EVO drives Viper SRT-10

[Slicks]

Back when Ferraris were more about passion and soul than scalpel-sharp dynamics there was an old cliché that covered a multitude of sins. I'm sure you remember the classic line 'you pay for the engine and get the rest for free' from many a road test. I used to think that a terribly romantic and wonderfully evocative phrase and wondered if I'd ever get to use it. Of course, really it's just a cheesy way of saying that a car is pretty ropey but it makes a decent noise and goes very quickly. And so we come to the new Dodge SRT-10 and an opportunity not to be missed. Your £77,500 buys the engine, the rest you get for free...

Ah, but what an engine: 8.3 litres of V10 kicking out 500bhp and a terrifying 525lb ft torque. Enough to fling the 1546kg roadster to 60mph from zero in sub-4sec and from 0-100mph-0 in less than 13 seconds according to the press pack. The Viper, sorry SRT-10 (the Viper name is already a registered trademark in the UK, so here it's simply SRT-10) tops out at 190mph. With those performance figures and real exclusivity, the £77,500 entry price seems entirely reasonable. 'Supercars' come no cheaper than America's lovable monster.

And a monster it is. It may be trimmed-down and a bit 'European' for Viper diehards, but the SRT-10 still feels

a size or three too big for British roads. Sweeping A-roads suddenly feel like single-track lanes when you're grappling with 500bhp and left-hand drive. It sounds monstrous, too; not tuneful exactly, but the loud, flat barrppp at idle builds to a fierce torrent of hot exhaust gases firing out of either side-exit exhaust as the revs build. It feels like there's a whole engine-room up front rather than just one solitary unit. And the Dodge serves up super-sized portions of grunt anytime and anywhere.

The 8.3-litre V10 is into its stride early; at 1500rpm you're into hot-hatch killing territory, at 1800rpm you can wave goodbye to Porsche Boxsters and from 2500rpm to 6000rpm only the mightiest of supercars match the reach and scale of the SRT-10's numbing performance.

But there's another cliché, the one about power and control, that the Dodge engineers would have done well to remember. As it is they focused all their efforts on making the Viper stunningly quick and heroic at pulling huge cornering G on a smooth skidpan.

That's a real shame because on British roads, and I'm not talking really testing B-roads here, the SRT-10 feels horribly out of its depth. Try to use that 525lb ft and the Viper will spit you off the road in an instant. Half-throttle feels like too much most of the time.

Traction isn't the issue. In the dry the faintly ludicrous 345/30 ZR19 Michelin tyres dig in and simply fire the SRT-10 up the road, but it's as a consequence of very wide and stiff-sidewalled runflat tyres and ultra-stiff double-wishbone suspension that the big Dodge is such a handful. It weaves around under power, sniffing out ruts and cambers in the road and bouncing sharply from one bump to the next. You need to be busy at the wheel just to counter the effects of the road surface on the attitude of the car in a straight line. Then you hit the brakes and the whole car snakes around underneath you. You're working hard before you've even tackled any corners.

Ultimately you'll never trouble the limits of adhesion on the road in dry conditions, but with quick yet remote steering (the worst possible combo) and a nervous, easily unsettled chassis you'll feel like you're driving on the edge of a very large precipice even if the tyres aren't even faintly chirping. It's deeply unnerving. Throw in an over-servoed brake pedal action, a slow and occasionally obstructive gearshift and the SRT-10's girth, and you simply have to concede that only an idiot or driving god could unlock the Viper's potential on the public road. In the wet it must be character-building to say the least.

Trying to find the SRT-10's cornering limits is best reserved for an empty test track. It has enormous grip and naturally edges into understeer at the limit. A dab of brakes on entry upsets things a bit but to really get the tail swinging takes a brutal lift-and-lob technique followed by full throttle. And as soon as grip is relinquished you're praying for it to all end without incident. It is a hellishly difficult car to hold sideways or indeed to recover cleanly. Not the ultimate trackday toy either, then.

Unfortunately and perhaps unsurprisingly, the SRT-10 simply doesn't work in the UK. It's too stiff to exploit, too wide to thread with confidence and those 345-section rear tyres give it a mind of its own. TVRs offer similar performance for thousands less and a Porsche 911 or Noble would simply eat it alive on British roads in any conditions. And then there's the quality of the interior, which is just shabby at this price. So £77,500 for that 8.3-litre V10 engine. Seems a bit steep.

