SPD Writes Car Of The Week: Week 16 - Dodge SRT Viper GTS
Cause I like you.. yeah, I like you. And I feel so Bohemian, like you..
Let's first point out as of writing, we've come and became witnesses to yet another tragedy in the world, where a big bully would assert his way to claim what's not his to begin with. Much as it is to keep spirits up high, it's hard to make sure anything I do is of that level these days. I'm about to turn 30, and as I have paved a path to life's success, I can't guarantee that path to remain. So, I think it's time to put those stresses of life away, and just kick back. And the recipe for that with Forza in mind includes a nostalgic revisit of an American icon, in V10.
Now that I have regained control for car and track choice for another week, it's time to bring on not just some icon, but also a Horizon classic, and a car I've personally been associating myself over the last 8 years. And fittingly enough: to the Forza Horizon players that have been at it for the longest time. I'm unfortunately not in that latter jurisdiction. I had a taste of 3, before starting out proper in 4.
Since I don't quite know where to begin, let's delve into the 3 generations of Vipers. We have the original SR: branded as the lazy looking Sneaky Pete until 2003. Then the ZB: branded as a more aggressive Fangs.. though I can't truly say for the car itself. And the one we have here: the VX: branded as Stryker, which is the sharpest, thus deadliest of the lot: very fitting for the kind of car the Viper has eventually evolved into.
As of my interests in high powered cars, the Viper never clicked to me at all growing up. I was still into the newly revived Camaro for American performance at the period of the late 2000s. After a quick stint into Ford for that interest, that all changed when I took my eyes on the Stryker badged Viper's debut back in early 2012. Even as it hasn't been out yet, I could never stop looking away. It was just the kind of car that wants to push my manliness factor up to eleven. And then from the magazine I read.. I forget which it was, I guess Top Gear, the slogan: "Makes the Mercedes SLS AMG look tame" just embedded straight onto my mind. And I approve very much of the SLS AMG's entire existence, yet couldn't find myself to disagree.
We all know that the Viper was born as a modern day Shelby Cobra, but died because the world can't handle its existence. Either way, the car world had their heads in salute as this name of iconic American performance came to a close. But just about every car game that would represent a single Viper these days would choose the VX, in one form or another. Occasionally it's also with an older model backing it up, like in The Crew 2. To me though, these days the Vipers are just like how I treat each generation of Miata: they are kings (or queens) in my book.
Don't hate me, but I can say a Viper's V10 would be the best kind of V10 roar.. incoming ordinance!!
The base VX Viper finds itself at early S1, to be precise at 813 PI. If I were to find certain American rivals around here, it's about 2 PI behind the Shelby GT350, and 4 PI ahead of the C6 ZR1, my favorite modern Corvette. These are 2 cars I am glad to see their debut/return in Gran Turismo 7. To spoil a bit: the C6 will make its way into the showcase underneath later. If you don't like this idea of a post review writeup, then you can feel free to skip it, no hassle.
As a car that is rewarded to anyone who's played the original Horizon before 5, it's fair to say this is a pretty common car. I wasn't one of these, but the game decided to bless me anyways, and reward this car as one of my starter cars. This car would be the first car I won with a Wheelspin.. which is unusually poetic, because this is also my first car in Gran Turismo 6, in that world though it is intentional.
Oddly, I don't got a spare. The regular Autoshow price is 95,000 credits, and with its currently common state, the Auction House has once again come to my aid. The cheapest I saw for straight up buyout is 22,000 credits, which means we have something on the cheap this week. But it is cheap for an S1 car. Meaning is all that performance worth it?
Taking it back even further with the unusual choice of green stripes.
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And to test out the final flame of Dodge's flagship sports muscle, we try to find the closest thing there is to a classic American festival locale. And a road with just enough resemblance might be Ruta Norte.
It takes a pair of stripes to tell any car without a set to shove off and be inferior. The MINI definitely felt that, and took up some more sporty credentials.
"Will you choose an agile setup to gain an early lead on the switchbacks, or a speed-focussed (dat typo) setup to sprint for the finish in the latter part of the route? The choice is yours."
