but I'm certain SRT is not going to let Leguna Seca end on this note. If Ralph says the Viper has more in it, then I say we give the man the chance to prove it. SRT is not one to back down from anything. Stay tuned.

 

[InjectTheVenom]

One track ,one test and you guys wrote off a car ????????? It wasn’t even the final production spec. or our track model....Only a few months ago you guys were cheering that we destroyed the world at the Ring Just relax and stop whining like babies Damn I feel like I am in the P_ssy Forum

Next time we need to end up in the same karting group or have the instructors allow passengers

 

[bluesrt]

99 percent of the new viper owners are not going to push the viper to its limit anyways, the pushers of performance will mod it anyway

 

[Ray W]

Nope p_ssies take it. Pricks bring it. It's not just the one test or two,let's not forget Edmund's. What did they do for "us" ? The core group of original Viper lovers. A rear gear that the car should've already had,40 more hp,but 20 less than a Mustang,light weight wheels,only in black and slotted rotors,but not carbon. Am I missing something here? Maybe my koolaid needs more ice.

 

[InjectTheVenom]

Nope p_ssies take it. Pricks bring it. It's not just the one test or two,let's not forget Edmund's. What did they do for "us" ? The core group of original Viper lovers. A rear gear that the car should've already had,40 more hp,but 20 less than a Mustang,light weight wheels,only in black and slotted rotors,but not carbon. Am I missing something here?

The weight comparo of the Mustang vs. Viper?

 

[ViperSmith]

We can forget Edmunds, because this tests acceleration results ran right over the Edmunds tests.

 

[challenger&viper]

From Ralph Gilles @RalphGilles
To
@MattHardigree @motortrend @baronvonclutch @mt_loverman

" MT.staged this well, I actually love the rivalry, makes us better...to be continued "

 

[Ray W]

The press over the years have consistantly down played the Viper. Though windows and air conditioning were added in 1995 and 1996 it wasn't till the Gen III came out that most people realized the car had them. To this day most of the general public think that Corvettes are faster. Perception is reality. SRT should have done the research,put out the numbers and said now you guys go beat them.

 

[ACRucrazy]

13,000+ views and counting. Keep crying like babies, everyone is watching

 

[VENOM V]

One track ,one test and you guys wrote off a car ????????? It wasn’t even the final production spec. or our track model....Only a few months ago you guys were cheering that we destroyed the world at the Ring Just relax and stop whining like babies Damn I feel like I am in the P_ssy Forum

No $hit, you nailed it. My disappointment, frankly, lies with this thread, not the Viper. In all of the years that I've been a car guy and been a member of various forums, I've never seen such defeatist attitudes from such a large group of posters. I'm new to this forum, and have a bad taste in my mouth. I may need to take a break from all this BS and check back in later when cooler heads prevail. Nothing against the vast majority of my fellow VCA members who have kept their perspective. I can understand some disappointment, but this sky is falling attitude shown by some of you is just plain ludicrous. Sad really.

 

[mjorgensen Woodhouse]

No $hit, you nailed it. My disappointment, frankly, lies with this thread, not the Viper. In all of the years that I've been a car guy and been a member of various forums, I've never seen such defeatist attitudes from such a large group of posters. I'm new to this forum, and have a bad taste in my mouth. I may need to take a break from all this BS and check back in later when cooler heads prevail. Nothing against the vast majority of my fellow VCA members who have kept their perspective. I can understand some disappointment, but this sky is falling attitude shown by some of you is just plain ludicrous. Sad really.

+++1 brother

 

[09 Venom]

WOW...i just read thru this thread and cant believe some of the responses. Maybe alot of you plan on taking delivery of a GEN V then are going to rush to LAGUNA and see what she does. Well if thats the case maybe you should be a little disappointed. Keep in mind it still beat some of the worlds best. However, I WILL NOT be cancelling my order. Do you know when was the last time i saw a Viper on the road. Last summer. And there are plenty in the ny/nj area. I have seen more R8's and 458's. Was i the only one at SOHO in April. The new Vipers lines and curves are gorgeous in person. Add to that performance on par with the worlds best. An interior to match. Normally aspirated 640hp and 600ft/lb. Limited amount being built. And most important you can row thru the gears yourself ! Let's face it boys, eventually physics is going to put a limit on how fast we can make reliable production cars. SRT has improved the Viper leaps and bounds over previous versions. And it is faster than all. We all know that our first time around a track in our Vipers have probably been the slowest. I know mine was. Let the smoke clear and dust settle. This is just the beginning.

