Some pictures of the 2003 from yesterday

[Roland L-Ocala FL]

Here are a few pictures of the 2003 Viper. It is much better to see it in person than to go from the photos, everybody was saying the same thing about the GTS-R prototype last year, and then when they saw it a VOI-6, the views changed!

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Heres's another view!

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Check this one out too!

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Here are some of the competitors' cars that can go from 0-62 mph in 4.2 seconds! (Still can't beat the Viper!)

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Most of the crowd comments were very positive. Had one guy with a Corvette jacket walk by and heard him say to his wife "I don't do the Chrysler display!" and just walked away. Shoot, I went to see the other makes, but the Viper is head and shoulders over them!

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[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Well, I have to admit those pics look good. Are the wheels chrome or polished aluminum? I hope polished aluminum.

 

[Chuck 97 GTS]

I agree, the car is AWESOME in person! I must have stared at it for an hour before I felt compelled to walk around and see the rest of the show.

Good to see you again Roland!

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[Matt M PA]

Does anyone know what other shows the '03 will attend?

 

[Tom Shapiro]

I agree with Roland and Chuck. All three of us spent alot of time at the display and the car looks great in person. Roland's first picture captures the side gill and wheels very well. Couldn't tell if they were chrome or very highly polished aluminum. Mesh screening covered the radiator, side gill, and rear end air ducts. Almost the entire undercarrage is aerodynamically covered. The car still has rounded front and rear fenders. Forget Camaro, S-2000, Corvette, Miata or Mitsubishi 3000 comparisons. If this car was sitting in the FERRARI display people would be lusting all over it and would be willing to spend $25-50k over sticker to get one! One side note. After we toured CAAP we went to ASC Inc. These are the people who paint our body panels. If you want a better appreciation about whether your car is hand made or not, take this tour. EVERYTHING in the prep and painting process is done BY HAND. Normally 3 coats of base (4 for yellow) and 2 coats of clear coat. The paint job on our cars is ranked 9 out of 10 (10 being show car) No other major manufacturer has that high of a standard.

 

[Tom Shapiro]

Forgot one thing. The rotors are drilled out and both front and rear calipers look huge.

 

[Viperrick]

Just back from meetings in Detroit. The Viper will be at the Chicago and New York shows. I hope everyone that attended Detroit Dream Weekend 2 had a good time. Looking forward to hearing from those of you who attended. Regretfully after it was all said and done I didn't get a chance to go see the Show Car. A big THANK YOU goes out to Gary Grube (Illinois) and Duane Branum (Indiana) for their help in taking over the event when my other VCA duties forced me to leave you.

 

[Roland L-Ocala FL]

Rich,
This was a great weekend, the visits to ASC, CAAP and Mound Road Engine Plant, and the Walter P. Chrysler Museum were great, but you know what the best part was, meeting old friends and making new ones! It's the Viper that makes all that possible....Thanks again. I will be posting more pictures from ASC and CAAP and Mound Road later! The one that opened my eyes the most was ASC and just like Tom Shapiro said, the hand work that goes into each Viper is unbelievable! Listen, when it takes over an hour and a half just to wet sand a hood, then another hour to hand buff it out, that is incredible. And that is just the hood! We do not have our cars or all the parts that go into it made on a robotic assembly line, they are made by hand by craftspersons who are very proud of what they do! There is a lot of long hours of hand labor that goes into each and every Viper!

 

[Steve-Indy]

Rich, Gary, Duane...thanks for a GREAT TRIP this weekend...and a special thanks to the folks at ASC and CAAP for the wonderful tours!!!...truly SAD I had to leave BEFORE the Auto Show!!! Roland, thanks for the GREAT pic's...and thanks to others who have posted same... we might have to have one of these!!!

Steve Ind/Ky and ILL VCA

 

[Viperrick]

I apologize again, that I was not able to spend any time with the groups. I hope dinner at Big Buck went well on Friday night.

I have been to the promise land and I bring good news to all Viper owners. While the group was off at CAAP, Mound and ASC I had an opportunity to speak with a Team Viper member about all things VIPER.

There have been many negative comments about the new 2003 Viper RT-10 on the web site. Most of them by people who have not seen the car in person. I do not think that you can make a fair assessment until you have had some time to look at it up close. The new car is different but than what did you expect? When you redesign, you must make it different, otherwise it is just a rehash. Believe me when I tell you that this car has not only met, but it has also exceeded the designers expectations when it comes to performance. How do I know this? I have had meetings before with this person and it is the first time I saw and heard real excitement in his voice and on his face. He could hardly keep from telling me the numbers, but suffice it to say that there will be nothing that will touch this new car.
He told me that when he first looked at results from tests, which were run by the engineers, he asked them to redo them because the numbers must be wrong. They replied that they did do twice (before submitting them), because even they thought there was a mistake. There was no mistake. This car will be unbelievable in the performance department. Actually it exceeds the current car in every department. I had a chance to see the Mission Statement and the design document which was created for the design of the new Viper. Let me tell you that those questionnaires which Viper Owners filled out in Vegas were not a waste of time. The Team read them and they listened to what the Viper Nation wanted. No longer will you need to carry a towel in the car to dry yourself off if you get caught in a rain. The HVAC system has had a complete redesign. Remember where the cool air came out of on an early roadster? Side exhaust is back and no more UPS sound. The convertible top is a world class part. You will have Smart Windows ( lower down a half inch when you decide to pop the top). The chassis is lighter, stronger and will give you great feed back. I could probably write for another hour but I think you get the picture.
The bar has been raised very high. It will be a long time before any stock production vechicle, in the Viper's price range, will be ready to compete against it. For those of you who decide that you can't get used to the new one, well, get ready to move over because, it sounds like there is a new SNAKE coming to town and you are going to be in it's way. Can't wait for the 2003.

 

[Hans Christian]

Thanks Richard,

I KNEW IT - IT BLOWS EVERYTHING AWAY AND CAN'T WAIT TO GET MINE

Further, I completely agree with your comments on judging the car prior having seen it in person - but to me, it blew me away right from the first view.

Hans Christian Jensen