The first post about taking ownership of a first-generation Dodge Viper pretty much sums it all up:
Well, I've been silently saving up for a viper for a while, and the deal of a lifetime came up and as soon as I saw the ad and price, I called the guy and worked something out for same day…
I love my first gen Viper, especially because its "Look At Me" Yellow.
Tried to find a car that out-vipers a Viper and surprisingly, nothing does.
Her only response was, "This car is 100% made by dudes, for dudes. This is the most dude car I've ever seen. Y'all don't got door handles, your windows are optional, and the top is a nightmare to put on."
The most accurate description of a 1G Viper ever.
Dodge set out to build a modern Cobra. Hard to find fault with the car when it is exactly that.
In reply to 93gsxturbo :
V12 Lamborghini's
Otherwise...not much lol
93gsxturbo said:Tried to find a car that out-vipers a Viper and surprisingly, nothing does.
I think I remember that thread. I don't thinks it's surprising at all that nothing out-Vipers a Viper, haha.
I still love the looks of these. I think they look more stunning than the last gen.
I had the pleasure of driving the second gen at a Skip Barber school in 2000. What I remember most was how scary it was to have no dead pedal and no ABS on a car with that much power. It was fast, fun, hot, and scary, just like you'd expect. Kinda funny how pedestrian the HP numbers seem now.
The exterior door handle broke off, so it's good this one doesn't have them!
I agree, there's not much more butch than an old Viper.
I've only driven them on track; 3 or 4 stock ones as well as a couple of 700+ horsepower versions. Ironically I don't find them scary.
1-1-2021 the day I learned that Vipers didnt have door handles.
Just never noticed.
hybridmomentspass said:1-1-2021 the day I learned that Vipers didnt have door handles.
Just never noticed.
Later models did, but gen 1 did not.
Tom1200 said:I've only driven them on track; 3 or 4 stock ones as well as a couple of 700+ horsepower versions. Ironically I don't find them scary.
I've always been intrigued about this. Some people swear they're homicidal death traps that want to send you backwards to your doom in a hedge, other people say they drive like scaled up miatas with torque.
fatallightning said:Tom1200 said:I've only driven them on track; 3 or 4 stock ones as well as a couple of 700+ horsepower versions. Ironically I don't find them scary.
I've always been intrigued about this. Some people swear they're homicidal death traps that want to send you backwards to your doom in a hedge, other people say they drive like scaled up miatas with torque.
I've never driven one, but from what I've read this comes down to it being an "analog" RWD car with a ton of torque, you have to treat it with respect and know how to drive it. Stability control, traction control, ABS are all the responsibility of the driver, not of the electronics. If you drive it stupidly you'll crash.
The 1st gen RT/10s never did much for more, but I like the late 90s GTSes a lot. The ones they raced at Le Mans. :)
In reply to hybridmomentspass :
Back in the day I drove a Viper ACR Coupe while in California: door handles but no keyholes on either side. So here I am with one somewhere in California. I was hungry, saw a restaurant, and stopped to eat.
It was closed. Womp, womp.
I walk back to the Viper and click the clicker. Nothing. No beep, no nothing. Again. Nothing.
It's locked up. The was way pre-smartphone, and here I am standing in the middle of nowhere.
Is there a secret way to pop the door? Maybe, but the manual is inside the locked car. And if I had a cell phone--can't remember--it was inside the car.
So I looked at the fob: On the back where instructions to reset it. Hold both buttons, I believe it said.
I said a prayer and did so.
Waiting.
Waiting.
Waiting.
Finally, a chirp from the car--a sign of life--and I could unlock the door.
fatallightning said:Tom1200 said:I've only driven them on track; 3 or 4 stock ones as well as a couple of 700+ horsepower versions. Ironically I don't find them scary.
I've always been intrigued about this. Some people swear they're homicidal death traps that want to send you backwards to your doom in a hedge, other people say they drive like scaled up miatas with torque.
Having driven several analog 400+ HP RWD cars including a Gen1 Viper, I can say that it's tires. For some reason people like to leave 15 year old dry-rotted tires on those cars and they are indeed complete death traps. You even *think* about throttle and it will step out and kill you. Put a fresh set of tires on (especially the modern 200TW stuff) and voila, instantly the car is a Miata with power. I experienced this exact same thing with my Z06 this year.
When I first read through this, I thought, "wow, someone bought a Viper for $1G... well done."
kb58 said:When I first read through this, I thought, "wow, someone bought a Viper for $1G... well done."
That'd have been a fantastic price, I wish lol
In reply to Javelin (Forum Supporter) :
Having been fairly serious about buying a g1/2 viper, the tires for the original wheels are crazy expensive and there's basically one fitment. Michelin pilots, or hoosiers. The michelins were like ... $1600 last time I looked. Probably why so many tire purchases get deferred.
In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :
The first time I drove one I marveled at how at 1800 rpm in 4th gear you could motor off corners with the rear tires just squirming around. I found it really controllable.
Now the 750 horsepower versions would easily get wheel spin at 80+ mph so I could see how the uninitiated could get it wrong.
Honestly the Gen 1s are kind of a Bob Costascat compared to some stuff. They can get you in trouble but so can anything else with 400HP and no nannies. I would challenge you can get way more in trouble with some LS swapped, boosted to the moon fox body on bigs and littles running stock 4 cylinder brakes and disconnected sway bars than you can in a Viper. Although from personal experience, the big meats, grabby rear diff, and no traction aids can get interesting when the roads are cold and slick.
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