Can a 600-horsepower car that does zero-to-60 in 3.7 seconds, pulls 1g on the skid pad and slices the slalom at 74.2 mph really be on the wrong side of the shark tank?
I'm going to have to go with a "yes" on that question, though in terms of sheer performance there's no denying the current car's capabilities.
No, the problem with the 2003-2007 Dodge Viper SRT-10 wasn't acceleration (or stopping, or turning) power, it was everything else. In my opinion the Viper topped out in 2002, with the final version of the first-gen car, complete with standard ABS, available ACR package and all the original model's visual and dynamic attitude.
That first generation Dodge Viper was one of the scariest and harriest production cars since the original Shelby Cobra (the Viper's spiritual predecessor). Even the addition of air conditioning, roll-up windows, a fixed roof (on the 1996 and later coupes) and ABS didn't dilute the snake's original mojo as one of the baddest (in a good way) American cars ever produced.
Yeah, the kit-car interior and scalding sill plates could be a figurative -- and literal -- pain, but they only added to the Viper's rep as a serious performance machine. Rich a-hole posers need not apply.
Then came the Viper's first full redesign in 2003. In one fell swoop Dodge made it look like a Corvette and handle like a Neon. Gone was the tail-out dynamics and razor's edge transition between grip and slip. I know Dodge wanted to cut the Viper's (and Viper owners') mortality rates, as many of the first-gen cars ended up wrapped around trees, poles and track barriers. But I'd argue there's something fundamentally wrong with the concept of a "Safe and Friendly Viper."
The items I'd have happily abandoned in the 2003 redesign, like the clunky shifter, industrial exhaust note, low-grade interior and tricky ingress/egress, remained. Yet the sensual shape, responsive dynamics and even my preferred open body style (targa) disappeared. Ultimately, like too many modern performance cars, the Viper became more impressive on paper than on pavement.
Dodge clearly recognized the issue, as the numerous tweaks to the 2008 Viper (including new tires, revised spring rates and an upgraded rear sway bar) brought back a good chunk of the car's original nature. Enough to jump back? Maybe, but don't forget that even the Viper's mighty V10 engine is going to look weak against the impending Corvette ZR1.
I still like the philosophy of the Dodge Viper (really big engine stuffed in a squat little sports car), but the execution of the first-gen car still strikes the best balance in terms of looks, performance and attitude. The 2003-2007 models felt defanged, despite the performance numbers. The 2008 model somewhat addresses the handling issues, but it doesn't possess the original snake's charm.
By bepperb
on July 9, 2008
06:32 AM
I would have no problem letting the bean counters axe this one. It's become (more or less) a Corvette alternative, there is no void in the market that this fills. And the company has more important things to do than this. Every hour spent on the Viper in the last five years would have been better spent.... [looks at their current lineup].... anywhere.
Sorry, it's been a good run, but 18 years is enough for a niche market player that doesn't turn a profit.
By heffling
on July 9, 2008
06:57 AM
It's a 'vette alertantive that costs 20k more and offers less.
By ahightower
on July 9, 2008
07:13 AM
I haven't driven any Viper. But I disagree that the Viper has jumped the shark. The old one was played out. (Do the kids still say "played out"?) It was being ridiculed as too old fashioned. It was losing comparison tests with Porsches and Corvettes because although it was sick to drive, it was derided as too rough around the edges. Dodge had to up the refinement to remain competitive. While the new styling isn't as wild as the original, and certainly not as dramatic in pictures, it is still absolutely stunning in person. And it's a far less common sight than Corvettes and Porsches. Perhaps the only "American exotic" for sale today, now that the Ford GT is done (What's up with that, BTW? Couldn't Ford like *really* use the cash right now??) I know, ZR-1 may be the better car, and it's probably what I would choose myself, but it won't turn as many heads.
By bepperb
on July 9, 2008
07:22 AM
The GT doesn't make money for Ford. I'm sure they sold them at a significant loss. Same for the Viper, S2000 and most other "halo cars." The value comes from the boost the brand sees as a result of these cars existing, and I guess the engineering experience gained by the excercise.
The problem comes with cars like the S2000 and Viper when they're old, and each additional model year is about break-even (the devt costs are completely amoritized) so companies keep them languishing forever, with tiny tweaks each year to keep them on the covers of magazines.
By emiltsch
on July 9, 2008
08:09 AM
This car always has been. and will remain, a beast.
Drivers who want to mass appeal w/a touch of refinement with their power drive a Vette.
Drivers who just want to scream holy cr@* as they hammer the pedal drive a Viper.
The new design is cool & fresh as well.
The only way the Viper could jump the shark is if they increased production & added a smaller sport engine and made an "entry" level Viper. Oh I hope they don't do that...
By iskch
on July 9, 2008
08:40 AM
Karl, there are cars that don't need too much of advertising. The viper is one of them. IF you see one drive by you know is a Viper and get your blood rushing like the Ford GT. They are unique due to their shape and their very limited numbers.
