New 510 hp Viper Coupe CAN'T beat the 505 hp ZO6!

[ricersvette89]

Wow in the Dec. 2005 issuse of Car and Driver (yes i should be reading something else but i can't) they pitted the 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe verus the 2006 Chevrolet Corvette ZO6. Here are the stats:

Price as tested:
ZO6: $67,845
Viper: $86,995

Horsepower (as in the new 2006 SAE rules):
ZO6: 505 @ 6300 RPM
Viper: 510 @ 5600 RPM

Torque:
ZO6: 470 @ 4800 RPM
Viper: 535 @ 4200 RPM

0-60 MPH:
ZO6: 3.4 sec.
Viper: 3.8 sec.

Top Speed (both drag limt):
ZO6: 198 MPH
Viper: 190 MPH

Any questions boys and girls?

 

[Luweegy]

Luweegy

We all knew the Vette would Rule!!!!!

 

[Z06 Tom]

I read that article yesterday at the barber shop... I couldn't believe how they were banging on the Zs handling!! If a car comes from this side of the pond, they always turn their noses up to it...:eyerole

 

[ricersvette89]

I read that article yesterday at the barber shop... I couldn't believe how they were banging on the Zs handling!! If a car comes from this side of the pond, they always turn their noses up to it...:eyerole

I know what u mean! they should complain about the Viper's cooking!

 

[LT4man]

Did any of you ever try to get into a Viper? What a joke. I had to make an appointment with my chiropractor after driving one a couple of years ago. And with the fixed roof on them now??????

I read the article as soon as my mag came. They really trashed the handling. I don't know what the **** they are talking about. I rode in one back in June (Bowling Green CAC Cruise Fest?). The handling is awesome!

They should do a comparo against the ford, ferrari and lamborghini. I am sure the Vette would cook those as well!

Save The Wave!

 

[Edmond]

Car And Driver, maybe they should just keep to testing the soccer mom minivans and SUV's instead of sports cars.

If I want a better opinion on a sports car, I'll read GM High Performance or one of those magazines.

 

[Vettelt193]

The article about the viper said the numbers are basically identical for coupe or the convertible. It's nice that a drop top can do those numbers... and that Dodge has the guts to make a drop top perform. It's also nice to see some real style go into a car.

The viper in the real world, with a 'regular' drivers will probably wax a Z06 with all the extra torque it has, and at a lower RPM too.

The 6 is ok, but the Viper still has the guts in my book. IMO GM needs to do more than a couple styling cues to set the 6 off from the rest of the crowd.

 

[SJLJ]

The article about the viper said the numbers are basically identical for coupe or the convertible. It's nice that a drop top can do those numbers... and that Dodge has the guts to make a drop top perform. It's also nice to see some real style go into a car.

The viper in the real world, with a 'regular' drivers will probably wax a Z06 with all the extra torque it has, and at a lower RPM too.

The 6 is ok, but the Viper still has the guts in my book. IMO GM needs to do more than a couple styling cues to set the 6 off from the rest of the crowd.

It would appear IT HAS.

 

[ricersvette89]

Car And Driver, maybe they should just keep to testing the soccer mom minivans and SUV's instead of sports cars.

If I want a better opinion on a sports car, I'll read GM High Performance or one of those magazines.

Those cheap (under $8.00 a month)? i need more Vette stuff in my mind!

 

[ajla]

The viper in the real world, with a 'regular' drivers will probably wax a Z06 with all the extra torque it has, and at a lower RPM too.

I think "wax" might be a bit of an overstatement. I would think it would be harder for regular joes to launch a higher torque car, but maybe I'm just an idiot.

I think both the cars are great, and both being under six figures MSRP is a great thing to see. Personally, I prefer the Z06, but I am biased toward Corvettes.

 

[Evolution1980]

I read that article yesterday at the barber shop... I couldn't believe how they were banging on the Zs handling!! If a car comes from this side of the pond, they always turn their noses up to it...:eyerole

Both "Car and Driver" AND "Road and Track" have the exact same comparos this month. They both came to the same conclusions... The vette spanks the viper in pretty much every category. Much of it's success lies in it's power to weight ratio over that of the Viper.