Literally translated as Northern Route, this sprint takes us across the most western side northern edge of the map. It's as simple as it looks, because as a Street Scene event, I can give Barry R a break from all those weeks giving him flak. This locale's all about getting on the best line. There's hardly a place to cut or run off to.
I would look at this event as some 2 parter that would work with Copper Canyon Sprint, because where Ruta Norte ends, it is where Copper Canyon Sprint begins. But they work under different event types.
And you can see how much of a straightforward event this is. It's just the one path from a to b, without much in terms of cutting the road, hard braking, or anything complex. It's still a Street Scene, so traffic is a consideration, but in Rivals, that's just the wind. You can even practice this road by using a waypoint on your map.
Though, the track mentions how the first half is handling, while the rest is all speed. I'd say it favors more on speed. Least from this opinion, I feel it's going to make the showcase quite interesting.
In comes a snake that I hopefully would enjoy so much, it makes me feel so Bohemian. But put away that bias, and it's time to see how these scales shine.
- Of course we begin with the inside. It's tight and sleek, and this is pretty much the norm of these types of sports cars. And due to that, there's no issue at all. There's the infamous light up Stryker logo in the centre as this indicator for your shifting needs. I don't usually use it, because the end of the cockpit tachometer is very accurate to my shifting position of exactly 7000 RPM, and it lights up too early for my taste.
- And the other thing to really point out is the new sound. The Viper's sound is so dismal in recent past Forza entries. So they apologized by making it much much better. And after they hardly touched the LFA and butchered the Carrera GT's sounds, the Viper's V10 roar is just wow; another moment I can look how they unmassacred my boy.
- Now, let's go with the launch: the first gear is long enough for you to push it all the way without stability issues. Like the Hammer from last week, the advantage of doing a bit of throttle control is super minimal.. unless you do it my way: put on some power for launch, then soften it. If soft enough (but not too soft), the revs should be around the 3-4000s RPM area with the wheels not smoking. That's when you hammer it down. The advantage is about half a car's length, so there's a little, but with an ounce of challenge kind of skill to learn.
- We hop in to the first issue I noticed: engine braking. It doesn't like it when done last second, especially with all these uphill braking points, making the car's turn entry quite slippery. But the brakes on the whole are no ways bad, contrasting the Corvette C8 from week 1. But here's an SPD top tip: after a bit of hard braking, don't accelerate immediately. This'll allow you to get this sort of stable, miniscule oversteer turn that's not slow and quite handy for turning. But I made it my mission to make this work. How? By controlling when to shift down! Do it early for the tighter turns (watch your drift bro), and doing it later gets you the usual stable turn. Hmm.. this car is full of learning opportunities.
- General stability is also another problem. Putting too much power during a turn will have you slip out slightly. Brake too suddenly, and again you'll slip out slightly. And as is the rule with a car classified like this, smoke out of rear tires going sideways is bad for pace. Be responsible for your inputs, and don't push too much, or the bad part of racing a muscle car will make itself apparent.
- The track carries a good portion of uphill segments, which means I can measure 2 things: acceleration and turning. For the former, it shows how the Viper's gears are a bit too long in general. I never had an occassion to use the 6th, and it can't get going in notably uphill portions. It's not the gearing being the issue, it's more that this car isn't so suited for it. The Viper isn't aspirated at all and it's not exactly made with lightweight in mind.
- There are occasions where the Viper would understeer a bit, and go off course. Sounds bad, right? Let's take it in a more positive light. This allows me to find out how the car, in stock form, has good off-road grip. But don't go off track in this street race. It's way too bumpy for any car to get a better pace going out of the road. Have you ever seen a Viper flip? If you have, pray it's the last one you'll ever see.
- Now for the handling: it is surprisingly not leaning to a modern muscle car at all, but more of a sports car. It's light, responsive, but not always grippy. That's what a muscle's soul does to you! With racing line on, I notice the Viper can take some turns so well, speeding through the suggested red braking portion.
