2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe

[HarleyEarl]

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drive...icleId=107200#2




So Much Torque, So Little Track Time
By Richard Homan
Date posted: 09-12-2005

I still have nightmares, and I wake up laughing.

Snaking, braking and shaking my head through the 2.2 miles and 11 turns of California's Laguna Seca raceway is just about the surest way I know of to keep my ADHD under control. And driving a 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe around Laguna Seca pretty much scares up 1,000 percent of your concentration. And to be honest, fun doesn't get any more fun than this.

It's especially true that the $83,995 Viper SRT-10 can only really show off its best stuff at a track. The rest of the SRT (for Street Racing Technology — they're the Chrysler Group's in-house performance-tuning nuts) lineup is a blast on the track, but you can also approach their speeding, sticking and stopping limits on your favorite twisty two-lane stretch of public pavement. In everything from the super-Neon known as the SRT-4 to the Charger SRT-8 to the upcoming Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8, driving at ten-tenths is something you can flirt with. Not so with the Viper SRT-10 Coupe, it's got the same eerie "racecar-for-the-street" outlaw aura that the Ferrari F40 had. No flirting here, only commitment.

Torquing the Torque
That divine commitment starts with the Viper Coupe's showpiece: an aluminum-block 8.3-liter, V10 torque machine. The engine's 510 horsepower recommends it highly, but now it's got 535 pound-feet of pure accelerative torque — the lion's share of which is on tap from as low as 1,500 rpm — that inspires the rear-drive Viper to swallow up straights quicker than anything I've ever driven. Five hundred thirty-five lb-ft of torque. I think that that's enough thrust to throw the planet off of its axis, but I'm not entirely sure. It feels like it, though.

Sifting such ungodly power through the heavy-duty six-speed manual gearbox, with the engine's 10 cylinders sounding like a construction crew speed-hammering overtime at the Gates of Hell, makes it easy to believe SRT's claims of a 0-60 of under 4 seconds and a quarter-mile time in the low 12s.

Corner Worker
Checking in at the corners is a lightweight, but beefy, aluminum suspension setup of double wishbones all around, front and rear antiroll bars, and coil-over shocks. And like nearly everything else about the Viper, the wheels and tires are massive: 18-inch forged-alloy wheels in front, 19s at the rear, clad in Michelin run-flat tires, sized — get this — 275/35ZR-18 (front) and 345/30ZR-19 (rear).

It is in this handling arena, that the Viper SRT-10 Coupe acts most like a racecar. It's either on or off, big-league style, with little margin to play with. If you insist on playing tail-out like Gurney or Villeneuve, low- and moderate-speed corners do afford you some throttle-on mitigation thanks to a speed-sensing Dana limited-slip differential. A Viper that snaps away at high speed, however, is pretty much a bad idea no matter what your last name is.

Extra-massive Brembo brakes — 14-inch ventilated discs at all four corners, with dual-opposing calipers at each wheel — suck speed away from the heavy coupe so quickly, you can feel the mass trying to pull free of the bounds of gravity. And the pedal feel is racecar solid, with short travel and immediate, positive response.

The Crowning Achievement
Let's take a moment now, turning our thoughts to the "coupe" part of the Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe. As a convertible, the Viper is a gnashing, angry snarl. But the SRT-10 Coupe's fixed "double-bubble" roof, like that of the Viper GTS Coupe that preceded it, finishes the design. Now, from the Viper's louvered, 10-acre hood to its kick-up rear spoiler and shrouded, wraparound taillights, nothing breaks up the scary, sexy lines formed in composite and steel.

From Where I Sit
The only thing diminutive about the Viper Coupe is its two-seat interior. The topless Viper seemed more accommodating because it offered all the headroom in the universe. The coupe closes that option down. The long-legged especially, will need to adjust the super-supportive form-fitting seats to find an acceptable headroom/legroom balance point. The pedals are set slightly left of center, and they're tightly grouped, so wear your thinnest pair of driving shoes. How tight was it in the footbox? There were times I swore the brake and accelerator were stacked right on top of one another. Made for awesome heel-and-toe work when I got used to it, however.

