87 944 C

cobra kit's if you don't do any of the work yourself will run around 50k, not bad for a car that will thrill you, draw attention, and lets face it, much cheaper than a realy shelby cobra.

JDS968

General opinion?

The GTS is the coolest. Just the PERFECT look (the new ones are much less attractive) and it has the sort of minimalist joy associated with a vehicle that has no unnecessary features whatsoever (and in this case, maybe even lacks some borderline-necessary features). Keep in mind that, if you're used to having ABS, this car might be a weird experience. Don't flatspot your tires. The first version of the engine really shows its truck-motor origins in the numbers: 400 hp out of 8.0 liters would have been about right in the late '60s, but almost sounds like the weren't trying, for the late '90s. Still, 400 hp is nothing to sneeze at, and there's a lot to be said for torque. Torque is just FUN.

The newer ones (like the 2006) are by all objective measures FAR better cars...but they're just less COOL. They have more power, more features, and are certainly far FASTER. The recent version of the ACR hold some of the fastest lap times around the Nurburgring, beating most of the European exotics and even the Corvette ZR1. Still...it seems to be missing the point of a Viper.

TexasRider

Yeah I know it is a fake. That is one of the negatives. $42,000 for that one BTW. It is a good fake though.

Of course the Viper is the real thing. And not a Vette. Those are some of the positives.

I will have to go try one out. I guess I could drive up in my Avalanche. Then they wont let me drive. If I go in my 951 they will drive me. If I go over in Garys XLR or the Panamera then they probably will want to drive them and call me every day. But at least I will do the driving.

JDS968

The one thing I hate about Cobra replicas is when people put Ford "5.0"s (1980s-2000 302s) in them. I don't care if you use a 427, a 289, or even, if you're a complete weirdo and a masochist, a 260. But all of these Foxbody Mustang-powered Cobra replicas make me sad.

Eharrison

Coupe only not the t-top (or whatever they call it).

I've always loved the look of this. Performance or not, man that's a good looking ash......

TexasRider

I dont mind it being raw JDS. As a matter of fact I kind of like it.

My 1986 951 is not exactly raw but it does not have the ABS. I did spend 2 years putting it in perfect mostly pristine condition. So I was looking for something with less work involed too.

Which ones are the GTS's BTW ?

Nobody has said this to me, nor did I read it, so it is my own opinion. But I truly think looking back on it now, that Dodge was not sure that the Nanny Fed and EPA and DOT and all were going to let this continue along when they first introduced the Viper. So they did not too carried away with Hp as not to draw too much attention. The same on the suspension as they did not want to spend too much time on designing something that might have cease production in a year or two or three. But when the Fed and the insurance companies did not scream and threaten them and want it stopped, the other auto makers took notice and got in the game with better and better performance models. That has continued to today. But one day "they" will can it all again. You and I know it will happen. Like it did in the 1970's and 1980's. So I want a couple of "good" ones in the garage before that happens!

TexasRider

Which year is that Ed ?? Thanks and another beauty. And yes I want the coupes too.

And yet another thing I like about these is that they may turn out to be the last big work by the "old" Dodge company.

One of Twenty

Want. . .a lot. . .

Eharrison

I don't know which year, I pulled up Viper on Google and found the one I like. There was one in the old neighborhood and I was always jaw dropping when it passed. The only way I'd go convertible is the newer ones which look sweet! But the coupes look old school in their lines. If I had money to burn I'd buy one too. It's right up there with the Factory Five Type 65. Mean curves.

TexasRider

I went over and looked on ebay for the GTS's. There are a few of them right here in Houston. And they look GOOD. But some of them, the GTS GT-2's are approaching the $100,000 mark . $35,000 I can do. $50,000 is starting to get up there.

But I am going to call a few of them and go by for a look.

Thanks to all of you guys and keep adding your ideas and comments too.

While the "get a good PPI" is good advise and I will do that if I find one, there are a lot more little nuances to cars than a mechanic can discover in a hour or two. It sure helps to know those ahead of time.

TamiyaGuy

I spent three days in a new one about 10 years ago (long story). I'm going to echo what others have said, it's hard to use it for a daily driver. In the city it feels really ponderous and difficult to navigate in traffic. You sit pretty low inside the vehicle and the long front hood amplifies the feeling. Oh yeah, really bad turning circle too. Got stuck in a tight parking lot and had to execute a 18 point u-turn to get out.

Yes, it has pretty good torque and horsepower. However, it really sounded like a truck engine. All noise and bark without any cool sounds. Porsche, BMW and Ferraris all have a unique and cool wail to them as you get near redline, the Viper was just loud. Gas mileage was pretty poor. Pretty sure I got like 11mpg but it was 100% city driving though.

But, the deal breaker for me was how poorly put together the interior was. It was really just the worse grade of plastics you could imagine. Hollow in many areas, brittle to the touch and those gauges & switch gear all looked like they were lifted off a Chrysler Intrepid. Really unappealing when you're use to European cars.

They have a fan base that's pretty healthy, but for me it felt like a notch up from a kit car.

TexasRider

^^^

About what year of Viper was that. I am going to look at the GTS's as discussed above and maybe at the 2002 "final edition" (final of what) and as late as the 2006's is what I am thinking now. But I would prefer the "older" cars in general.

It certainly is not a daily driver. Once a week. Once a month kind of thing.

Interestingly the Buy It Now on ebay seems to be mostly in the same range irregardless of the year. They are about $50,000 plus or minus a few thousand for 1996's through 2006's. The older cars like 1994 are less and the newwer 2008 and later are more. But the middle years are all clumped around $50,000 for the cars I see. Of course that is the ask price.

jimq

I looked and drove a few before I got my 996TT. They were a fun car but the heat coming off the exhaust was more than enough to make the driving experience in the Florida heat not so good. Another thing was my insurance company wasnt to happy about insuring one where as they had no problem with the TT. I probably would have gotten one except for those 2 issues. It isa blast to drive and a real attention getter at a stoplight.

Chaos

After one hour I enjoyed getting out more than getting in !

87 944 C

GTS are from 1996-2002 and than 2004-06 and 08+(there were no 2007 viper's built, they were retooling the factory for the 08) only hardtops. acr's are gts' on steroids. bar nothing the newest acr(08-10) is one of the best handling cars in the world that is street legal and factory built.

gts gt2's are racecar's, some of which were made street legal. 02 final edtion's are that because in 03 they changed the body style and dropped the gts for a MY. gt2s for 100g is a pretty good buy.

try: viperclub.com. and when i can remember the name there's one that's the largest viper dealer in the world. they supplied viper club with two acr's to run at the ring to attempt a faster lap...they did: 7:13...7:03 for the acr-x