Viper vs. Ford GT

I went to the local Saturday night car show in Scottsdale, AZ which is open to the public at no charge. Had my yellow 05 SRT which drew much attention. A built Ford GT shows up running over 700hp which draws massive attention. My first inclination was jealousy and the wish that I could own that car. Than reality sunk in. Wait a minute, that GT stock cost more than twice what I paid for my 05, and pretty equal in performance. Plus it didn't hurt that the guy next to me said he'd take a
Viper over the GT anyday. Feelin good again!

I ran up on a gray Ford GT about a month ago. Car is beautiful IMO from the front or back, from the side it seems a bit long in the tooth...anyway, the contest was on! I shifted to second and embarassed the guy as I pulled him two cars. I was not impressed w/ its performance at all. He was probably stock..and I am not, in all fairness. The Ford GT's are truly exotic having only a two yr run, but I have heard that b/c they were rushed to production and had such a short run that they have really bad quality and are unreliable, but they are nice to look at! But our snakes will always look meaner!

I hate to be the one to say it, but you probably beat the driver, not the car.
Motor Trend pulled off a 11.2@131MPH 1/4 mile time for a stock Ford GT, which is Enzo and CGT territory.
So unless you can pull an Enzo by a car length (which many Vipers can do) then it was just a poor/careful driver that you ran up against.

And of course Ford GTs can be easily modded to make even more power with little cost or effort. But we also know that Vipers can be made plenty fast as well.

I have not heard any stories of poor reliability, but then again most owners are not going to be putting lots of miles on their Ford GTs, just as many Gallardo or F430 owners only drive their cars every other weekend and sometimes to the occasional special event.

Personally I love the look of the Ford GT, just as I loved style of the GT40 growing up.
They are very rare, and I'd choose a Ford GT over a Gallardo or F430 any day.
The Viper also is rare and beautiful, but it's also relatively affordable, which means that I can own a dream car and a house too!

If you'll check I believe that in the first year of production there were quite a number of recalls on the GT...... I too have heard of quality issues on the GT.

John

I think you are right that I really beat the driver, he still had the dealer plates on the car. But we still played around for several more miles at highway speeds, and whenever we got side by side, I let him hit it first and I walked him down everytime my Viper hit the sweet part of her power band...even a bad driver should have done better than that! Not only have I heard about poor reliability, I have also heard that the inside of the Ford GT is very cheaply made....certainly not in the $155k territory. But they are truly rare and beautiful cars.

Stray Cat said:

If you'll check I believe that in the first year of production there were quite a number of recalls on the GT...... I too have heard of quality issues on the GT.

John

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I have a friend with a GT, AWESOME cars and one of my favorites. They can be made extremely fast with just a pulley and a tune. I hate to say it but they are one of the few cars I like as much as a Viper. Hopefully I will be able to afford one one day.

They do have issues with the bolts that hold the axles on breaking. Apparently they loosen up and then shear off leaving you stranded. Unfortunately the fix for it does not wor either. You need to drill and wire the bolts to prevent it from happening.

I love my Viper but the FGT is much nicer car. Tracks better & it is more comfortable then the snake. I have several friends with TT FGT modded by the infamous Heffner performance. Take a ride with someone who knows how to drive and your opinion will change fast.

No comparison, the FGT is a better beast in my book. Stock for stock, a viper gets rocked. But compare that to an 08... and well the price premium one paid for the FGT over a Viper in 05 and 06 seems down right silly, when the 08 is going to be able to beat it, and still costs the same as the 05 and 06's Vipers.

Exclusivity and uniqueness, you cant beat the FGT with a Viper.
Dollar per power, the 08s are going to rock out, and even the 05 and 06 beat the performance per dollar comparison. But quite honestly, I believe the FGT is a different class then the Viper. Talk about limited production and limited run, its FGT. Vipers have been rolling off the assembly line since 1992 and no end in sight !!

