Sports Car International Magazine - Prosche 911 GT2 vs Viper ACR

[VOI9 ASP]

In the latest issue of Sports Car Magazine (July 2002) just arrived in the mail today they had an article on the above 2 cars. They had a driver named Joannes van Overbeek drive the two cars at Thunderhill. He didn't like the Viper at all. It was evident that he is a Porsche guy.

A few comments... Driving a Porsche GT2 is like having a good relationship, you always know where you are. If you don't have a good relationship you're always in the dark. That's how the Viper is - you just never quite know where you stand.

He also mentioned that his best lap time in the ACR was 2:04 and just under two minutes in the Porsche.

I thought the Viper Days drivers were under two minutes with there laps. Maybe that's due to increase HP?

Anyway, the article was not pro Viper at all.

 

[Y2K5SRT]

Driver name: "Joannes van Overbeek"

Pardon the stereotype, but I would guess this guy wasn't exactly born in Detroit. Is it a wonder he prefered the European marquee?

No flame intended, etc.

Chris

 

[FUSCUCLA1]

So the Viper is from the dark side...big deal, all hail Darth Viper

 

[SilverViperGTS]

Dark side! Dark side!
But who said the good guys always win!!

 

[Hiper]

Owning both a Porsche Turbo and a Viper, I have an idea why Mr. Van Overbeek had a preference for the GT2.

On tight turns and curves, the Porsche's are much more stable and easier to handle than a Viper! Especially the GT2, which has a stiffer suspension, wider wheels, and is 1" lower than the standard Turbo (plus its rear wheel drive).

However, the sheer power of a Viper and its shape give it a huge advantage over the Porsche

The Viper is pure exotic! Pure raw power! I guess Mr. Van Overbeek wasn't born in Detroit after all

 

[Butch The Snake]

Being an ex-porsche guy I have owned a 87 911 turbo, 91 911 turbo, 96 911 TT and a 01 911 TT. I can tell you first hand that the GT2 is like no other Porsche every built. This car is the fastest 911 Porsche has developed, this is why this car sells for well over list price. You can not compare this car to an ACR Viper, that's not a fair comparision because of the research & development put into this car. A fair comparsion would be the new Viper Coupe, which would smoke the GT2 all day long.

Being turned to the dark side I can only see the dark side.

-----------------
01 GTS (550 RWHP 650 RWTQ)
02 360 Modena
01 BMW M3
01 BMW 740i sport
02 Escalade

 

[Rich Wesorick]

van Overbeek is a fairly accomplished racer for a "young" guy. I'm sure he's driven all types of cars, but everybody has their preference. Last year, he raced a Porsche GT3 SuperCup in the Speedvision World Challenge GT series, so it should be no surprise that he favors the P-car. Plus, the GT2 is far closer to a true race car from the factory than the ACR. Heck, the differences in the stock brakes alone are worth 2 seconds... I'll take two Vipers for the price of one GT2.

 

[ViperGTS]

Porscheland?
I am glad to live on the DARK side

 

[Jim Hodel]

I've been a subscriber to Sports Car International for a couple of years and they are true blue Porshce guys so I'm not surpirsed to see a professional Porshce driver prefer a 999 GT2 to a Viper.

Also, have you seen the prices of the 911 GT2? They are over $225,000. I find it flattering that they compare the fastest 911 ever made to a $75,000 Dodge. I have no doubt that the Porshce is an absolutley fantastic car. BTW, 2:04 is really moving at Thunderhill for a car on street tires. Awhile back, Steve Millen got a 2:10 in a 'standard' 996TT and a 2:07 in a Z06 and 360 Modena, so the stock Vipers not in bad company.

I wonder what a competitivly priced Porshce would turn??

Also, these test let me know how very far I have to go in my Viper....

Jim

 

[ViperGTS]

Dan:
>>>Marcus, I assume since your from Germany that you may have owned Porsches before? What is the impression you get from other Germans/Europeans of the Viper? What do they think of it compared to the Porsche from an appearance standpoint, gawk factor, performance etc. Does it command much attention there? Or do they look at it as some American piece of Sh*t?<<<

Especially in the Munich area you can see a Porsche at each corner. Thousands in Munich area! Only a handful of Vipers here. Wherever I pop up with the Viper - open mouth and people LOVE to see the Viper. The attention factor is unbelievable!
Sometimes I get "thumbs up" from Porsche drivers too.

Gawk factor on a scale 0-10: Porsche:1 / Viper:10

P.S: I do not have a Porsche. It is way to easy to drive a Porsche here. Would be a nice daily driver. Thats it.

 

[Stephen Yap]

2.04 on street tires is awesome for the Viper and under 2 minutes is a big difference. I wonder if a pro that is familiar with the Viper can go under 2 minutes? Where is Tommy Archer ?

 

[BlueCrotalus]

Dan B.

Saw that you have a Boxster. My wife has a 2002 Boxster S. What do you think about it compared to our Vipers? I find that it is a fun relatively carefree car. The top goes up and down in 12 seconds and in Florida thats a big advantage with our frequent thunderstorms. If there is a chance of rain, my RT/10 has to stay home. They are two completely different cars. One is a beast, the other is reefined. Perhaps thats why our German friend is so bored with them.

 

[BWoodbury]

I saw the GT-2 at the auto show this year. My favorite part was the little clips in the roof so you could mount a luggage rack...

 

[SmokinV10]

On the flip side I raced a 996TT last night from a stop to about 110 or so. I know they arent the same car, but lets just say, the main course was "Fresh Fillet of Porsche Flambé over Snake Venom". Roasted and toasted by at least a car length. There is absolutely NO replacement for displacement. The owner of the 996TT and I talked a little afterwards and he conceded that "you just cant beat the torque" from our V10's.

 

[Bill/APEX Motorsports]

I've seen Johannes hustle a Porsche GT3 "street car" around Thunderhill, and he was VERY fast. Excellent driver and a nice guy. He has so much seat time in Porsches that I'm sure he felt much more at home in the GT2. Compared to the GT2, he must've felt the Viper was a blunt instrument. There's nothing better than using an axe when a scalpel will do!

 

[SlowCreamPuff]

There is another hidden factor.

How many 2:04 can a stock Viper ACR run in a session?
How many under 2:00 can a GT2 run in a session?

The price difference is huge though...

 

[david sklover]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by SlowCreamPuff:
How many under 2:00 can a GT2 run in a session?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

every lap it's out there, not counting the warm up / cool down

man, I would love to get some seat time in one of those...

vroom vrooom

 

[Brad04Mamba]

There were four guys who did 2:04 or better at this years Viper Days event at Thunderhill. I know these aren't stock vipers but they arent the race vipers either, they did 1:55. Somebody who drives porsches for a living will subconciously drive porsches faster than another brand. This guy is a ringer for Porsche, totally bogus comparison.