- It's a Street Scene event, but at least I know Barry R wouldn't be so useful here. Cutting the track is pretty prevalent no matter what event it is. On this track, there is.. a teensy weensy advantage to cut? And when it looks like there is a place to do so, there's either a ridge too bumpy or a fence ready to be rebuilt the second it's gone. This is one honest trail.
- Finally, the trick to mastering the base VX Viper is to mix your knowledge of muscle and sports cars, and be sure to use the correct one for the correct occasion. One instance is turning: treat it like a muscle car, and watch your steering and throttle. Then you shift and adapt into its sports side, and keep the line steady for a solid exit. On the straights, you push it like a muscle car, and you read the line like a sports car.
So, the Viper is a car I enjoy driving, amidst all these little issues. I find myself going at Ruta Norte again, and again, and again. The car was fun, but the overall experience wasn't exactly addicting. That last portion came out mostly repetitive. No zen here.
But I still enjoy the car very very much. And if I put aside a bit of fun for a few serious runs, there are some runs that would probably impress.
The best of that would be
2:18.996.
My first goal of this is to at least reach 2:20. But the car opened up to me further, revealing every bits of little issues that hide a challenge factor that was not being openly aware to me. So, I learned a few things here and there, and presto: somehow got past 2:19. I may be the one who made up this car track combo, but it never occurred to me how good it was.
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And guess what? No, it shouldn't be a guess, actually, but anyways, it's SPD's Showcase time!! For this one, I shall theme it as.. The Great American Bash!! And when I mean great, I mean there are a whopping 12 cars here. And to be fair: I doubt I'll ever have a roster this packed in the future.
The rules are simple: America only, S1900 runs on Ruta Norte, no conversions aside aspiration. Best time is the factor for position, and of course I will give a short analysis segment on what I did with the cars, and how that translates to their time. Oh, and the time to reach is at least under 2:05, just so I have a goal with each of these machines.
Now while there are a good selection of cars, some of them are my own personal Americans that make their presence strong in my own fictional universe. These ones have a name in quotations, including the current COTW nominee.
To keep the stock Viper time, I've made an Eventlab on Ruta Norte. Aside the car restriction, I also made it a sunny midday showcase, because I drive better under daylight.
Enough talk; let's begin!
TRACK TOY - Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE "Shadow"
Pray to your god.. Open your heart.. Whatever you do, don't be afraid of the dark.
Up first: a Camaro, not a Corvette. I know you'll boo at this decision, but the Corvette has been represented to no end on COTW. That and the car this week's not the ACR, which would be a more fitting rival to the C7 ZR1. But don't worry about that. Besides, I'm more a Camaro kind of guy than a Vette.
Now, my opinion on current era Camaros are pretty low. And I actually mean the newest bunch of them today, not the 5th and 6th gens that I still adore. The last great Camaro for me would be the ZL1 1LE: a supercharged track package that for some reason would be one of the highest S1900s I have, being one that appears on the very left side of this class choice.
Shadow, just like Spectre in Twisted Metal games, is a inherited name of different cars of similar purpose. Though, the cars involved in this are all modern era Camaros, from a kitted out Generation 5 SS, to a race car model in PS3 era Gran Turismo games, and now to this. Simply decorated with an Exorcist stripe (with the owner's name on it, ohh the narcisissm), it carries a high bar, and let's see how high it'll set for this showcase.
This slayer of demons weaved past this road at a best of
2:03.612.
And this is one car that sets the bar for the entire run. It has both the traits of a fun to drive muscle car, with the handling of a track bred supercar. I really love the drive overall. It doesn't know what understeer is, and it went through the whole track in a tail happy, but overall well paced and adrenaline pumping drive. Though, of course one must watch the inputs proper, especially with the supremely short first gears, giving this Camaro a wheelspin frenzy of a start, and I promise you, that's not the only car with this trait strong.
FORZA EDITION - Pontiac Firebird Trans Am GTA Forza Edition
You need to know that I'm a rider.. Tonight we gonna set the streets on fire.
