What class would you say the Viper is in?

VIPER GTSR 91

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Supercar is usually reserved for the VERY pricey European exotics and I dont consider the Viper a Supercar but it is a very high performance muscle car.
 

mattdillon

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Supercar is usually reserved for the VERY pricey European exotics and I dont consider the Viper a Supercar but it is a very high performance muscle car.

I think thats the exact way I feel about it whether its the right assumption or not I don't know. I guess to me the Countach Lamborghini(though you can't see out of them at all, blind spots everywhere) was THE Supercar whether it could outrun the Viper or not. JMO
 

AFL in NJ

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I'm going with Supercar becuase the Vipers track abilities, Musclecar because of the high cubic inch-based horsepower and Exotic because it took 16 years to produce just 25,000 of these glorious machines. A Corvette is a Sports Car cause it does a bunch of things very well, and has more creature comforts, so its a little less polarizing, but hardly exotic. A Lamborghini and Ferrari are exotics because of their rarity and most of them are Supercars as well, but not muscle cars.

Regards,
Aaron
 

Twister

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1-Lamborghini had a hand in the engine
2-less than 30k produced from 1992-2010
3-400 hp was supercar power back in the early 90s. 450 hp was supercar power in the mid 90s. 510 hp was supercar power back in 2003. 600 hp is still super cAr hp.
4-87-109k is considered quite expensive by middle class Americans

This car is a exotic in other countries. To us an American supercar right under the fgy
 

PDCjonny

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Gen 1-3: High Performance Sports Car
Gen 4 & ACR: Supercar .

This.
Especially the ACR, which crossing over into 6 figure territory has the requisite price and low production to be on the list.
 

CitySnake

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The "Supercar" moniker to me is as much about price as it is performance... cars that are out of the reach of regular guys like Viper owners (no slight to the assembled here). Vipers are expensive, but still attainable. It seems more to me like a high-end sports car.

I agree. $100,000 is just not "super". It may be beyond the reach or rationale of most, but it's not an "exotic" pricetag. As a secondary qualification I'd ask if there any used indisputable supercars readily available in the marketplace for $30,000-$35,000 (as are many Gen 1's & 2's)?

But frankly, I couldn't care less if it's not typically classified as a "supercar". It still pretty much kicks the **** of everything out there ... and I CAN afford it! :D
 

Cobraken

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Ha! Trick question. Vipers don't HAVE class. They HOLD class! I don't think of the Viper as being easily classified but believe they are supercar sportscar.
 

jdeft1

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I drive it for sport. It's a sportscar... If I drove it for attention it would be an exotic. If I raced it, it would be a supercar. Mine's a sportscar.

- Just my .02
 

Magnus_

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Definitely not a supercar. If you think the viper is a supercar you really don't know what a supercar is. Reventon, Murci SV perhaps, Zonda, etc...

American Supercar? Eh, Ford GT would have to hold that title. The viper is too cheap and too common to be considered a supercar.

Exotic yes.

American Exotic, 100% yes.

Musclecar, no.

Because there are so few vipers made though in comparison with other cars in its price range, its mostly fits the Exotic category.
 

rw99

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To me, the Viper kinda defies classification. It began as a miraculously unadulterated concept car, and has continued as a stand-alone performance car that is not a halo car version of a lesser model (e.g. Corvette). Off the top of my head, the only comparison that comes to mind is Honda/Acura's NSX. Both cars drew directly from race influence to create truly unique "stretch-the-budget-but-don't-break-the-bank" sportscar products.

The "exotic" and "supercar" labels, to me, have always implied an unreachable price tag. But those boundaries are becoming pretty soft when considering current costs... somewhere between Audi R8 and Lambo Gallardo? I dunno.
 

PDCjonny

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Definitely not a supercar. If you think the viper is a supercar you really don't know what a supercar is. Reventon, Murci SV perhaps, Zonda, etc...

Your basing it just on cost with no credit towards performance or production.
Granted, a Gen 1 Viper is not a supercar.
But a Gen 4 ACR with it's low production, six figure purchase price and above all else performance makes it qualify.
 

Magnus_

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Your basing it just on cost with no credit towards performance or production.

Supercar is a car that must contain several aspects:
Rare/Exotic
Expensive
Preferably hand built/assembled
Incredible performance, typically via expensive weight saving materials (carbon fiber, aluminum, etc..), great handling and lots of power.

If we lower the Supercar standard to allow the ACR, then a whole bunch of cars need to be added:
Corvette ZR-1
Nissan GTR
Ferrari F430, 458
Lamborghini Superleggera

Nothing prevents you from lowering your supercar limits to that standard. All these terms can be highly subjective.

I, like most automotive purists I imagine, follow the words of Viper from Top Gun. I believe a Supercar is "The elite, best of the best.".
 
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