Jon

RichieSRT10 said:

I love my Viper but the FGT is much nicer car. Tracks better & it is more comfortable then the snake. I have several friends with TT FGT modded by the infamous Heffner performance. Take a ride with someone who knows how to drive and your opinion will change fast.

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I cannot Agree more Rich.....

It is truly a car in it's own class...

I must have a perfect car off the assembly line ... I have not
experienced ANY quality or unreliability issues with mine whatsoever...

Not to mention I own the FIRST TT car Heffner's Performace built...

The car has Never had the motor out of it ... The turbo
set up was built around the car already being perfect ...

This is the car in Car & Driver Nov' 06'
http://heffnersperformance.com/mediacaranddrivernov2006.htm

If these cars were unreliable and easy to break the guy's at C & D would
have killed this car... The thrashing they gave this car upon testing for the
magazine was like sticking a 16 year old new driver in a rental
and telling him to have at it....

I love both my Viper and FGT....

But if the choice had to be made it will Always be the FGT



I welcome Anyone to come for a ride .......



Jerry...

I don't know if the FGT is a better track car than the Viper or not and being that they had such a short production run we will never know. Too bad, because I really loved that car and dreamed of Courtney Thomas organizing a Viper-FGT Days venue. With so many people that loved the FGT it would have been a great move for Ford to move in that direction.

I did a search on re-calls and build quality - I stand corrected. Only recall I could find was 2005 potentially dangerous breakage problems with front suspension which Ford repaired under warrenty. All reports on build quality were 5 out of 5 or 10 out of 10.

Regards,

John

Like some here suggested the Ford GT is one of the few cars I would take over a snake. I have driven one and there awesome. I would say its like the Viper but faster and more exotic/unique.

There are many other nice cars out there that I've thought about owning but, for the dollar to HP ratio and excuslivity of the Dodge Viper. There not another car I'd rather own. and I've thought about it. I've thought about the FGT as well but, for twice or 3x the money depending on what you paid for your Viper and, the fact that you've got to take it to the Ford dealer to have it worked on, always changes my mind.

My only ? is, what will the FGT be in 5 years vs. a gen whatever Viper. It could look pretty old and slow... very soon. It is a head turner for now.

Anyone have Bruce Willis cell number? I figure with the 20 mill. he made on Die Hard, maybe he'll flip me a 150,000 grant so I could buy a FGT. Can u say pipe dream?

Hey guys I own both and I have to say a stock Ford GT pulled my modded GTS hard and I was making 480rwhp and I know how to drag race. Now stock for stock the GT will waste a stock gen 3 and once you get past 120mph it is way over. That is where the GT shines 120 plus. Now saying that i have owned 4 Vipers and all the Gens execpt the Gen 4. The Viper is an awesome car and I love the way it looks and the ease at the way you can mod it. The guy that you raced was not familiar with the power and feel of the car i am guessing. it takes time to get good and drag racing a new car. Like my 997 turbo with 700hp I still can't launch it. I need practice with its all wheel drive. As far as the GT being fragaile it is very well put together. The inside is very nice and up to 150k car. That is my 2 cents.

The Ford GT is a downright magnificent car. I think it's easily one of the best looking cars made, with the performance to go with the looks.

It's on the very short list of cars that I must own and enjoy before I head for the big autobahn in the sky.

KenricGTS said:

Hey guys I own both and I have to say a stock Ford GT pulled my modded GTS hard and I was making 480rwhp and I know how to drag race. Now stock for stock the GT will waste a stock gen 3 and once you get past 120mph it is way over. That is where the GT shines 120 plus. Now saying that i have owned 4 Vipers and all the Gens execpt the Gen 4. The Viper is an awesome car and I love the way it looks and the ease at the way you can mod it. The guy that you raced was not familiar with the power and feel of the car i am guessing. it takes time to get good and drag racing a new car. Like my 997 turbo with 700hp I still can't launch it. I need practice with its all wheel drive. As far as the GT being fragaile it is very well put together. The inside is very nice and up to 150k car. That is my 2 cents.