This choice comes down to a coin toss. Or rather: how many times have I won the classic American muscle car tuned to S1 in game standards. With the Charger getting a measly 1 in my garage to the Trans Am having a whopping 3, here's the representation for the Forza Edition car.
But of course, as a Forza Edition car, it will have things I can't fix due to a PI deficit in adjustment. The gearbox is one, stuck at only 4 speeds. And it's got no aero adjustments that's present in the Charger. As a car I haven't gone a thorough test of, I hope it's got speed under the belt.
And for a hell of a time, this classic piece of white flash measures up with a best of
2:02.723.
Did I just find one heck of a sleeper? Yes, and I did ask if it has speed, and it is a definite yes. It reached a very respectable top speed past the river, about 220 MPH. And not to mention it turns really REALLY well at high speeds. If you got the time, you ought to have a look at this Knight Rider, because with the right setup, baby it rides super duper fast. Though, the only thing you have to be wary of is the 4 gear setup. I had to run it all the way in 3rd on the technical portion, then to 4th by the right hander into the forest.
MODERN SUPERCAR - Ford GT '17 "The Car With No Name"
A tout le monde. A tout mes amis. Je vous aime. Je dois partir.
For this car, I had to decide to either put in the original Ford GT, or rather: this new one. That car unfortunately still remained a top tier force in S1, and I can't help but feel that's still the case even with a purist build. And thus, we find this in place for that end, and also for Modern Supercars. Because the other choices I can find are either the C8, or Japanese cars in American brands. Oh, and the Saleen S1 too, but for that brand, a better representative awaits underneath.
I don't drive Modern Supercars much, but the one I often go for is this one. The new Ford GT is usually the one car I aim to get in any newer racing game, and upon discovery of it being locked behind an accolade, I went for it straight away. The car's probably the most purist build of these lot, keeping even the tires bone stock.
The name's also a recent decision. It's a cowboy themed car, but it's not exactly a Mustang. And I can't figure out a proper name for it.. that would eventually be the basis for me naming it. Unusual, I know. After being stuck in S1900 stock the last game, this time I have a bit of PI to work with.
A most somber, yet still persisting entry in this showcase comes to a best of
2:02.895.
Yet another car to breach past 2:03, and it is.. just a joy! I mean that when it comes to both pace and how well mannered the experience is overall. It is a bit understeery due to being the only entry with Sports compounds on, but the length of the car helps balance that out with stability, and it's about time I get a car that's not wheelspin crazy. It's only the launch, and that's not even a mad one. All around supercar never seems to disappoint from the right brands, as the car sets a competitive pace with the Trans Am GTA FE.
RETRO SUPERCAR - Saleen S7
I hear the sound of a heart, from the shadow in the dark, waiting for the poison to hit its mark..
So, even before the Ford GT came to me, my supercar hero is definitely the Saleen S7. This would also translate to me playing Gran Turismo 4 and Midnight Club 3, where my ultimate goal is to just get an S7, and the game is pretty much over for progression. It's also always my mission to get mine in Speedlab Yellow too.
As both American cars in this class are classified as hard-to-find, the S7 would be the one I chose to represent this class, since I've already described above why not to the other. With an overall shape and design made for racing, the S7 had been placed as the kind of car that's both scary to race with, and how it also manages that 215 MPH top speed with that little power too. But can the street machine hold up to its reputation?
Does being nearly 20 years of age prove you're a limping geezer, or place you as timeless as ever? Well , speaking of times, we have a best of
2:02.259 from this S7.
Timeless is the correct word for it. The only thing bad was the traditional transmission in place for a sequential one, but from start to finish, it not only set a new top time for the others to sweat about, but gave me an idea of a great S1 car should be like. Funny, considering the next entry..
DRIFT CAR - Brad DeBerti's Toyota Tacoma TRD "The Performance Truck"
You know me, evil eye! You know me, prepare to die! You know me, the graveyard kiss! Devil's grip: the Iron Fist!
Drift car, huh? Pretty unusual entry, even for my standards. But what are the choices available?
