'06 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe - Test Drive Review

[Mike Jung]

from: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...=1145529188653

Viper's hot in so many ways
Roasted feet small price for sizzle

Big rocket comfy for smaller people
Apr. 22, 2006. 01:00 AM
LAURANCE YAP


It seems fitting for the 2006 Dodge Viper coupe to come in black-on-black. This 500 hp V10 will happily break Ontario’s speed limit if you shift it out of first gear.


Those 345 mm rear tires are about as wide as anything on the road short of a quarry truck. They’re part of the Viper’s outrageous styling and performance, and its owners wouldn’t have it any other way.


The dash of the coupe is identical to this convertible - not too many options for comfort, despite its six-figure price tag.

Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe
Price: (base/as tested) $128,500 Cdn = about $115.1K US
Engine: 8.3-litre V10
Fuel consumption: (city/ highway/as tested) 19.5/ 10.7/20.9 L/100 km = about 12-mpg city/ 22-mpg highway/ 11.3-mpg as tested
Power/torque: 500 hp/ 525 lb.-ft.
Competition: Chevrolet Corvette Z06, Porsche 911
What’s best: So torquey it really only needs one gear, Batmobile styling
What’s worst: Annoying skip-shift “feature” to reduce fuel consumption
What’s interesting: Actually very comfortable for a small guy


The Dodge Viper coupe is a hot car in more ways than one.

It having been almost a year since I've driven a Viper, I opened the door and swung my leg over the sill to get in. And promptly burned myself. Oh yes: side exhausts. That's why they have that warning on the door jamb.

On twisting the key and pushing the starter button, I discovered that whoever was driving the car last had the air conditioning blowing full blast on his feet. What the heck?

Five minutes later, I remembered: those side exhausts and the huge, six-speed manual transmission sending the 8.3-litre V10's power to the back wheels all warm up pretty quickly. Five minutes after pulling away and turning off the a/c, I had cranked it back up, blowing right onto my roasting feet.

Speaking of roasting: should you use that offset throttle pedal injudiciously (all of the pedals, though adjustable, are pushed to the left thanks to the drivetrain's size), the Viper will happily roast its rear Michelins all day. It'll spin its wheels in first, second, and even third from a standing start, and if you're not careful, it'll spin them on pretty much every upshift as well.

Tire-smoking action is always only a jab at the gas away, and remember — while the new Viper may be equipped with ABS brakes, it still doesn't have traction control or stability control.

Despite what seems like the imminent threat of spinning out — exacerbated by the coupe's stiff suspension, its echo-chamber acoustics, and the tendency of its tires to tramline all over the place — it's actually a fairly easy car to drive quickly once you get used to it.

The trick is, mostly, to not worry when the steering wheel bucks around in your hands or when the tires wander a little bit; the car will pretty much go where it's guided, but needs just a little wiggle room to get there.

The mechanical grip offered by the big Michelins — they're 345 mm in the rear — is impressive, even in the wet. You just need to treat it with respect.

To my surprise, the Viper's actually quite comfortable. I usually find myself contorted in big American sports cars, which mostly seem to be designed for people much taller than me.

But thanks to the Viper's relatively narrow seat (a bigger colleague complained it pinched his bum), a tilt steering wheel and adjustable pedals, I was able to find an excellent driving position: upright, but not too close to the wheel.

Visibility out the front is excellent — and quite sexy over the Viper's sharply-peaked front fenders — but out the sides and rear is another story. The blind spots are huge, and the mirrors aren't really big enough to compensate for them.

Oh well. You should be looking ahead, way ahead, in this car.

First gear takes you right to the brink of most Ontario speed limits, and third is good for double that, not that you would. What's most impressive is the shattering in-gear performance, no matter what gear you're in.

Pull away in first, and a "skip-shift" feature activates at part throttle to shunt you into fourth instead of second; it still feels fast in that gear at 30 km/h (about 19 mph).

At 100 km/h (62 mph) on the highway, the V10 is barely idling. The net result of this is that the Viper actually feels slower — or at least more relaxed — than it actually is. It's so relaxed, and the reserves of power are so deep, that you scarcely need to stir the clunky gearbox. Simply leaving it in third is fine for most driving situations.

For a car that costs $128,500 Cdn (= about $115.1K US), the Viper can feel pretty basic. The plastic body panels can smell when they're hot, and the fit and finish isn't great.

The interior is well-made but free from frills; you get a nice Alpine stereo, but there's not much else to play with; the seats are manually-adjusted, as is the climate control.

