Arthur

Watched Speedvision last night. Coverage of the 24 H of Nurburgring. Yellow Viper ate everybody alive! I didn't finish the show, but I suppose the Viper was the fastest, and most reliable car on the track. I cannot understand how pushrod technology can outgun, outcorner, outlast 4 overhead valve variable cam timing GT3's. Made the Viper look like the 962 that won Lemans in 1987. When it comes to R & D for Vipers, given that it is made by Chrysler, does this car share a pot with Benz?

Greg Fishman

No replacement for displacement. You are comparing a 3.6l motor vs a 8.0L one. I don't think the cars are even in the same class, in the ALMS they sure aren't. I believe the design work on the Viper was done long before they merged with Damiler.

Z-man

[quote]Originally posted by Arthur:
<strong>When it comes to R & D for Vipers, given that it is made by Chrysler, does this car share a pot with Benz?</strong><hr></blockquote>
The only Chrysler car that has Mercedes-Benz components in it is the upcoming Crossfire. C-class underpinnings (suspension, chassis...etc).
IIRC, some powerplant components are also borrowed from the Mercedes parts bin.

According to the suits up the street, the Crossfire will be the ONLY Chrysler to ever see Mercedes parts in it. (I work for MBUSA, BTW)

HOWEVER: the Viper is a truly awesome car. IMO, it is the greatest evolution of the American Muscle car. I think the C5 Vette has gotten away from it's Muscle car roots, but the Viper lives on...

Just my $0.42.
-Zoltan.

Ed Newman

The viper is simply a different class. If Porsche wanted to they could run a GT2 race variant and kick the viper clear back to indiana or whatever small corn town it came from!

pig4bill

[quote]Originally posted by Ed Newman:
<strong>The viper is simply a different class. If Porsche wanted to they could run a GT2 race variant and kick the viper clear back to indiana or whatever small corn town it came from!</strong><hr></blockquote>

Yeah, right.

No turbos in GTS, right?

Greg Fishman

[quote]Originally posted by pig4bill:
<strong>

Yeah, right.

No turbos in GTS, right?</strong><hr></blockquote>


Turbos are allowed in GTS with a multiplier.

RealRideRacing

If I'm not mistaken, hasn't Porsche themselves admitted that the GT2 wouldn't be competitive in ALMS GTS class? This is a class long dominated by the Corvette C5R's, Saleen S7R's, ProDrive and Olive Garden Ferrari's, and formerly the Vipers.

Regards,
David
REALRIDE.COM RACING
<a href="http://www.RealRide.com" target="_blank">http://www.RealRide.com</a>

Greg Fishman

Since there is no 996GT2 race car I can only imagine you are referring to the 993GT2 which is at least 7 years old and not run in any pro series I know of. It will be interesting to see if the Carrera GT ever makes it to the race track as a factory effort.

Danno

Are there fuel-consumption limits in these races?

Stuttgart951

[quote]Originally posted by Greg Fishman:
<strong>Since there is no 996GT2 race car I can only imagine you are referring to the 993GT2 which is at least 7 years old and not run in any pro series I know of. </strong><hr></blockquote>

I still see the odd one running in the back of the pack at some events. Beautiful, beautiful car.

special tool

The fact that they were only 1 lap ahead after 24 hours with such an incredible advantage tells you which car is better, to say the least. You look at the race and first you think that these guys must be the biggest putzes in the world to run against cars with half the displacement, then you think about all the tv coverage they're getting...

pig4bill

[quote]Originally posted by Danno:
<strong>Are there fuel-consumption limits in these races?</strong><hr></blockquote>

Yeah, until your tank is empty.

There's a definite advantage to cars with better fuel consumption at races like LeMans. Fewer pit stops. It's said that's where Audi's big advantage is with their direct combustion chamber injection. IIRC they had 1 less pit stop than the competition.

E. J. - 993 Alumni

[quote]Originally posted by RealRideRacing:
<strong>If I'm not mistaken, hasn't Porsche themselves admitted that the GT2 wouldn't be competitive in ALMS GTS class? This is a class long dominated by the Corvette C5R's, Saleen S7R's, ProDrive and Olive Garden Ferrari's, and formerly the Vipers.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Even if there was a 996GT2 race car, it probably wouln't be competitive in it's current form. As the old saying goes about the current GTS cars, there's nothing stock about them. Hel, the 550 Prodrive Ferraris are stripped to bare chassis and then the car is cut in half in front of the firewall and lengthened a few inches to let the bigger motor fit and to increase the wheelbase. No way Porsche would invest that time and money to make the GT2 competitive when the comp is running 8 and 10 liter motors. Turbos cant make up that much difference. It's just a different motorsports landscape than it was when the 993GT2s ran in GT2 class. YOu can see one on my main page of my website - link is in the signature.

E. J.

pig4bill

[quote]Originally posted by E. J.:
<strong>
It's just a different motorsports landscape than it was when the 993GT2s ran in GT2 class. </strong><hr></blockquote>

Yup. And the Vipers beat them too.

Ed Newman

The viper was 2 laps ahead.

I belive Porsches comments on the GT2 were regarding the 993 chassis. What's to stop a 996 GT3R with twin turbo's from dominating the viper? If we can finish within 30 miles on 1600+, the extra 200 hp shoudl easily make that up.

Keep in mind that there are many races and many classes. I'm not sure oft he classing structure for this race, but I'd say a TT GT3R would be a fair competitor for the viper, saleen, etc.