RSNAKE
Viper Owner
Made the Leap to a Gen V and took it to the track
I don't know what to say without writing a book. The Gen V fully lives up to all of my expectations! I have owned a '99 Gen II RT/10 since 2002. I still love the lines of the Gen II and was so happy to see the Gen V come out as an evolution of that form. In my opinion, they are two of the most beautiful cars ever made.
Beyond the beauty the level of refinement and day to day usability of the Gen V is just so far beyond the Gen II, it is hard to compare. The II is a very special car that feels special and, for me, only got driven a handful of days per year (20,000 miles in 12 years). The V feels much more like a car that could be used every day, if one wanted to. It has all of the usability and creature comforts of a modern high end car. Heck, I even use the cup holder for my coffee mug on the drive to work. What a luxury!
Finally, the performance, it is AWESOME, in the truest sense of that word! It has power across the full rev range, like all Vipers, and beyond 4,000 RPM the power is just explosive. The brakes are great, with wonderful feel and stopping ability. The handling is superb.
I bought the car about a month ago and waited to write this until I got over 500 miles on the car and took it to the track. I had it out at the PDE at Pitt Race yesterday. When buying the car, I hoped that it would have the capability to: drive to the track completely stock, make no adjustments, run on the track and be one of if not the fastest cars there, and drive home with no issues. That is EXACTLY what it did yesterday!
I went with a good friend, Matt, who had never been on a track before, and had only driven my Viper around the block and to the track. I let him drive the car in Group 1. I drove the car in Group 2 and was then signed off to run solo and Group 3.
The car was FANTASTIC on the track! It felt like we brought a gun to a knife fight! The feeling is hard to describe. It felt almost predatory. There were no weak areas. I was catching people in the curves, in the braking zones, and overtaking easily on the straights.
It took some getting used to the car. The first session, I was not very smooth. I was passed by one car that session. The second session, I was getting much more comfortable and let the same car go by, but I really didn’t need to.
The third session, I was solo in the car and started pushing it a lot more. That session, I was CLEARLY the fastest car on the track! I started nine cars back in the grid. It was only a 25 minute session and I passed every car (Porsche GT3, several Corvettes, Mustangs on slicks, etc.), except the lead car, which was a F430 Scuderia. Had there been one more lap, I would have passed him as well. It just took me that long to work through the other cars to get on his tail. I lapped one of the cars, which was a track prepped Miata with a roll bar. By the end of the session I was hitting 140 mph on the front straight.
In Group 1, Matt had a similar experience. He was not pushing the car as hard, but still managed to pass everyone including: two Porsche GT3’s, Camaro ZL1, Merc C63, and others. He let more guys pass him, as he was still getting familiar with the whole experience. It is sensory overload, at first and he was just being more careful with my car.
The car held up incredibly well. We were running it on the track in back to back run groups for 6 sessions with minimal breaks between. The brakes started to get a little soft toward the end of my third session, but that was it.
It was one of the most fun days I have had. The car got a lot of attention and respect from everyone there. At the end of the sessions, we drove the car straight from the track to a huge kick-off for the summer car show without even so much as washing it or peeling the track run group stickers off.
I don't know what to say without writing a book. The Gen V fully lives up to all of my expectations! I have owned a '99 Gen II RT/10 since 2002. I still love the lines of the Gen II and was so happy to see the Gen V come out as an evolution of that form. In my opinion, they are two of the most beautiful cars ever made.
Beyond the beauty the level of refinement and day to day usability of the Gen V is just so far beyond the Gen II, it is hard to compare. The II is a very special car that feels special and, for me, only got driven a handful of days per year (20,000 miles in 12 years). The V feels much more like a car that could be used every day, if one wanted to. It has all of the usability and creature comforts of a modern high end car. Heck, I even use the cup holder for my coffee mug on the drive to work. What a luxury!
Finally, the performance, it is AWESOME, in the truest sense of that word! It has power across the full rev range, like all Vipers, and beyond 4,000 RPM the power is just explosive. The brakes are great, with wonderful feel and stopping ability. The handling is superb.
I bought the car about a month ago and waited to write this until I got over 500 miles on the car and took it to the track. I had it out at the PDE at Pitt Race yesterday. When buying the car, I hoped that it would have the capability to: drive to the track completely stock, make no adjustments, run on the track and be one of if not the fastest cars there, and drive home with no issues. That is EXACTLY what it did yesterday!
I went with a good friend, Matt, who had never been on a track before, and had only driven my Viper around the block and to the track. I let him drive the car in Group 1. I drove the car in Group 2 and was then signed off to run solo and Group 3.
The car was FANTASTIC on the track! It felt like we brought a gun to a knife fight! The feeling is hard to describe. It felt almost predatory. There were no weak areas. I was catching people in the curves, in the braking zones, and overtaking easily on the straights.
It took some getting used to the car. The first session, I was not very smooth. I was passed by one car that session. The second session, I was getting much more comfortable and let the same car go by, but I really didn’t need to.
The third session, I was solo in the car and started pushing it a lot more. That session, I was CLEARLY the fastest car on the track! I started nine cars back in the grid. It was only a 25 minute session and I passed every car (Porsche GT3, several Corvettes, Mustangs on slicks, etc.), except the lead car, which was a F430 Scuderia. Had there been one more lap, I would have passed him as well. It just took me that long to work through the other cars to get on his tail. I lapped one of the cars, which was a track prepped Miata with a roll bar. By the end of the session I was hitting 140 mph on the front straight.
In Group 1, Matt had a similar experience. He was not pushing the car as hard, but still managed to pass everyone including: two Porsche GT3’s, Camaro ZL1, Merc C63, and others. He let more guys pass him, as he was still getting familiar with the whole experience. It is sensory overload, at first and he was just being more careful with my car.
The car held up incredibly well. We were running it on the track in back to back run groups for 6 sessions with minimal breaks between. The brakes started to get a little soft toward the end of my third session, but that was it.
It was one of the most fun days I have had. The car got a lot of attention and respect from everyone there. At the end of the sessions, we drove the car straight from the track to a huge kick-off for the summer car show without even so much as washing it or peeling the track run group stickers off.
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