Storage space is pretty scant; there's a glovebox and a single cupholder but that's about it. One cheap and annoying detail is that the speaker grills on the doors are perfectly positioned for your knee to bump them when you exit; they're very soft and cave in as you get out.

And on the road, the interior is an echo chamber for the whining, graunching, clunking and banging of the suspension and differential.

It'd be a tough call between the Viper coupe and convertible for me. I much prefer the styling of the Viper coupe with its more aggressive five-spoke alloy wheels (they're reminiscent of the ones on the Dodge Charger SRT-8), and it's not much more expensive than the $127,000 Cdn (= about $113.8K US) convertible (unusual, since convertibles normally cost more).

On the other hand, the convertible is actually a more refined drive — marginally quieter with the roof up — and comes with the added benefits of a free suntan, infinite headroom and more of the delicious rumble-and-pop exhaust noise.

They also both have practically-sized trunks (the coupe's bubble back actually hides a cargo area that's about the same size as the convertible).

Both share a pretty rough ride, awesomely powerful brakes, and steering that's so fast it feels almost twitchy.

Viper buffs would have the car no other way. Most of them already own another high-performance car or two, and the big Dodge's raw edge is exactly the reason they are attracted to it.

It wouldn't be the same car if it had ventilated seats, say, or traction control, or steering that didn't bump and weave on the highway.

A Viper will only be a Viper if it's got outrageous style, even more outrageous performance, and even more outrageously-sized rear tires.

And it'll only be a Viper if it's so hot you get burned every time you drive it.

[Mike Jung]

...I opened the door and swung my leg over the sill to get in. And promptly burned myself. Oh yes: side exhausts. That's why they have that warning on the door jamb.

On twisting the key and pushing the starter button, I discovered that whoever was driving the car last had the air conditioning blowing full blast on his feet. What the heck?

Five minutes later, I remembered: those side exhausts and the huge, six-speed manual transmission sending the 8.3-litre V10's power to the back wheels all warm up pretty quickly. Five minutes after pulling away and turning off the a/c, I had cranked it back up, blowing right onto my roasting feet.
....

[tomh]

the car looks nice

[Panacea]

The shifter looks as if it were mean to fit perfectly in a womans...

Yeah, they need to redesign that thing.

[AMRAAM4]

better pic

[RAZE]

^^^ HOT car!! Still would take a Z06 over it even if I had the money.

[ViperGTSR]

could use a drop actually. But I think this car is the greatest viper yet, absolutely gorgeous.

[2002GT]

i agree alex. it needs a drop!

[nascarnate326]

Originally Posted by RAZE

^^^ HOT car!! Still would take a Z06 over it even if I had the money.

x2, or an aston martin db9.

[onesexyga]

looking more and more like a vette everyday.

[Metallman56]

Originally Posted by onesexyga

looking more and more like a vette everyday.

actually the vette is looking more like a viper everyday. the "new" viper is from 03, while the vette came out last year. the vette looks like a brother to the viper from the headlights to the fender. as for the 94' viper it looked nothing like a vette. personally i think the vette looks like a viepr in front, and ferriari in back. dont get me wrong i love the vette.

[onesexyga]

I dont just mean the C6. It looks like corvettes have looked for a while.

[GrandAmGT1996]

vette and viper look way to much alike, finally some people that agree with me. I said that a few times before and people were like, they look nothing alike. Some changed there minds once I showed pics side by side. That thing needs lowered, id take a ford GT before the viper or vette

[Braves299]

Originally Posted by GrandAmGT1996

vette and viper look way to much alike, finally some people that agree with me. I said that a few times before and people were like, they look nothing alike. Some changed there minds once I showed pics side by side. That thing needs lowered, id take a ford GT before the viper or vette

The Ford GT can lick my balls. Plus, you could almost buy both the Viper and Z06 for the price of that thing....

[Braves299]

Originally Posted by AMRAAM4

better pic

Where are the door handles?

[onesexyga]

Maybe on top and flush like a vette?

[Metallman56]

this is a 99 viper and a 99 vette. i dont think they look anything alike.

[onesexyga]

and by vette door handles i mean old vette:

http://www.waldensvettes.com/images/bb74-3.jpg

[onesexyga]

similarities:

coves
theyve been on vettes for 50 years in one form or another. Viper mostly looks like 97+ vettes
headlights. chicken and the egg here, since its c6 styling
body form
originally from the 70's vettes. not invented by the vette, but definately made famous by it.
snub tail
def corvette.
mirrors
97+ corvette

[Metallman56]

ok i see the mirrors. other then that, they are 2 completly differnt looking cars.