Rich Bontempi took me for a spin in his 2004 viper today!

500 hp / 525 lb.-ft. of torque

what a sweet ride, acceleration is a bit better than my 1.8
but i was even more impressed with the stopping power.
HUGE brakes and ABS. felt like the g's working on me were MUCH higher under braking than during acceleration.

perfectly balanced (it is actually a mid-engine car, it just has the engine at the wrong end) ...

http://www.dodge.com/viper/?context=homepa...ype=vehicle_nav

gawd, i want one!
Andy

Considering the brake rotors are one inch smaller than my WHEELS, I would imagine the thing brakes well

that thing looks damn close to the new corvette, especially the front end...both are very nice though.

i guess i'm too old. the srt4 for $21k w/230 hp and 250 ftlbs is probably an interesting little sedan.

kevin

dunno how old rich is, but he can't be much younger than you.

just because you think you're an old fart doesn't mean you can't enjoy a brand new viper ...

btw. rich is going to take it on the race track, of course.
and he offered me a ride for that too, i think i might have to get some diapers first.

Andy

Well since your on the tire limitation every second while braking, (especially with abs) and only on the limitation during acceleration a minimal amount of time.. Ya..

Cool!! I'd rather spend the money on a loaded race preped vette...

but ya!!

Andrew

Glad you enjoyed your brief ride Andy. The race track ride will be an E ticket though. On track I won't have to dodge commuters. I'm often asked how does the Viper and the 914 compare on the track. I always tell people that the Viper is like a big 914 with lots of horsepower. And yes the new vette does try to look like a Viper ,but not as Nasty. And andrew, you buy your corvette and I'll kick it's ASS. ( Nothing personal, I've always hated corvettes.) LOL PS- I'm only 39

Pal came out to Willow in his Viper to see me make a fool out of myself. I took it around during lunch parade laps. Heard they were rude and crude, but that's BS. Slicker than snot, very tossable and forgiving. Needs to make a bit more noise, but NICE ride!

No substitute for cubic $$$

Does the exhaust note still resemble a Chevy straight six? I sure hope those MoPar engineers fixed that "anemic" sound!

How about one of those new trucks with the viper motor.

"Honey, you know we need a truck around hte house..."

Vipers Rock. Power seems to start at 1rpm and never falls off. Handles good too. Ever get the chance to drive one. Do it!

viper's are sweet! the only american car I like more these days is the ford GT... but the viper is awesome...

i could pay off my mortage and and have the srt for the out the door cost of the viper. maybe it's not a question of age. just redirected sensibilities.

kevin

Yes, they addressed the sad exhaust note that was on the first roadsters. When they built this new convertable, they kept the side exhaust but they included a crossover pipe , so you hear all 10 cylinders on either side of the car. Sounds wonderful! If you could pay off your mortgage AND buy an SRT-4 with the price of an SRT-10, then you must not live in Calif. We don't have mortgages that low! LOL