Nexus-6
Enthusiast
<Cont. from Part One>
Steering is very fast in this car BUT very nicely weighted - feels wonderful! You don't sit as low as you might think and damned if you forget you're driving one of the most exotic looking machines on the planet when you're actually in the car. You're almost lulled into a false sense of civil placement - it's only when you exit the car and look at it again that you realize what all the fuss was about. Kinda like driving just another "normal car" but with a hot naked blonde firmly straddling the roof unbeknownst to you. (my apologize to any hot naked blondes who practice such antics...)
Hard to sum up the car after one drive - especially when you consider you're tapping so little of it's potential. Handling for the street is superb. Steering feels spot on and is weighted nicely. The brakes did squeak (well, screamed) but it's to be expected with that caliber pad - the M Coupe also squeaked HORROUNDESLY for nearly 4 months before they finally settled down and accepted their lot in life. Lugging the engine a tad and stopping slowly will net you the full on soundtrack of a UPS truck in action (I've discovered with the guttural engine note and shrill scream of the brakes it sure does sound like one).
"ZR1 mated with the Coupe" That's my early assessment of the two other cars I'm most intimate with. The Viper is nimble like the Coupe (the ZR1 feels very overweight and sloppy -was that out loud?- compared to the Viper but make no mistake - the ZR1 is a potent little gal that also requires a firm hand and must also be pointed straight at all times). But for being a relatively large 2-seater, the Viper dances QUITE well - feels much more nimble than you'd expect but I can feel a relatively padded buffer in the car - she is not darty like the Coupe. The Coupe requires your attention at ALL TIMES. She will bite you if she does not have your undivided attention from the time you twist the key to the time you set the parking brake.
I often relate the Coupe Vs. ZR1 like so : both are surgical instruments. The M Coupe is a razor sharp scalpel. The ZR1 is a butcher knife. They both get the job done in very different ways. The Viper is shaping up to be every inch a chainsaw I do believe...
Viper : easy clutch...matter of fact, when pussyfooting around the Viper is one of the easiest cars I own to drive. Matter of fact, the 325Ci is more of a chore to pedal about if you can believe that!
We come to a 4 way stop on the way home. Another car (crossing our route) stops at the sign a full 15 seconds before we even arrive. Sure enough, he's spotted the Viper a'comin' and his eyes are very slowly starting to spin into black and white pinwheels...I flash my brights to let him know that he truly did arrive there first and will in now way offend me by making his move.
He stays put. He wants to watch the Snake slither past. We oblige and I chuckle to myself as we look in the rearview to see him sitting at the light watching us drive away...seemingly oblivious to the fact that he can leave at any time.
Sneak into the neighborhood, idle into the garage and switch her off....breath deep the smells that only a new car being broken in can bless you with. My wife rushes inside to avoid those smells. I bask in them as I sit and stare at this exotic piece of craftsmanship. I can't quite get over the fact that it's sitting there right in front of me. Pinging and popping from her first light workout...I shake my head in disbelief.
I have a tendency to refer to my "girls" by personas - the Coupe is a feisty little Italian girl that wants to go all the time. Kinda of yappy - also kinda like that little hyper dog in the kibbles and bits commercials a few years back...eager ALWAYS. An overgrown go-kart, but not by much (that is, it really handles and scoots like a kart!). Still the most direct driving experience I've ever had to date PERIOD. If you want to experience completely unfiltered and crystal clear feedback at all times, the Coupe is just the car for the job.
The ZRI is Kong. Pure and simple. The ZR1 accelerates harder and faster above 100mph than below. You will hit 83mph at the very peak of 2nd gear (I imagine the Viper will too). You will hit 140 on any stretch of straight road you pull the trigger on before you can blink. That car pulls hard...like Kong. You feel like you will run out of road before you run out of power (or talent). Handles nicely - you can tickle the back end out just how you like to with a quick stab of throttle but the ZR1 is all about pure grunt and it feels GOOD. And sounds good doing it too and honestly the ZR1 is a real sleeper these days. I never get a second glance in her.
The Viper is a **** star - she's Jenna Jameson. I can't think of any other way to describe her. Not yet anyhow.
Break in won't come soon enough for me to find out what else I can refer to her by...perhaps then she'll be more like the F16 I envision...
Tonight’s little drive was essentially a repeat of last night - except that we had a few stragglers follow us around tonight. I don't mind the looks (kinda cool to feel like a celebrity now and then I guess!) nor the attention but what I do mind is the guy who flips around and stays right on your *** as he ogle the car (or tries to get you to bury your foot). I just don't want to be cramped like that - nor followed to my house - I can't predict his or her actions and that kinda bothers me. Break in will be nice because you can decide who you want looking and who you don't all with a flex of the right foot!
Sorry this got so long here - I imagine there's a few folks that don't yet own Vipers who want to hear what it's like to drive one of these things on the street so I thought I'd share. Tomorrow will be the big test - first drive in the daylight on busy streets. Now THAT'S going to be an interesting experiment in social interaction!