Actually, all of them. Except maybe the Hoonigan ones. They are too powerful to make useful in S1 road.
But the issue that comes with is that for just about any of them, I have to swap their drivetrain to make them work, which is not permitted. The only one that hasn't been the case for this is probably one of my favorite additions to the class: a souped up Tacoma known as The Performance Truck. I've had a whole positive outlook for almost all of the DeBerti roster, and this one's no exception.
It might start off as a Toyota, but it's an American Toyota, so I think it's completely okay. The real question is can it perform outside of the drift zone?
The pickup would slide in at an interesting best time of
2:06.345.
Due to how it has double the power than that of the S7 and the 2017 GT, it had a hard time being the race car I want it to be. And it also has a full deployment of aero, meaning it had issues with speed in particular. I had tunes to bring out the most out of its engine, and reduce the aero completely. The best of that is reflected in this time that did not satisfy my quote.
RALLY MONSTER - Hoonigan RS200 "Monster Mash V2"
Scary monsters! Super creeps! Keep me running.. running scared!
Speaking of Hoonigan..
In the last showcase, the rally car placed itself as a stand-out bottom of the barrel. The Peugeot still had rally traits that are unfavorable on asphalt remained, and the car was slow to begin with. But it's time to pull no punches, and bring out a top freeroam car that's also a menace on the track.
That car is Ken Block's take on the British engineered RS200. Made infamous thanks to its role as the king of general freeroam, select events, Horizon Arcade, and even S2 dirt (which is a thing when it can't be), this RS200 will surely be one to watch out, and the first of the select downgraded cars that'll raise the stakes. It's an unusual new meta, these downgraded cars are..
But a monster like this is bound to leave nothing but destruction. The best kind of destruction would mean a best time, right? That would be
2:03.855.
The sole AWD entry didn't impress too well, but impress it did, still managing to reach my quota. The car's acceleration in almost all areas is definitely the best of the batch so far, exiting corners at full throttle. The main trouble is only at 2 things: high speed cornering, and high speed in general. It can reach 200, but its turning still leans to a rally-esque oversteer tendency. Overall: definitely better if the track wasn't a huge winding road. It still gave me quite the impression.
HYPERCAR - Hennessey Venom GT
Oh beloved mother.. of liberty: Hold me in your arms.
Without SSC, the only way America gets to represent the Hypercar entry is with either the RAESR or the Venom. Since the former was so high up in S2, it's all down to the Venom to get going here. And just like the RS200, it's also a downgrade, easily achievable through a change of tires. But what it provides is just a taste of how power builds are a dominating presence in the capable hands of a mad but capable driver.
Just how dominant? The best time the Venom got is
2:01.543.
Am I surprised? No, not really. This track is made for a car like this. I was really hoping for it to breach past the 2 minute mark. But oh well. The whole experience was the car going through 20 MPH faster on the speedy portions, while still being okay on the turning bits. And it's actually more manageable than the rubber burning Camaro and Tacoma, which one can tell from the wing and the super wide setup it has on.
EXTREME TRACK TOY - Mosler MT900S
If you burn me down, you'll never find your way. If you burn me down, it's true! A little drop of dreams..
And now the polar opposite of the Venom: pure handling at it's finest. And where else to look for than an Extreme Track Toy. At S1 too, so you know what this is about.
The sole representation of America in this car class is the Mosler. And as both a Horizon 4 freeroam hero and a top of the line RWD monster in S2 racing, it seems one can bring it down a class thanks to, of course, the tires. But it only has 550 horses, and is only the lightest of the bunch by a hundred pounds.
There's not even a significant benefit in the numbers, but the handling hopefully will have to work to push it up the ranks. But how powerful is this sort of car in the kind of track that's not for it?
Lucky for you, I did it so you don't have to. And after a few runs, the quickest run is at
2:02.584.