 

[Solid Red 98]

Wow, this read certainly shows the power of the media and the internet. You get a couple a tools from a car mag running their "test" and, and their results and opinions trump all the heart and soul efforts that have been poured into resurrecting the Viper from the ashes of a recently flamed out company? Give me a freaking break! Everybody knows that these mags are always in someone's pocket, anyway. I bought the Viper because it was and is a beautiful and amazing American built car that is exciting and satisfying to drive, even after all the years I have owned it. Further, this car has been one of the most reliable machines that I have seen in a while. If I hadn't been adding stuff to it over the years, it would cost about the same to own as a Ram pickup. I drive it year around here in Cali, and I have fun, so it doesn't just sit.

My car is a Gen 2; it is waaaaaaaay slower than the Gen 5, and its interior, and fit, comfort, ride, yada, yada, yada, were panned by the same a$$holes in the media. I didn't give a rat's dot about that. I saw the thing at the '89 caar show and fell in love with it at first sight. I would have it--period. If I wanted to make it a better car, I could modify it to my hearts' content--despite the elevated cost of doing so relative to a Mustang or Vette. Its a Viper, and that is special. If you don't believe it, you don't actually own and drive one.

Yes the new Viper is slower out of the gate in its FIRST preproduction media shootout against a fully evolved and refined legacy production top Vette. Chevy has been very busy over the years, and quite committed to making dominant beast. GM has carried the American GT flag, and represented well--kudos to them, they make a great machine. Again, there are many reasons to buy a Viper beyond its track times. Yes, I wanted the new car to best the Corvette, but because a single slightly biased magazine article says so, its suddenly junk? Come on people, let some cars get out there with other capable drivers, different tires, conditions etc. before we freak completely out. Give SRT a chance to make the requisite revisions that come after production yields more cars. Its not the end of the world, but the way some of you guys talk, it should be the end of the Viper before it even gets started. The car may, in fact be slower--a bit of a bummer, but gees....who is going to keep this thing totally stock for long anyway?

 

[09 Venom]

Just a follow up to my post above. I have 3 friends with Corvettes (2008 Z06, 2011 Grand Sport and 2011 ZR1). I have had 2 Vettes in the past ('99 Z51, '02 Z06). And although i do love the Vette and I am a big fan I am on my 3rd Viper. When all my buddies cars are together they all blend in. The design is **-hum. Nothing special. And guess how many times they have tracked their cars...ZERO. Take one guess whose car turns all the heads when we go out cruising. Just my personal opinion

 

[InjectTheVenom]

The press over the years have consistantly down played the Viper. Though windows and air conditioning were added in 1995 and 1996 it wasn't till the Gen III came out that most people realized the car had them. To this day most of the general public think that Corvettes are faster. Perception is reality. SRT should have done the research,put out the numbers and said now you guys go beat them.

Sorry if this comes off as rude but there are a few perception points that need to be taken into account to reveal that SRT did do the job they needed to do in the way they have always done from 1989 onwards.

 

[ViperSmith]

WOW...i just read thru this thread and cant believe some of the responses. Maybe alot of you plan on taking delivery of a GEN V then are going to rush to LAGUNA and see what she does. Well if thats the case maybe you should be a little disappointed. Keep in mind it still beat some of the worlds best. However, I WILL NOT be cancelling my order. Do you know when was the last time i saw a Viper on the road. Last summer. And there are plenty in the ny/nj area. I have seen more R8's and 458's. Was i the only one at SOHO in April. The new Vipers lines and curves are gorgeous in person. Add to that performance on par with the worlds best. An interior to match. Normally aspirated 640hp and 600ft/lb. Limited amount being built. And most important you can row thru the gears yourself ! Let's face it boys, eventually physics is going to put a limit on how fast we can make reliable production cars. SRT has improved the Viper leaps and bounds over previous versions. And it is faster than all. We all know that our first time around a track in our Vipers have probably been the slowest. I know mine was. Let the smoke clear and dust settle. This is just the beginning.

