[LeeRyder]

And this time, the results prove power and traction are king.
Go Viper!
http://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/corvette-stingray/2014/comparison-test.html

 

[JRS200x]

The new C7 is a performance monster, Ralph better have his team hard at work, because I am guessing the Z06 and ZR1 when they show up will obliterate the current Viper.

That being said, i would still prefer the Viper, it is just the more special car. Plus it is infinitely better looking.

 

[MoparDanno]

The new C7 is a performance monster, Ralph better have his team hard at work, because I am guessing the Z06 and ZR1 when they show up will obliterate the current Viper.

That being said, i would still prefer the Viper, it is just the more special car. Plus it is infinitely better looking.

cough ACR cough

I find it amusing that we are a point in the automotive world, where they have to DETUNE a street car to make it race legal.. lol. Viper GTS vs GT3 ALMS cars.. and compare the GT3 Vette's against a Z06...

 

[dakrt99]

How embarrassing for the Viper to get it's butt kicked like that. 180 more HP and it only managed .7 quicker? Plus the Viper is lighter. Jeez, way to go Viper, lol. Sad days right now for the Viper. 40K more, it should have obliterated the lowsy base C7. Hard times right now for the Viper. Has it even won a comparison yet? Jeez.

 

[AutoTechnician]

To be fair, it's not exactly a "base" C7. It is optioned up quite a bit - about as far as you can go before getting to a Z06 or ZR1.

Honestly, the writing was on the wall when the C6 ZR1 was still able to run competitive times with the new Viper. I can't see the Viper performing any better without a complete suspension redesign and switching to more sophisticated dampers.

 

[TripleT]

What funny is they picked the Vette, while at the same time describing driving the Viper as a near religious experience.

Beasts are hard to drive fast, I am sure to anyone but the highest skill driver the Vette will be easier to wheel around a track.

But that doesn't diminish the potential of the Beast and it allure.

 

[tomaz]

its quite common that High horsepower cars are not that well on a road Course, like cars with less HP.. if the Viper had a lower HP model (Say 480hp) it would be a different story.

 

[srt4evah]

I'd like to see a 2010 Viper versus a 2013 SRT Viper performance comparison. It seems to me that the new Viper is slower in the quarter mile, slower braking from 60, but has slightly better lateral grip than the Gen IV Viper. It makes no sense since it is lighter and more powerful, but that's how the tests are bearing out, so I'd like to see a same-day comparison.

 

[dana44]

I would like to see how the two handle with the same tires. Tires can make a big difference, too.

 

[Curtis Redgap]

A typical auto writers desire to set out to compare an apple to an orange. Viper is what it is. A hammer. A big hammer. A slam bang sledge hammer meant to smack down anvils. It is not meant to be a high volume vehicle, and the prices reflect that level of market penetration. No way to have to make apologies for it being a monster. Godzilla is ......well Godzilla. Only now it is just dressed up better in a Viper suit. Perhaps in the hands of a more experienced, skilled driver (s) Viper would have been let loose to fully appreciate all its capabilities. The skill level of these individuals is unknown, except for their claim to fame as an "automotive writer." I came away after reading the article with the distinct impression that the "Viperzilla" scared the "wee" out of them on the track. The Corvette........well it is a Chevrolet, and has some 50 years of so called "development" to accomplish something, among which are sales. Speaks more to volume than specialness. Buy a Viper, you are situated directly in the belly of the beast, which should make you reconsider using it to go to church meetings on Wednesdays. Whereby half the congregation would start rumors about you, while most of the ladies would want a long ride home. Discreetly, of course. Buy a Corvette, and the girl next door can get one built with more gizmos than yours, probably get better financing terms, with a lower price, and even run it out quicker while hauling Aunt Tulula to the local tavern for ladies social night.

 

[Muther]

Funny how the Viper keeps losing these "comparisons", yet still everyone is requesting a Viper to test. Vipers have been in all but one Motor Trend since January, in spite of their constant disdain for it. They slam it month after month, yet month after month they keep featuring it.

Obviously they all like something about it, or it would not be getting this much press.

BTW, with GM nothing is guaranteed. THe ZR1 could fall b y the wayside, as it has several times over the decades. They may decide the Z06 is enough. Either way, I don't care.

 

[LXbuilder]

Two incrediable cars that do things in entirely different ways, I would give my left n_t to own either one of them, but the Viper would be my first choice, even ahead of the ZR1 that is yet to come.
Just because of it's more brutal side vs the Vette, the not for everyone side of the car if you will. That's what I love about the Viper.

 

[JRS200x]

The Viper does need help. It is a great car, but it simply cannot compete with the Vette right now. The Vette has a much better suspension, better brakes and uses better tires. SRT needs to get away from Pirelli, they just cannot match up to Michelin right now. I guess we will see what this new tire Pirelli is developing will do but right now, it is being outclassed.

Also, while i understand the ACR is coming, you cannot really compare it to a Z06 or ZR1, it has an entirely different mission. The Z06/ZR1 are higher performance, but don't sacrifice comfort really to do it, unlike the ACR that is uncomfortable as hell.