As for knocking the Z06 for it's handling, I've been reading more than a couple reviews, both magazine and personal opinions from people that say the handling or more specifically, road feedback, is somewhat dead. Besides the lack of solid road feel, C&D basically complained about what is essentially bump steer. But they also praised it's daily drivability, as opposed to the Viper which is only at home on a racetrack. I certainly wouldn't criticize C&D for their review or say that they always bang on american cars. In fact, my recollection is that they've ALWAYS held the Z06 in their highest praises, right up there with their love for Ferraris. From a purely automotive standpoint, the Ferrari deserves that praise. But as soon as it's a dollars and cents game, they've always backed the Vette (at least since the mid 1990's)

The viper in the real world, with a 'regular' drivers will probably wax a Z06 with all the extra torque it has, and at a lower RPM too.
The 6 is ok, but the Viper still has the guts in my book. IMO GM needs to do more than a couple styling cues to set the 6 off from the rest of the crowd.

Regular drivers can barely afford a Z06, let alone a Viper. For those that can, they'll either know how to launch a car like the test drivers at the magazine, in which case the power to weight ratio will win (as evidenced in both mags) OR the drivers will have the money but no real performance driving skill and the lesser Tq at lower RPMs will work to their advantage.
But the reality of it is that it almost all comes down to power-to-weight and the vette simply does it better. That's why the old standard Mustang 5.0's in the fox body were so stinking fast. It was a lawnmower engine strapped to a tuna can! Of course it's gonna be fast...because of the power to weight ration. But then add the weight of the GT package to the car and it became a much slower car. As for the Viper's "higher torque at lower RPMs", as ajla said, that would just make it more difficult for regular drivers to launch the car.

My own personal opinion in all this regarding the Viper and your comments on it's styling cues, I don't like the Viper's new look as much as the last gen GTS with the blue/white stripe and the wing. THAT was a badazz looking car! The new Viper is just...ehh...
Oh yeah, here's another opinion regarding the Viper... How much HP and Tq from a car sporting a V-10??? And the vette does it with 8? I've never been much impressed with flaunting a V10 without having serious numbers to back it up. I carry the criticism for the mid-70's 454ci vettes that were pumping out a whopping 245 HP..."ooohhh, there's some bragging rights!"
(And we can't compare import engines running 4 or 6 bangers with equivalent power, as they are 1) different technologies and 2) not normally aspirated.)

All in all, the Corvette proves o the world yet again that it simply can't be beat in the "Bang For The Buck" category.

 

[Vettefan87]

Did anybody see Motor Trend when they stacked the GT, Viper, and the new ZO6 up? I was flipping through it at a store and it showed the dyno numbers and both the Z and Viper having about 10% paresthetic loss, and the GT only having like 3% or something like that? I thought that was interesting. I didn't have time to read the full article though.

 

[paulie]

They did this same comparison in the December Motor Trend only they also had the Ford GT. Z06 won the comparison against Dodge (obviously, lol) and they were praising almost everything. And I'll quote from it , "It's cockpit is the roomiest and more accommodating. Best rearward visibility, and it's the only one that will accommodate serious luggage, so it's the best choice for a 1000 mile run, though the road, tire, and suspension noises sneaking in past the minimal sound-deadening can be fatiguing." That was the only thing with the Z06, the noises, but seeing as how this is basically a street legal race car, who cares if you have to sacrafice some comfort for performance right? Basically the article went on about how much easier it is to get out of the Z06 compared to the Dodge like you guys said and what a great bargain you get for all that performance. They didn't thrash the handling as much as Car and Driver did according to what I have been reading in the posts.

 

[Evolution1980]

They did this same comparison in the December Motor Trend ... I'll quote from it , "... though the road, tire, and suspension noises sneaking in past the minimal sound-deadening can be fatiguing." That was the only thing with the Z06, the noises...

According to C&D, that's been resolved by adding more sound deadening materials. I wonder if MT testers were driving an "earlier" press car Z06?