kfmcmahon

found JSA's latest HPDE championship video

nuvolari612

Looked everywhere for info on the Viper ACR Extreme - funny there was more information here than anywhere.

Huge fan of NA cars - delivery 4 - 6 months for the 1 of 1.

Keith Verges - Dallas

Driveviper.com has a fair bit of info. Demographic is very different however. Lots of guys hotrodding and using vipers for mile and drag racing but some have meaningful track driving info. I have personally lost interest in tracking my GT3. Viper is faster, cheaper consumables, and with a manual more engaging to drive.

24Chromium

Driving to work recently - in bumper-to-bumper stop and go traffic on the 101 - I spotted a Viper ACR. It looked so horribly out of place, puttering along, stuck there in the morning commute traffic. But... hats off to the driver for doing so.

nuvolari612

Thanks will check out the site.

The prices of the GT3RS is silly and the dealers flipping and whatever has turned me off on the brand.

Dodge Viper reminds me of the American cars I grew up loving where owners went straight to the track it breaks you fix it and go right back dealers are all over the track and race scene - modern day Yenko.

TRAKCAR

Factor in depreciation and actual transaction price compared to MSRP and it's not so cheap.
Had a vriend that went form GT3 to ACR X and it needed quite a bit to be dependable. After a couple of years he got less for it than his GT3.

The frame looked like a truck frame. Sounded and drove like a truck to me.
But this was the last model. I drove the new model, regular GTS and it drove like a truck.
Cool car though but limited track support and small interior space just don't let it compete with GT3 for me.

Except laptime, they are bat**** fast it driven well.

Scrappy1972

I've been researching the ACR-E and had the pleasure of following a well driven example for several laps recently. The speed it carried through fast corners was borderline surreal for a street legal car (I was in a high downforce race car). Seeing that and talking to the driver afterwards pretty much sealed it for me. Never thought I'd pine for a Viper, but this car is an unapologetic beast.

Keith Verges - Dallas

No question ACR will depreciate more than GT3. Not so sure RS. I am unwashed and can't buy RS at MSRP. At market, the ACR-E cost not a lot more than markup on RS. Buy an RS at market and track it extensively and let's see how much it depreciates. I have my GT3 for sale and can assure you its track time is hurting its value. The buyers of these cars affirmatively want no track miles on their trophy car.

And I liked being able to order what I wanted with not issues when I got my ACR.

Truck comment is what it is. Pretty subjective and while I like my GT3 I just don't see it as a be all end all car. I raced the ACR-X in 2010 and it was reliable. We had very few development issues with the new car. My only DNF was alternator failure. But the 997 Cup was faster, as it should have been given its much higher price (X was about 105K)

At the end of the day the ACR-E is indeed wacky stupid fast, engaging to drive with the manual transmission and for a track centric car the pace per dollar is important to me.

And while it is subjective I just like the bespoke nature of the Viper and its crude American ethos. It is cartoonish and vulgar and unapologetic. It takes the boy racer RS wing and turns it to 11

Scrappy1972

Well said. I also think the car will age better than the previous generation ACR and may have a chance of having some collectibility if 2017 is indeed the final year for the Viper as we know it (bespoke chassis, NA V10 and manual).

changster123

What an epic thread. I read the whole thing.

Any more feedback from owners on longer term mechanical durability of the car with mostly track miles? Any cooling issues? Are oil and water temps rock steady after reaching an equilibrium?

ipse dixit

Serious question. No snark intended.

If the ACR is (was?) that great, why is it being discontinued?

C.J. Ichiban

Side curtain airbag regulations. MY 2017 Is the last year of current regs I believe.

Also- lots of dodge dealers are incompetent.

ipse dixit

That really can't be it.

If it's just a matter of side airbags, then it's not just the dealers that are incompetent at Dodge.

And I would argue that, on average, GM/Chevrolet dealers are probably as, if not more, incompetent than most Dodge dealers and the Vette is still going strong, Z06 included.

C.J. Ichiban

If by going strong you mean the z06 overheats on track then sure yeah.

Viper exchange was a great buying experience. Not really sure who else I'd be super into buying a viper from.

The ACR is here for people like Keith and I who have tasted downforce in radicals or formula cars and want that same corner entry confidence you get with the ACR. The P1 is very similar but the ACR is really affordable and even factoring tires is still way cheaper to beat on than a GT3 would have been.

Of course the same cost argument could be made for a GT4 but then you don't get any downforce.

Keith Verges - Dallas

I wish I could explain it. CJ is right that side airbags are part of it, but slow sales have to make the development costs to add the airbags a bad business decision. The car is certainly not popular, but I will say the road is littered with cars once unpopular. Perhaps the AC Cobra, the last of which festered on dealer lots in the late 1960s, is the best example. Recent vintage, my Cadillac CTS-V Wagon with 6-speed is worth very close to what I paid, but the sales dropped to probably under 100 and maybe 50 in the final 2014 model year.

The dealer network is a huge problem. My local delivering dealer had no Viper inventory and my salesman had never delivered a Viper. I won't get a nice loaner like I do with Park Place. I fear the technicians will have problems in any repair. I am sure that is a big deterrent in the 6-figure car market.

I also think Americans have truly lost respect for American car companies. The junk coming from Detroit in the 80s was a factor but nowadays, it just seems like there's a lot of self-loathing in this country as to the same companies that were arguably the biggest reason the Allies prevailed in WWII. Ever notice there's no such thing as a 1943 Ford, Chevy or Dodge? Read up on the size and productivity of GM Ford Chrysler production of engines, aircraft tanks etc 1940-45 and I dare you not to be awestruck. Should a conflict in the world erupt again I don't think we can call Lexus or Mercedes.

So when folks want to buy a six-figure trophy they look outside the US. Lots of folks think I am an idiot for spending $$$ on a "Dodge." My law partners all drive Porsche, Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus or Infinity if they have higher dollar cars. I honestly think a lot of it is just human nature. All the cool guys want _____, so I aspire to that.

I could go on and on about the mystery of popularity and fashion in American culture, at least to me.

For me at the end of the day, the sales volume or popularity of this car is completely irrelevant to me, and I always wonder why it's relevant to any other prospective buyer. I could've argued that when I drive my Viper I am literally the only one I ever see, whereas the ubiquitous 911 is really kind of banal in Dallas.