Ferarri uses the Vette suspension, maybe SRT needs to as well

 

[tomaz]

The Viper does need help. It is a great car, but it simply cannot compete with the Vette right now. The Vette has a much better suspension, better brakes and uses better tires. SRT needs to get away from Pirelli, they just cannot match up to Michelin right now. I guess we will see what this new tire Pirelli is developing will do but right now, it is being outclassed.

Also, while i understand the ACR is coming, you cannot really compare it to a Z06 or ZR1, it has an entirely different mission. The Z06/ZR1 are higher performance, but don't sacrifice comfort really to do it, unlike the ACR that is uncomfortable as hell.

Ferarri uses the Vette suspension, maybe SRT needs to as well

it doesnt need any better tires or suspension, The TA proved that at Laguna. Sometimes having to much power can slow your times down during certain Testing compared to Lesser HP cars. i honestly think they should had debuted the viper a entry level "R/T" or "GT" with only 500hp.

 

[bikeluver43]

A typical auto writers desire to set out to compare an apple to an orange. Viper is what it is. A hammer. A big hammer. A slam bang sledge hammer meant to smack down anvils. It is not meant to be a high volume vehicle, and the prices reflect that level of market penetration. No way to have to make apologies for it being a monster. Godzilla is ......well Godzilla. Only now it is just dressed up better in a Viper suit. Perhaps in the hands of a more experienced, skilled driver (s) Viper would have been let loose to fully appreciate all its capabilities. The skill level of these individuals is unknown, except for their claim to fame as an "automotive writer." I came away after reading the article with the distinct impression that the "Viperzilla" scared the "wee" out of them on the track. The Corvette........well it is a Chevrolet, and has some 50 years of so called "development" to accomplish something, among which are sales. Speaks more to volume than specialness. Buy a Viper, you are situated directly in the belly of the beast, which should make you reconsider using it to go to church meetings on Wednesdays. Whereby half the congregation would start rumors about you, while most of the ladies would want a long ride home. Discreetly, of course. Buy a Corvette, and the girl next door can get one built with more gizmos than yours, probably get better financing terms, with a lower price, and even run it out quicker while hauling Aunt Tulula to the local tavern for ladies social night.

The problem is, the Corvette does everything the "beast" Viper does as quickly, less abrubtly, and for less money.

I've loved Vipers since they were introduced and my dad would bring them home from his dealership, over the years though the Vette has come back swinging HARD. The Viper cannot rest on it being a "race car for the street" anymore, which is fairly obvious with the new electronics it has and really needs to get back to what made it famous - Cheap, as fast or faster than cars twice as expensive, good looking = something GM nailed with the C6/C7 Vette.

 

[BASONE88]

I like what GM's engineers have done here. They've highlighted what a special car the SRT Viper is. It's obvious they're scared to death the Vette might become a historical note. There is no question the Viper is pushing Vette to be a better car..Where the Viper is sex, the Corvette is a cigarette.

 

[srt4evah]

Edmunds must have had a crappy Viper test car. Most of the reviews that recorded performance characteristics showed the Viper posting traps speeds of over 127mph (124mph for Edmunds), and 60-0 braking of under 100 feet (110ft for Edmunds).

Those are pretty severe differences in performance, maybe the Viper they tested had the crap beaten out of the tires already, and had a looser engine.

 

[JRS200x]

The car they were testing doesn't appear to have the track pack. Most other cars tested did.

it doesnt need any better tires or suspension, The TA proved that at Laguna. Sometimes having to much power can slow your times down during certain Testing compared to Lesser HP cars. i honestly think they should had debuted the viper a entry level "R/T" or "GT" with only 500hp.

It does need better tires and suspension. The test they do to get the cornering G and the slalom tests have very little to do with power nor does power really affect the tests, and the Viper was beaten in both. That comes down to suspension and tires. The suspension on teh Z51 package is INCREDIBLE. I am not a Vette fan but give credit where credit is due, plus Michelin Super Sports are simply better tires and much grippier. Remember, the Vette is posting these numbers with MUCH SMALLER tires.

Again, I would still own the Viper, but it does need some tweaking.
Plus, ride quality wise, the Vette is light years ahead, the Viper is rough (which is why people love it), but it does get tiresome. It really isn't much a DD, I have 2 friends, a coworker and MANY customers who own Vipers, none use it as a DD, and all admit they wouldn't, it just isn't comfortable.

 

[GasAxe]

Again, I would still own the Viper, but it does need some tweaking.
Plus, ride quality wise, the Vette is light years ahead, the Viper is rough (which is why people love it), but it does get tiresome. It really isn't much a DD, I have 2 friends, a coworker and MANY customers who own Vipers, none use it as a DD, and all admit they wouldn't, it just isn't comfortable.

A Chrysler SRT Firepower would nicely fill the DD niche. "Softer" suspension with a Hemi, possibly Hellcat up front. Just some wishful thinking....

 

[AutoTechnician]

it doesnt need any better tires or suspension, The TA proved that at Laguna. Sometimes having to much power can slow your times down during certain Testing compared to Lesser HP cars. i honestly think they should had debuted the viper a entry level "R/T" or "GT" with only 500hp.

Power has almost nothing to do with how fast you can do the slalom or how many lateral G's you can pull on a skid pad.

The Z51 Corvette has far narrower tires with a 300 tread wear rating (compared to the Viper's PZero Corsas with a 60 tread wear), meaning the tires have a much harder compound and handles much better.