GTP Cool Wall: SRT Viper

[niky]

The original truck-engined, unmanageable Viper was probalby subzero.

The next-generation Viper a bit less so.

The next Viper a bit less...

And this? This is effectively a comprehensive upgrade of a nearly decade old car that's still using the same engine architecture and formula as the original Viper, which was launched before many of our members here were born.

Elvis may have been making big money in Las Vegas, but at that point, he wasn't subzero.

Probably deserves a cool, but I've already voted, so... whatever.

 

[GranTurismo916]

this is still a very nice.

 

[C_Raccoon23]

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

I thought these problems were only with the original Viper.

I've not even heard that about the first gen car. Braking has been a strong point of this car since the '03. I do know that some pretty bad examples have been handed out for testing somehow though.

You're always trying to knock american super cars so this comment is obviously sticking to the rhetoric you always try to slam down throats.

A simple "not cool" would have done the trick, not trite that isn't founded in reality and yeah it is a Super car. Also I've read of other cars having brake give out after a few laps as well. Maybe bringing sources of respectable degree instead of trolling.

Source would be Motortrends Best Drivers Car competition. One of Vipers grilles blew off from the hood while on the road, the pedal box and brakes failed completely during the track testing.

Link

You have two questions: Why didn't we test the Viper T/A, and why is the Laguna Seca lap record-holder in last place? The first is easy to answer. We asked SRT for the Viper T/A, and the guys decided to send us the base SRT Viper with the Track Package instead. Why? We haven't gotten a straight answer from the SRT people, so we can't say. The second question can be answered mostly with one word: quality. This Viper had a number of mechanical issues that sank it in voting. Key among these was a serious brake problem. During figure-eight testing, one of the motors that moves the adjustable pedals broke off under braking and jammed the brake pedal to the floor. Thankfully, the figure-eight course is a controlled environment, but had this happened during road testing or lapping at Laguna Seca, the results could've been bad. Couple that with the fact that two of the four bolts holding the driver's seat to the car were not even finger-tight, and we had a serious safety issue.

There were other problems, too. One of the hood vents flew off on the freeway and caromed off the windshield. There was a persistent rattle in the right side of the cabin that was never identified. The Performance Apps froze the infotainment system. The paint on the edges of the rocker panels was being burned by the exhaust. Finally, the Viper arrived mounted with standard Pirelli P Zeros on the front and P Zero Corsas on the rear.

 

[Exorcet]

And in at least two other tests by MT, those things didn't happen.

 

[MoLiEG]

As a Viper fanboy, I like it... but I don't quite LOVE it like the 1st gen one...

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

And in at least two other tests by MT, those things didn't happen.

Exactly, and from my subscription of MT for years now, they tend to exaggerate which is why I usually follow R&T and Automobile more so. This is also the same group that had Lambo transmission destroy on them a couple years back and the last edition of the 911 Turbo(997) vs the ZR1, the Porsche supposedly "literally started melting" when tested by MT test crew. So would you like to keep this up or perhaps just chalk it up to maybe MT not being the best testing bed to take examples from? @ Leonidae@MFT

 

[jahluv4ever]

Nicee!!!

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

Or you could just accept that SRT Viper has shoddy quality for a car that is over 110k$.

 

[Exorcet]

Or you could just accept that SRT Viper has shoddy quality for a car that is over 110k$.

And in at least two other tests by MT, those things didn't happen.

And the evidence for that shoddy quality is where?

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

Right there. 110k track-oriented car, falling apart during heavy testing. Sure, it might be one off, a monday piece with mismatched tires and loose seat fastener bolts, but for that kind of price I would expect more.

 

[Exorcet]

Sure, it might be one off

And if it is, it doesn't reflect the quality of the car you would actually end up buying. Had that been the only test, you might have had a point (at least until a large number of other tests showed no issues). At the moment, the driver's car Viper seems to an outlier which makes it pretty flimsy as proof of poor build quality.

 

[Beeblebrox237]

The fact that SRT supplied the car with mismatched tyres and refused to give them a higher trim level is not a good sign, either. It indicates that their customer service is probably crap. Would you trust people who can't match four tyres to build you a car with 640 bhp? I wouldn't.

 

[Joey D]

If it was the first gen, it would be cool. This thing though? It's uncool, dangling on the edge of seriously uncool. It's a car that's trying too hard to be something it isn't and not doing a very good job of it.

It's a good car though based on everything I've read about it and I do have a soft spot for the Viper, but if I had the money I think it would probably be at the bottom of my list just above the Corvette ZR1.

 

[Exorcet]

The fact that SRT supplied the car with mismatched tyres and refused to give them a higher trim level is not a good sign, either. It indicates that their customer service is probably crap. Would you trust people who can't match four tyres to build you a car with 640 bhp? I wouldn't.

I would trust my money to a company that has repeatedly delivered a car that has lived up to what it was said to be capable of.