Without being able to change the brakes and the gearbox, the car did great, especially when the car is the exact opposite of the Venom, and is only deficit by a second. Of course, from a handling car, it had to come from the handling. Went through that tight right hander at 15 MPH faster than anything else? Sure! Brake later and still get away with the perfect line? Yup! Accelerating while exiting a turn without understeer. Oh yes yes yes! And it has a pretty solid top end too. I found me a nice little surprise here, with the only weak point has to be acceleration. Still, definitely a great car for this, and it might be the top if I had to select a more technical course.
MODERN MUSCLE - Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 "Silver Tongued Devil"
Got the devil in you.. Got the devil in me! Play a dangerous tune.. Come on and dance with thee!
Finally: a more relevant entry! Modern Muscle steps in to face down the machines of a higher finesse. Who needs all that handling when you can slap on some slicks and still have POWER!!
This next segment goes to my favorite modern Corvette: the C6 ZR1. Codenamed the Blue Devil, this ZR1 takes a C6 Corvette, and does some zany things to it. The supercharger puts it even further to make the final definition of the C6. I don't have to say much to represent it's performance. Let Ruta Norte take it to the next level.
For this muscle influence Corvette, I took some extra time on it to achieve its current best of
2:03.724.
What can I say? The car had a slew of flaws. It only wants you to turn a certain way to get around a corner. And with massive oversteer in low speeds, comes massive understeer in high speeds. But to say it was a bad experience would be me joking around. It was faster on the speed parts than the usual batch.
MODERN MUSCLE - Ford Shelby GT500
Don't go looking for snakes; you might find them.. Don't send your eyes to the sun; you might blind them..
Next is a winged Mustang that's strangely classified as a Modern Muscle. I mean, if the GT350 is a Track Toy, why not this? I probably have some research to do to see if this is just poor classification, or if the GT350 is truly a more track oriented car.
It's a Mustang all right, and it's one I quite like. But in both games I had this car with, I couldn't make it work. So, I'm not really expecting a time to rival the likes of the Mosler.
This snake themed horse thing gallops ahead to a time of
2:05.448.
It's odd. It's a muscle car that's trying to not be one. It can turn, but not too well. It can accelerate, but suffers in the top end thanks to the rear wing. I would say the track isn't suitable, because it drives really nicely if you can control the car, and that's not a difficult thing to do.
TRACK TOY - Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR "Orange Diamondback"
I wish that time would stand still. If this was part of a film, we would watch the clip all day. Like a portrait of you and I..
Now, this is not the VX generation ACR, but I did sort of say the Fangs era of Vipers were not my cup of tea. This is now the time to prove me otherwise. If you've noticed, the last couple of entries are the closest things to the VX Viper when it comes to general similarities. So these batch have been labelled 'Rivals' in my initial draft of this writeup.
The ACR has been quite a car, with an AWD swapped variant carrying the car to a very high position within S1 racing in the last game. It's a tell tale of how great Vipers are in Forza Horizon, and even though I'm not permitting drivetrain swaps, I can't wait to see how this one will bite.
This car can bite, but I feel the best one comes in with a time of
2:04.660
Slow, eh? I don't blame it. The situation it's thrown into is pretty much why. It's a car that breathes a great handling game, but I didn't swap out for a race gearbox, which gives it this super long final gear. Now I think it, the Shelby GT350 also has this issue, and it's probably not going to add on to the experience.
CAR OF THE WEEK NOMINEE #16- Dodge SRT Viper GTS "THE BEAST"
This is for the ones who care..
Yep, all in capitals.
This is the culmination of all the time I have in the game so far, as a car I owned from day 1. As a car I've put my love into for the last 8 years.
And now, it's time for THE BEAST to convince me it can do something in this class. In Horizon 4, it struggled, and thus didn't get much drive time. This is my special way of saying I am making up all that lost time together back.
But first: as the current week's nominee, the VX Viper has to reach a certain quota to get me impressed. Here's the tiers so far in terms of the timing, and that is..
GOD - The Hennessey Venom's time of mid 2:01 is just the sort of time only that sort of car can achieve. While already impossible, if the VX Viper reaches it, it's either cheating, or I will automatically put it as a sleeper. If it's real, then GOD DANG!!