There was no sweat getting used to the Viper's seats and steering wheel — both were thick, grippy and leather-wrapped. And staring dead-on into the huge center tachometer reminds you why you came here, as do the 220-mph speedo and the red pushbutton starter.

The Last Lap
Laguna Seca never stood a chance. To thread the SRT-10 Coupe through the track's hairpins, uphill/downhill sweepers, and the infamous "Corkscrew," is to turn your adrenaline tap wide open. When you nail a lap, you feel perfect; and when you duff one, you feel like a donkey. The 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe punctuates those feelings, and really brings them home, with its race-bred mechanicals and track-trued specs.

I still have nightmares, and I still wake up laughing.

[Northstar]

I can see the King of the Hill comparos already featuring the Z06, Viper SRT-10 coupe, and GT. Too bad we didn't get any numbers from this review, as it'd be interesting how it's specs compare to the Z06's.

[99camaroSS]

wow for that price i could afford to get a z06 fully loaded and still have plenty of gas money. vipers arent even that good looking and certianly not worth 80 grand sweet geeesus

[BrewSwillis]

wow for that price i could afford to get a z06 fully loaded and still have plenty of gas money. vipers arent even that good looking and certianly not worth 80 grand sweet geeesus

[post="14731"][/post]

I can understand saying that the zo6 is pretty sweet, but saying that the Viper SRT-10 coupe is not good looking, is crazy :blink:

[HarleyEarl]

To me the Vette is stunning, no need for a lot of flashy addons and paint schemes. The Viper, while I like it..is so loud and brash....not something I would want to be seen in everyday.

[PontiacTechNJ]

Viper has the 2- 5 cylinder engines exhaust tone . I never liked it . The Z06 pushes it around pretty good , past and present and future . I hope GM Blue Devils the new Viper - I would hate to have German American Hybrid car company to have the upper hand in production street cars .

[Flybrian]

The Viper is a track beast made street-legal and given the ability to reasonably drive itself to and from the track. Corvette is the true American lifestyle sports car - you can take it to the track, but also the office, a night out, and even grocery shopping.

[99camaroSS]

the reason i dont like the viper too much is that most of the lines are waaaaay to exagerated and i dunno im just not big on it

[Guest Josh]

I just want to know if the GTS name has been approved yet as I spied one the other day....GRR

[Cory Wolfe]

Other than the rear, I prefer the Viper's looks over the Vette's. Minor changes to the Vette would change that. One big problem is that it looks too similar to the C5... and it looks cheap to me.

[NOS2006]

Click the link in the first post and watch that vid. Look at the viper run around the corner powersliding and tell me you're not obsessed.

[Northstar]

Something about the Viper as a coupe just doesn't look right. The Corvette's roofline is much more flowing and doesn't look goofy like the Viper's. The Viper seems to have a bit more wheel well gap than the Z06 too.

[NOS2006]

Are you crazy?! The Viper's roofline is my favorite of all vehicles ever.. production or concept! I love less raked windshields and very raked back windows... Edited September 19, 2005 by NOS2006

[MGZ06]

The SRT-10 is one sweet ride. . . but I would take a ZO6 anyday!

[ocnblu]

Yeah, I'm over the Viper. The Z06 is King.

[BrewSwillis]

I think this is the look the Viper coupe was going for:




Ever notice how much the C6 now looks like the Viper? :huh:

[NOS2006]

Ever notice how much the C6 now looks like the Viper?  :huh:

[post="16590"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Yeah.. no shit.

[Satty]

The Viper is fine for what it is, a beast. Since there is no way all of that power can be exploited in the streets, I have to agree that the Z06 is a better all around ride.

[ltm_awake]

I think this is the look the Viper coupe was going for:

It is. Carrol Shelby himself played a big part in the development of the viper concept back in 1989(IIRC). The Viper is a direct homage to the great Daytona Coupes.