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Thanks for the first hand insight.

Question, If money is not abundant and a person wanted to feel like he getting his money's worth. Is the FGT worth twice that of a Viper? In your opinion?

Great car but since I do alot of traveling in my viper, the FGT does not work....no luggage space. I guess you could put you dop kit in the nose with the battery but that is it.

I'm also lucky enough to own both. Compared to a GTS - that is, a Gen II GTS - the FGT wins hands down. I love my GTS and simply could not believe how much better the FGT rides, handles and corners - it is spectacular. Even at the higher price, I still think the FGT wins; at least it does in my book.

The GTS does have a slight edge in driving around town. The FGT just does not have the off idle grunt of 8L / 500ft-lbs.

I'm hoping my new 08 SRT comes close - heck, maybe better. But at 7000ft altitude, I'm betting the stock FGT with it's SC will still compare favorably!

I too own both cars and love both. When the '08'***** the streets and I can decide what color(s) I want I will get rid of the copperhead.

I mainly bought the FGT because I love the styling (I am a sucker for that era anyway) and I feel like the FGT shows that an American car company can build every bit the exotic that ferarri and Lamborghini can, if they want to. When you consider that it took something like 18 mos from paper to production, that is amazing.
Mind you, Ford was not in the business of building such (rear/mid engine) cars like Ferarri has for many years and after the first try they got it right.

I love looking at the engineering when I open up the clamshell engine bay with the dry sump oiling and readily visible suspension components, etc... sometimes I just look at it for a while and I can't believe it's a Ford. Some might say it's just a Ford but I say "it's a freakin' Ford!"
I admit I don't drive it alot but when I do it has a surprisingly supple suspension yet holds its composure quite well through corners. It is definitely not as harsh (suspension) as the Viper on rough roads, expansion joints, etc.
I took it to the track only once and did not beat on it but it does very well there. I'm not sure that it's quicker around the circuit than the Viper but I have alot more time in the Viper on the track so it's hard to know. If I were given a choice to choose one to post my quickest time around a road course I'd take the Viper. It feels better connected to the road to me while the FGT feels more like I'm in a jet plane gliding around the course.

Because of the car's uniqueness, it is sure to be a collectible and I plan on holding mine for the long term. I also plan on leaving it stock. If I want to mod something (and I do) I'll mod my Vipers.
If you break it down to just performance per dollar than the Viper wins hands down but there's more to a car purchase than that, even for a performance fanatic like myself. Other people must feel similarly or else who would someone pay $5 million for a Shelby Cobra or a million for an Enzo? I bet I can hustle my snake around the track faster than that guy can his cobra.

I'm not sure how to define an "exotic" but if America ever made one it would be the FGT and, because of automobile economics as it is today in this country I don't think we'll ever see another.

The FGT will always have an up to date look... heck the car is a remake of a car built 40 years ago and it still looks great.

I have owned 9 Vipers and still have 2 of them. I also have a FGT. It has +/- 800hp with the Whipple SC. I gotta say this car feels way different than the Viper. It is very evident my FGT could take my 2006 Viper even with my paxton. They are 2 different cars. Both fun in their own way. The FGT just feels so smooth and easy to drive. I will always be a Viper guy though... guess you could say I've been bitten.. but couldn't resist the FGT's looks and power.

Too funny... I am in the photo above behind the FGT engine at the Wixom GT plant.

Thanks guys, I love to own one but the price would need to come down a bit and I don't see that happening.

Ripper02 said:

Not to mention I own the FIRST TT car Heffner's Performace built...

The car has Never had the motor out of it ... The turbo
set up was built around the car already being perfect ...

This is the car in Car & Driver Nov' 06'
http://heffnersperformance.com/mediacaranddrivernov2006.htm


I love both my Viper and FGT....

But if the choice had to be made it will Always be the FGT

I welcome Anyone to come for a ride .......

Jerry...

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WOW! Congrats on owning that beast!

I wish I lived closer...