Y2K5SRT
Enthusiast
I have been following the "Hennessey vs. Supra" thread on a few boards and find it pretty amusing. The one thing that bugs me is the trash talk between BOTH camps about each others cars. The good natured jibes are fun to read, but the nasty insults are pretty juvenile.
We need to realize that the Viper is NOT the ultimate car to everybody. While we have made the choice to go with the greatest muscle car ever built (the strongest but not necessarily the fastest), others might not take a Viper if it was given to them.
One thing that needs to be considered here, and that is how we grew up. Many of us in our 30's and 40's grew up around the American muscle cars of the 60's and early 70's. A rumbling V-10 in a somewhat unrefined show car fits in with that upbringing perfectly. On the other hand, many of the Supra owners are younger and were weaned on Accords and Camrys. They grew up on imports and have just as much respect for the sports cars of that vintage, such as the Supra, RX-7, etc. To them, a Viper may be a relatively crude, and overpriced, sports car. They don't make the Supra or RX-7 anymore, so it's hard to say how they would price out today. The only Japanese sports car I can think of that is still imported is the NSX, and they are pretty close to the Viper in price, while considerably behind in performance.
Now, there is also the economy of scale. As the last Supras were made in 1998, buying a new one is out of the question. The used market has enough of them to be able to buy them relatively cheap and the cost to upgrade them is certainly less than making similar upgrades to a Viper. And the results? Well, the fastest street car in Kansas City is NOT a Viper - not even the Hennessey 550 that belongs to our club. Nope, the fastest street car here wears a Toyota badge and is a GREAT guy to talk with. Indeed, he helped me with all of the track photos that were shot a couple weeks ago and posted here. He even did a video of my car spanking a Cobra for me. I would consider him to be more of a "car guy" than many of the muscle car owners I know.
So, what makes these guys different from Viper owners? NOTHING. They all take great pride in their cars, and why shouldn't they? The Supra represents the pinnacle of Japanese sports cars and with some tweaking they can dish it out to just about any American car out there, including the Viper. Now, that said, I think some of the trash talk coming from that camp is just plain poor. I know one of the guys posting a few less than complimentary posts and I forgive him because he is basically still a kid. His Supra is one of the fastest in town and he reminds folks of that pretty often. I have never once claimed to be faster than ANYBODY, not even faster than the guy with the Yugo at work. It's kinda like bragging about your income - it can be kinda tacky when overdone. Oh, and there is ALWAYS somebody that makes more than you, be it in income or horsepower (assuming you are not Bill Gates or John Force
We all have great cars. We all love fast cars and sleek looks. They both take totally different approaches, but you have to admire either one. Plus, it's much more fun to just gang up on the Mustang guys... (kidding!)
Chris
We need to realize that the Viper is NOT the ultimate car to everybody. While we have made the choice to go with the greatest muscle car ever built (the strongest but not necessarily the fastest), others might not take a Viper if it was given to them.
One thing that needs to be considered here, and that is how we grew up. Many of us in our 30's and 40's grew up around the American muscle cars of the 60's and early 70's. A rumbling V-10 in a somewhat unrefined show car fits in with that upbringing perfectly. On the other hand, many of the Supra owners are younger and were weaned on Accords and Camrys. They grew up on imports and have just as much respect for the sports cars of that vintage, such as the Supra, RX-7, etc. To them, a Viper may be a relatively crude, and overpriced, sports car. They don't make the Supra or RX-7 anymore, so it's hard to say how they would price out today. The only Japanese sports car I can think of that is still imported is the NSX, and they are pretty close to the Viper in price, while considerably behind in performance.
Now, there is also the economy of scale. As the last Supras were made in 1998, buying a new one is out of the question. The used market has enough of them to be able to buy them relatively cheap and the cost to upgrade them is certainly less than making similar upgrades to a Viper. And the results? Well, the fastest street car in Kansas City is NOT a Viper - not even the Hennessey 550 that belongs to our club. Nope, the fastest street car here wears a Toyota badge and is a GREAT guy to talk with. Indeed, he helped me with all of the track photos that were shot a couple weeks ago and posted here. He even did a video of my car spanking a Cobra for me. I would consider him to be more of a "car guy" than many of the muscle car owners I know.
So, what makes these guys different from Viper owners? NOTHING. They all take great pride in their cars, and why shouldn't they? The Supra represents the pinnacle of Japanese sports cars and with some tweaking they can dish it out to just about any American car out there, including the Viper. Now, that said, I think some of the trash talk coming from that camp is just plain poor. I know one of the guys posting a few less than complimentary posts and I forgive him because he is basically still a kid. His Supra is one of the fastest in town and he reminds folks of that pretty often. I have never once claimed to be faster than ANYBODY, not even faster than the guy with the Yugo at work. It's kinda like bragging about your income - it can be kinda tacky when overdone. Oh, and there is ALWAYS somebody that makes more than you, be it in income or horsepower (assuming you are not Bill Gates or John Force
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).We all have great cars. We all love fast cars and sleek looks. They both take totally different approaches, but you have to admire either one. Plus, it's much more fun to just gang up on the Mustang guys... (kidding!)
Chris
