The Viper SRT10, has received a thorough makeover for 2008 in both coupe and roadster form.
The only visual change is a new hood with functional vented gills, and this achieves the seemingly improbable feat of making the Viper look even more aggressive. The V-10 engine has been bored out an extra 0.6 millimeter to increase the displacement to 8.4 liters. It also gets variable valve timing, new cylinder heads, a new intake, electronic throttle control, hollow intake valves, coil-on-plug ignition, a 10.2:1 compression ratio (up from 9.6), and a larger oil pump with a swinging oil pickup. The result is 600 horsepower and 560 pound-feet of torque, improvements of 90 horses and 25 pound-feet. At 2500 rpm, the Viper makes more torque than the Z06 does at its peak.
The Viper's cabin remains unchanged but is much cooler now that the exhaust flows straight to each side pipe instead of crossing under the passenger compartment.
The Tremec T56 six-speed manual gearbox gets a revised shift linkage, triple-cone synchros, and a twin-disc clutch that has 18-percent-less rotational inertia than the previous single-disc setup. At the rear there's a new speed-sensing limited-slip differential. On the suspension front, the Viper gets new Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires set up with more negative camber, new shocks, higher spring rates, and a solid rear anti-roll bar replacing the previous hollow one.
The good news is that these changes come cheap. The Viper's base price of $86,845 is $150 less than that of the Viper in our last test, thanks in part to a lower gas-guzzler tax. And even at the as-tested price of $91,145, the Viper is the most affordable 600-hp car on the market.
Despite the myriad improvements, creature comfort has never been high on the Viper's list of qualities, and the usual list of complaints still applies. Getting in and out is a gymnastic exercise of hurdling the door sill and ducking under the low roof. The Viper has no cruise control, cup holders, traction control, or stability control. The center stack of the dashboard is surrounded with cheap plastic -- colored inserts are still optional. The deep buckets, however, make the most of the cramped interior, and the pedals are adjustable. Once you're in the Viper and moving, it's actually pretty comfortable.
You can fly from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. It's a 10th or two quicker than the Z06 all the way to 100 mph, but by 150, the Viper has a half-second lead. It's also more than two seconds quicker to 150 than was the previous Viper. Vette and Viper are pretty much even (and impressive) in roadholding, lane change, and braking distance, but the Viper wins on the track. It's easier to drive around the road course as well, thanks to great feel from the quick steering and solid brake pedal. The Viper is more benign than you would think. There's so much rear-end grip that it's difficult to get a little back-end slide using the gas pedal, although the Viper is harder to manage once it does go sideways. We still prefer the Viper's mild understeer to the Corvette's tank-slapping oversteer.
The exhaust sounds like a tuba having sex with a vacuum cleaner, and the baritone thrum of engine and road at highway speeds gets annoying in a hurry. The trunk volume of 15 cubic feet seems optimistic -- a road trip for two will require soft luggage. In a street or track race, the Viper comes out narrowly ahead, but in real life, the Viper's claustrophobic cabin and noisemaker mechanicals are too much of a handicap to overcome.
The Z06's time of 1:27.2 is half a second slower than the Viper's, and it took more work to keep the Z06 going in a straight line.
The only visual change is a new hood with functional vented gills, and this achieves the seemingly improbable feat of making the Viper look even more aggressive. The V-10 engine has been bored out an extra 0.6 millimeter to increase the displacement to 8.4 liters. It also gets variable valve timing, new cylinder heads, a new intake, electronic throttle control, hollow intake valves, coil-on-plug ignition, a 10.2:1 compression ratio (up from 9.6), and a larger oil pump with a swinging oil pickup. The result is 600 horsepower and 560 pound-feet of torque, improvements of 90 horses and 25 pound-feet. At 2500 rpm, the Viper makes more torque than the Z06 does at its peak.
The Viper's cabin remains unchanged but is much cooler now that the exhaust flows straight to each side pipe instead of crossing under the passenger compartment.
The Tremec T56 six-speed manual gearbox gets a revised shift linkage, triple-cone synchros, and a twin-disc clutch that has 18-percent-less rotational inertia than the previous single-disc setup. At the rear there's a new speed-sensing limited-slip differential. On the suspension front, the Viper gets new Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires set up with more negative camber, new shocks, higher spring rates, and a solid rear anti-roll bar replacing the previous hollow one.
The good news is that these changes come cheap. The Viper's base price of $86,845 is $150 less than that of the Viper in our last test, thanks in part to a lower gas-guzzler tax. And even at the as-tested price of $91,145, the Viper is the most affordable 600-hp car on the market.
Despite the myriad improvements, creature comfort has never been high on the Viper's list of qualities, and the usual list of complaints still applies. Getting in and out is a gymnastic exercise of hurdling the door sill and ducking under the low roof. The Viper has no cruise control, cup holders, traction control, or stability control. The center stack of the dashboard is surrounded with cheap plastic -- colored inserts are still optional. The deep buckets, however, make the most of the cramped interior, and the pedals are adjustable. Once you're in the Viper and moving, it's actually pretty comfortable.
You can fly from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. It's a 10th or two quicker than the Z06 all the way to 100 mph, but by 150, the Viper has a half-second lead. It's also more than two seconds quicker to 150 than was the previous Viper. Vette and Viper are pretty much even (and impressive) in roadholding, lane change, and braking distance, but the Viper wins on the track. It's easier to drive around the road course as well, thanks to great feel from the quick steering and solid brake pedal. The Viper is more benign than you would think. There's so much rear-end grip that it's difficult to get a little back-end slide using the gas pedal, although the Viper is harder to manage once it does go sideways. We still prefer the Viper's mild understeer to the Corvette's tank-slapping oversteer.
The exhaust sounds like a tuba having sex with a vacuum cleaner, and the baritone thrum of engine and road at highway speeds gets annoying in a hurry. The trunk volume of 15 cubic feet seems optimistic -- a road trip for two will require soft luggage. In a street or track race, the Viper comes out narrowly ahead, but in real life, the Viper's claustrophobic cabin and noisemaker mechanicals are too much of a handicap to overcome.
The Z06's time of 1:27.2 is half a second slower than the Viper's, and it took more work to keep the Z06 going in a straight line.