The one thing I love about the Viper is - you just don't see them - I mean, I'd like to see more, but it is a pretty rare car to see on the road. I see more Lambos, R8s, than I do Vipers. I think the last one I saw was 2 years ago and was an ACR. Vets are a dime a dozen around here, porsches too. I want something fun no one else has.

I'll say again, I can't wait for my Gen V!

 

[yellowmz3]

Regarding rare, nothing wrong with that, I love to have an unusual car. Sometimes that can be an issue too. I remember having to drive 2 hours for an oil change on my Ford GT because no local dealer (Ford, much less - right out side of NYC) could get the car up on a lift.

 

[DMan]

Why is everyone so quick to say, 'it could be a $150k car" so .... How about this, it could be a $103k car (with track pack) and turn those #s, or even better. For that money, those aren't good #'s??

Am I a little disappointed in the report, yea, but frankly, if I was in a bathroom and there was a new issue of Motro Trend and toilet paper, I'd use the Motor Trend and read the toilet paper. I'm just glad Ralph's pissed, hey, Ralph, go embarrass these guys with your own driver & show them some #'s.

 

[v10enomous]

Good for you ! If the circumstances were right for me now I'd have an order in for a Gen V myself.

The one thing I love about the Viper is - you just don't see them - I mean, I'd like to see more, but it is a pretty rare car to see on the road. I see more Lambos, R8s, than I do Vipers. I think the last one I saw was 2 years ago and was an ACR. Vets are a dime a dozen around here, porsches too. I want something fun no one else has.

I'll say again, I can't wait for my Gen V!

 

[SnakeBitten]

After the dominance of the original GTS the auto press cooled toward the following Gen Vipers. It was ok coming last in the comparo due to every excuse they could find. But when you looked at the performance numbers it was almost always the Viper outperforming the other cars regardless of price. This has spoiled all of the Viper fans. So it's obvious why this 2.1 second beating is causing a lot of disappointment to fill this thread. Not only did it lose on comfort blah blah blah it got embarrassed on a road course. When is the last time a Viper lost by multiple seconds to its rivals? It's a bitter pill.

I eagerly await SRT's responce, on track, to this mess.

 

[chorps]

I understand that there are more than a few of the faithful that have been upset by this, since most of those were the ones asking for more power and performance from the Gen V, yet what they perceived they got was a 'warmed over' Gen IV. In some ways they are right...and this test puts SRT under the hot seat.

However, the days of easy dominance by the Viper have been gone for a long time. Ever since the C6 Z06 got introduced in 2007 there has been a back and forth between the top Vettes and Vipers and SRT group isn't going to take their marbles and go home. If you look at the amount of development that the Corvettes have had over the years along with their associated budgets, you will realize that the Viper has always been a skunkworks operation and you should be proud of the work the engineers and managers have done for so little.

The Gen V might be less of a performance update than what the hardcores wanted, but the Gen V fixes most of what was perceived as deficient compared to other cars of its caliber. If the performance has suffered so it's no longer dominating tracks and dragstrips, perhaps that can be addressed with some tuning and a GTS-R/ACR update.

Just remember the entire Viper program was originally developed for less than the cost of the Neon's bumper (it may have showed though ). Today, I don't think anyone is giving up at SRT but this is a tiny volume car at a bargain price (relatively, even with the Gen V's price increase). Name another manufacturer that has continued to make a tiny volume dedicated platform/engine combo that is even remotely competitive, let alone dominating, for so cheap (DoT certified).

Given the drama on this thread and a couple of others, I'm surprised we haven't found forum members dangling from the rafters yet. I get it that there's a lot of people who *love* the Viper and want it to be the best (whatever that means), but sometimes being hypercritical does more damage than good. Step outside, take a deep breath, go for a drive and come back before posting about d00000000000mmmmmm.