HIGH - This goes to the 2:02 region, led by the Saleen S7. The Viper ends up here, and I have to be remarkably impressed in a most realistic way.
MID - For this tier, it's the bunch that reached under 2:04, topped out by that Camaro I decided to name after some edgy hedgehog. It takes a decent kind of car to end up here, so if the VX Viper ends up here, I'll say it did great, since most other cars of its class are here.
LOW - This is the tier held by the predecessor: the Viper SRT10 ACR. And also that Mustang with a spoiler. I wonder if I can get a Mustang without a spoiler here, would it go faster? Anywho, if the VX Viper reaches this low, my opinion on the car might take a small hit, but it won't matter too much.
WUT - Yeah, there's another super outlier in this end. That would be the sector with the Tacoma TRD. What's that? Automatic Beater for the Viper if it's here? You read my mind, but even I can't back this decision.
By the way, this idea of tiers is my own, and I did sort of try this sort of categorization with the Hammer last week, while that bottom and top tier actually didn't exist till now.
All right, time to see how well my personalized version of this week's nominee has in store for me.
Someone raise the lights up. Lights up the sky above. If you're with me now show me a sign..
After ample time of tweaking and trying, this beast got me a best time of
2:03.856.
I'm not sure if you're familiar with the time, but it's only one thousandth off the Hoonigan RS200. It's not anywhere near the high tiers, but that's already impressive in my books.
Now to the drive. It's not remarkable. It's what I wanted to do to the car in a long time. The car was a no nonsense, jack of all trades. It's lack of aspiration also found itself apparent here, with issues on the uphill segments still remaining.
And with that, it's time to table this.
This has been an extremely packed list.
It was going to be only 3 cars, but I had so much selection that had achieved a different criteria that adds to this segment. And whoops: suddenly we got 12 cars.
Plus, just about every footer of each picture is actually lyrics for certain music. It's a mix of my own and certain racing tracks too. I know, just me being me. I'll never know if I want to do this again.
But one thing I won't probably stop doing is getting a nice little final verdict for current nominees. To the final section!!
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No matter the opinion, the automotive world already has the Viper name be etched into legend.
So..
What is the Dodge SRT Viper GTS? It is..
Dodge's swan song of their legendary high performance sports muscle icon, blending in well with the current era of performance
No riddles or waffle or anything. This one's a
Sleeper.
And if it's going with the Starion, nah, it's not. To me it's another bare one, not a substantial one. Did I regret finding out more about one of my favorite modern cars through COTW? No, I don't think so. This has been an experience.
It wasn't extremely impressive or fun, being new and modern will do that to you. But it did tell me there's a lot to the cars than just tuning them to the top of the class. This is a car with traits, and it's safe to say when they go away, it just makes the ride not as memorable. Thing is: I did that, and knowing how to do that helped me grow into my passions. Okay, it appears I'm looking at myself once again..
Let's look back at the car that once carried Horizon: it was nice to drive, had a few characteristics that want you to take advantage of, and isn't any ways an expensive flex.. it just flexes, and flexes real good.
And if I want a fast Viper, I have a great general idea on how that's possible. Read 'em, learn 'em and do 'em good. This is one fine, low priced car that's good for the drivers and the tuners.
Now it's time to go back to today: a time where everything sucks, but let's not allow that to bring us down. I'd say this car is a solid reminder that good things can still happen, even when good old Stryker's come and already gone, maybe never to return with a new icon. With that, I'll probably have go with something less personal for my next choice of car here.
And speaking of return, I have to return THE BEAST to a certain Author Avatar. I hope he's been to Mexico before..
"Hmm.. I don't remember this part of America looking so dusty and oozing this slight hint of sepia.."
"Ach, brilliant! You've gotten us lost, havent'cha, ya eejit!"
"Relax, my Scottish bro! This upcoming left will take us home.. So as long there isn't any.. heyy, a winding road up a volcano!!"
"GRR.. SONNNYYY!!"
) is the Pagani Zonda Cinque at 575ft-lbs.