I imagine it's much like what everyone else has already gone through here - "Instant Rock Star - Just Add Viper!"
Steering is very fast in this car BUT very nicely weighted - feels wonderful! You don't sit as low as you might think and damned if you forget you're driving one of the most exotic looking machines on the planet when you're actually in the car. You're almost lulled into a false sense of civil placement - it's only when you exit the car and look at it again that you realize what all the fuss was about. Kinda like driving just another "normal car" but with a hot naked blonde firmly straddling the roof unbeknownst to you. (my apologize to any hot naked blondes who practice such antics...)
Hard to sum up the car after one drive - especially when you consider you're tapping so little of it's potential. Handling for the street is superb. Steering feels spot on and is weighted nicely. The brakes did squeak (well, screamed) but it's to be expected with that caliber pad - the M Coupe also squeaked HORROUNDESLY for nearly 4 months before they finally settled down and accepted their lot in life. Lugging the engine a tad and stopping slowly will net you the full on soundtrack of a UPS truck in action (I've discovered with the guttural engine note and shrill scream of the brakes it sure does sound like one).
"ZR1 mated with the Coupe" That's my early assessment of the two other cars I'm most intimate with. The Viper is nimble like the Coupe (the ZR1 feels very overweight and sloppy -was that out loud?- compared to the Viper but make no mistake - the ZR1 is a potent little gal that also requires a firm hand and must also be pointed straight at all times). But for being a relatively large 2-seater, the Viper dances QUITE well - feels much more nimble than you'd expect but I can feel a relatively padded buffer in the car - she is not darty like the Coupe. The Coupe requires your attention at ALL TIMES. She will bite you if she does not have your undivided attention from the time you twist the key to the time you set the parking brake.
I often relate the Coupe Vs. ZR1 like so : both are surgical instruments. The M Coupe is a razor sharp scalpel. The ZR1 is a butcher knife. They both get the job done in very different ways. The Viper is shaping up to be every inch a chainsaw I do believe...
Viper : easy clutch...matter of fact, when pussyfooting around the Viper is one of the easiest cars I own to drive. Matter of fact, the 325Ci is more of a chore to pedal about if you can believe that!
We come to a 4 way stop on the way home. Another car (crossing our route) stops at the sign a full 15 seconds before we even arrive. Sure enough, he's spotted the Viper a'comin' and his eyes are very slowly starting to spin into black and white pinwheels...I flash my brights to let him know that he truly did arrive there first and will in now way offend me by making his move.
He stays put. He wants to watch the Snake slither past. We oblige and I chuckle to myself as we look in the rearview to see him sitting at the light watching us drive away...seemingly oblivious to the fact that he can leave at any time.
Sneak into the neighborhood, idle into the garage and switch her off....breath deep the smells that only a new car being broken in can bless you with. My wife rushes inside to avoid those smells. I bask in them as I sit and stare at this exotic piece of craftsmanship. I can't quite get over the fact that it's sitting there right in front of me. Pinging and popping from her first light workout...I shake my head in disbelief.
I have a tendency to refer to my "girls" by personas - the Coupe is a feisty little Italian girl that wants to go all the time. Kinda of yappy - also kinda like that little hyper dog in the kibbles and bits commercials a few years back...eager ALWAYS. An overgrown go-kart, but not by much (that is, it really handles and scoots like a kart!). Still the most direct driving experience I've ever had to date PERIOD. If you want to experience completely unfiltered and crystal clear feedback at all times, the Coupe is just the car for the job.
The ZRI is Kong. Pure and simple. The ZR1 accelerates harder and faster above 100mph than below. You will hit 83mph at the very peak of 2nd gear (I imagine the Viper will too). You will hit 140 on any stretch of straight road you pull the trigger on before you can blink. That car pulls hard...like Kong. You feel like you will run out of road before you run out of power (or talent). Handles nicely - you can tickle the back end out just how you like to with a quick stab of throttle but the ZR1 is all about pure grunt and it feels GOOD. And sounds good doing it too and honestly the ZR1 is a real sleeper these days. I never get a second glance in her.
The Viper is a **** star - she's Jenna Jameson. I can't think of any other way to describe her. Not yet anyhow.
Tonight’s little drive was essentially a repeat of last night - except that we had a few stragglers follow us around tonight. I don't mind the looks (kinda cool to feel like a celebrity now and then I guess!) nor the attention but what I do mind is the guy who flips around and stays right on your *** as he ogle the car (or tries to get you to bury your foot). I just don't want to be cramped like that - nor followed to my house - I can't predict his or her actions and that kinda bothers me. Break in will be nice because you can decide who you want looking and who you don't all with a flex of the right foot!
Sorry this got so long here - I imagine there's a few folks that don't yet own Vipers who want to hear what it's like to drive one of these things on the street so I thought I'd share. Tomorrow will be the big test - first drive in the daylight on busy streets. Now THAT'S going to be an interesting experiment in social interaction!
I imagine it's much like what everyone else has already gone through here - "Instant Rock Star - Just Add Viper!"