If I was going to let one odd story majorly effect my decision, I'd probably still get the car since there would probably be just as many odd happenings with one or two examples of every other car, so what car wouldn't be on equal footing?

 

[Tornado]

I think it was Car and Driver that kept blowing up Lambo trannys,

 

[McLaren]

Source would be Motortrends Best Drivers Car competition. One of Vipers grilles blew off from the hood while on the road, the pedal box and brakes failed completely during the track testing.

Link

I don't see where the car "caught on fire given the chance" or "the floor got too hot" in your quote, though. The brake issue e wasn't even referring to the brakes themselves, a but a motor connected to the pedals.

The fact is you exaggerated the hell out of your original post since it appears only Motor Trend ran into such issues. I haven't seen any other SRT review end with a lemon of a car.

 

[SlipZtrEm]

Seriously uncool. It's less refined and more prone to falling apart than a cheap Chinese car.

Taking the Clarkson school of exaggeration a little seriously, aren't we?

I'm not sure where I'll vote for this, even if it is the newest iteration of a car I've loved since I was a child. It could land anywhere between Cool and Uncool for me; if it were a first (er, second) generation GTS, that'd be a different story.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Or you could just accept that SRT Viper has shoddy quality for a car that is over 110k$.

Well then for 250k (Lambo) and 160k (Porsche) you also get shoddy parts, hell I guess every super car being built is just the cheapest quality for the most expensive price they can imagine that people will buy it.

I think it was Car and Driver that kept blowing up Lambo trannys,

You might be right about that I use to have a subscription from them a couple years ago.

 

[edawg456]

Seriously uncool. Never got on to the viper bandwagon.

 

[Bopop4]

I think it was Car and Driver that kept blowing up Lambo trannys,

They said that it was their "Improper launch technique." iirc.

Still, a supercar clutch should be able to take some abuse and not go up in expensive smoke.

 

[Goshin2568]

I think most of you are mistaking 'good' with 'cool'. I'm not sure if there is some other definition here, but going by top gear's definition (where the cool wall came from, after all) the coolness of a car should be judged by the coolness of the typical owner.

This car is driven almost exclusively by rich Americans who bought it because it was the "new viper" and they didnt give a 🤬 whether it was a good car or not. For this reason I give it a solid uncool.

If we want to talk good, then yes I would agree it's solidly good car, it's refined enough to not be completely dismissed by the Europeans, but still sticks with the classic low-tech, rear drive, front engine, manual transmission formula, which is fantastic.

 

[Leonidae@MFT]

We can only agree to disagree at this point. I've put in my vote, you have put in yours and that's it, no need to get all upset about it.

 

[GranTurismo916]

but going by top gear's definition (where the cool wall came from, after all) the coolness of a car should be judged by the coolness of the typical owner. .

Why does everything have to be based off of Top Gear?

 

[Bopop4]

but going by top gear's definition

Oh lordy...

rich Americans

Well you have to be rich to buy one, and it's an American car.

If we want to talk good, then yes I would agree it's solidly good car, it's refined enough to not be completely dismissed by the Europeans, but still sticks with the classic low-tech, rear drive, front engine, manual transmission formula, which is fantastic.

That is why it's cool, who cares what the majority of owners are like?

Most C5 Corvettes are probably owned by retirees, doesn't mean it's uncool.

 

[LeadFootLiam]

Cool. Because it is modern yet still retains the classic look of the original viper, as well as its demeanor, which is completely outrageous.

 

[Slash]

I know a guy who has as Viper, and I know a few girls that have Vipers and aren't what you would call rich in any sense of the word. As long as you can afford the monthly payment it doesn't matter how long it takes to pay it off. You don't need to be rich to own a supercar despite what you might think. Payments might be a bit high, but you can negotiate that when buying. Basically tell them this is what I can pay per month regularly, if you don't like that, then do you really wan the sale that bad?

That usually works.

 

[Northstar]

Uncool, the only Viper that is cool in my eyes are the ones from the first 2 gen's, they have gotten worse since than starting with the horrid GTSR Concept.

Although I will say meh is probably more fitting, but "meh" and "uncool" are the same thing in my eyes so I went with the latter.

 

[Exorcet]

We can only agree to disagree at this point. I've put in my vote, you have put in yours and that's it, no need to get all upset about it.

Who is upset? You made a statement and apparently it wasn't a watertight one.

I think most of you are mistaking 'good' with 'cool'. I'm not sure if there is some other definition here, but going by top gear's definition (where the cool wall came from, after all) the coolness of a car should be judged by the coolness of the typical owner.

Top Gear's definition belongs in the trash. If the only thing a car has is the people that drive/own it, that's utterly pathetic. That would be the definition of uncool. All you need to look at is the item itself.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

I think it's around the margin between cool & subzero. It's a great sports car that looks quite handsome. It reminds me of the original Viper GTS a bit. I also like the noise that the V10 in it makes.