You see a Vette drive by and your brain is spinning the wheels if it is a C5, C6 or a ZO6 version and then you go... what ever. So many people and editorials have mention this before:"park a C6 Vette next to a Viper, and see who gets the most public reaction".
By karjunkie
on July 9, 2008
09:56 AM
Can't agree with you on this one. I think it hints at "jumping the shark" because the original was the automotive equivalent of an ax murderer on steroids. But as you yourself said, the current model is "a 600-horsepower car that does zero-to-60 in 3.7 seconds, pulls 1g on the skid pad and slices the slalom at 74.2 mph." I do agree that the first generation was the purest form of the viper concept, right down to the burn-your-toes side exhausts and is still my preffered model.
By mnorm1
on July 9, 2008
09:57 AM
On Gran Tourismo 5, the 'Vette Z06 and Viper handles like pigs, the Ford GT handles like it's on rails.
that's the closest I'll get to owning any of them.
By Karl Brauer
on July 9, 2008
12:41 PM
I agree that if you park a Viper and Vette next to each other the Viper looks clearly better, but on several occasions I have seen a Viper coming at me and, initially, I thought it was a Vette, (the confusion isn't as common from the side or rear, but from straight-on the similarity is undeniable -- and annoying).
By slickersdrip
on July 9, 2008
07:56 PM
I hate to admit it, but I agree that it has jumped the shark. I miss the visceral personality of the first generation. Unfortunately Chrysler doesn't have the funds to reinvent the Viper or anything that extreme again. As a MOPAR fan it makes me sad.
The one hope I have is an Edmunds article a long while back saying that the difference between the Z06 and the SRT-10 is that the SRT-10 makes you commit, rather than the Z06 you can just forget about. With the hegemony altering performance of the ZR1 making the rounds, though, I question the necessity of the brutal performance of the Viper. The spine brutalizing feeling I have in a ride in my SRT-4 from Austin to Dallas on a regular basis makes me think that it doesn't hold a lot of water other than paper.
Just like you said, Karl.
By dharbin
on July 10, 2008
06:09 AM
Agree that it jumped the shark. The whole appeal of the original Viper was how outrageous it was in the early 1990s. Today, there are plenty of cars with outrageous performance (Z06 and ZR1, various expensive Germans, Nissan Skyline) and more balance, so the Viper doesn't seem like the quantum leap it was back then.
The shambles at Chrysler in general don't add to the halo.
By kurtamaxxxguy
on July 10, 2008
08:07 AM
I'm confused. Unless the intent of the Viper is to be an Automotive thrill ride or solely track driven, what's the point of "razor's edge transition between grip and slip". Shouldn't a performance vehicle give its driver some kind of "at the limit" feedback so they __know__ when to back off, rather that abruptly loosing vehicle control?
By Karl Brauer
on July 10, 2008
10:15 AM
That's why the original Viper was so cool. It gave you feedback, so IF YOU KNEW WHAT YOU WERE DOING you could drive it at the limit, take advantation of its easy-to-rotate nature, and still not die in a burst of smoke and flames.
But plenty of Viper buyers DIDN'T know what they were doing (shocker, I know) so they crashed the cars left and right, and Chrysler felt they needed to dumb the beast down.
BTW, this is not a knock on Viper buyers only. The Ford GT is far easier to drive than the original Viper (yet it still maintains an easy-to-rotate nature -- best of both worlds!!), and estimates from poeple who would know figure approxmiately 400 GTs have already been crashed to the point of needing a salvage title (many of them crashed beyond the viability of resuscitation).
Basically, it's an impossible situation. You have plenty of wealthy guys on the planet, and plenty of great drivers on the planet, but the overlap between those two groups is pretty small, thus a site liked wreckedexotics.com has an unending supply of material, and cars like the original Viper are destined to be "dumbed down" for the majority of the target buying group.
Sad.
By ctviper
on July 23, 2010
01:12 PM
hey carl, do you own a newer viper?? you sound like a corvette owner. first thing is that GM copied the viper with the head lights, and the vent in the front of the hood,and the side vents.also the ZR1 over heats all the time at least in las vegas they did. I own a 2005 dodge viper and never had a problem with it, when I used to live in vegas I could drive it in a 117 degrees with the air conditioner on with no over heating.the body style clearly looks better then the older vipers. like the filters on the hood of the old vipers they look like speaker covers. this car handles killer thru canyons,1/4 mile etc.and being a person who has owned both a ZR1 and a Viper it takes more of a driver to drive and handle a viper at high speeds then a ZR1. because the ZR1 has traction control button which the viper don't. the viper I needed both hands to drive unlike the ZR1 I drove it with one hand at 175 mph. I do agree that the run flat tires suck! corvettes are a dime a dozen!!