Interesting...
The 75.2in wide Viper is "too wide" for UK roads, yet the 75.7in wide Vanquish is not? BTW the Vanquish is heavier and less efficiant too...

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by Slicks

Interesting...
The 75.2in wide Viper is "too wide" for UK roads, yet the 75.7in wide Vanquish is not? BTW the Vanquish is heavier and less efficiant too...

Who told you the Vanquish was OK for most of our roads ??

It's too big as well !!!!

I think also he's referring to his driving position and I would put forward the long nose of the Viper as 'problmatic' on our "sweepers"

[Slicks]

Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine

Who told you the Vanquish was OK for most of our roads ??

It's too big as well !!!!

In EVO's reviews they dont mention ANYTHING about it being too big or wide... But thats because its british, so its ok...

[Matra et Alpine]

Nah, it woudl likely because it was RHD and it's bonnet isn't 3/4 the length of the car.

PLEASE try not to read everything with soooooooooo much bias

You really just pick at things you dont' liek and ignore the possibilities.
Why not contact the magazine and have the arguemtn with them to understand the reasons.
You know you and I will just end up in blows as I try to get you to look at the other side before commenting.

[Coventrysucks]

Originally Posted by Slicks

Interesting...
The 75.2in wide Viper is "too wide" for UK roads

OK, so comprehension skills go out of the window, just to prove some petty point?

It says "a size or three too big". Seeing as there are no definitions of what is and isn't "too big", I would surmise that this sentance is supposed to convey that the Viper feels too big, eg your positioning inside the car, the long bonnet enhancing the feeling of size, coupled to the fact that you'd be driving it from the wrong side.

They managed to take out the wing mirror on a lhd Maserati coupe due to a miscalculation on road position in the same issue. The car isn't too wide in rhd, but is in lhd. See what I mean?

It is a report written with a bit of prose, to make it much more readable than a stream of souless statements of fact.


Slicks - you obviously have a massive chip on your shoulder about British journalism.

The thought occurs - have you read any French/Spanish/German reviews?
They could be just as critical.

Go find some, and then get back to us on whether
a) Evo is wrong, and the Viper is the single greatest creation devised by mankind
b) Everyone outside the USA thinks it is rubbish
c) It works in Europe, but doesn't on the hugely different UK roads.

[clutch-monkey]

most of the reviews i read seemed to agree, but with a slightly more positive view. i'm assuming this is because british roads are supposed to be crap

[Viper007]

It will always be number one in my heart no matter what review

[jcp123]

Yeah, I don't think anyone buys a Viper with practicality or sleek maneuverability in mind. In fact, that balls-to-the-wall attitude makes me like it more, if only because it makes no apologies about it and it really doesn't try to hide it. What you see is what you get.

[spi-ti-tout]

In U.K., A Viper would be unique. In U.S., A TVR would be unique. Getting the hang of what i'm talking about?

[:Exige:]

British roads arent crap as such .. theyre just not good Theyre not as wide as in the US and there are considerably more curves which makes a long bonnet impractical unless you want to end up in a hedge. LHD is even more perilous because you can't determine where the white lines will be when you reach that point and end up either jammed into someone elses radiator or a ditch. Im quite lucky because I live in the countryside so there are some good backlanes unlike in the city .. the road surfaces are still pretty bad though, especially in the Kent area. You can tell when you hit the Sussex/Kent border because the road surface changes hugely. But someone I know has an AC Cobra replica and he has huge trouble driving around beacuse the bonnet is so long to house the Rover V8. I really dont think Evo's being biased, you have to live over here to understand.

Edit : Is that a new issue because I dont remember reading that and it hasnt arrived at my door yet??

[Slicks]

Originally Posted by Coventrysucks

OK, so comprehension skills go out of the window, just to prove some petty point?

It says "a size or three too big". Seeing as there are no definitions of what is and isn't "too big", I would surmise that this sentance is supposed to convey that the Viper feels too big, eg your positioning inside the car, the long bonnet enhancing the feeling of size, coupled to the fact that you'd be driving it from the wrong side.

Actually the exact quote is "too wide to thread with confidence."
And undoubtably it is a very wide car, but narrower than Vanquish, yet they say nothing about it being "too wide" for the roads.

They managed to take out the wing mirror on a lhd Maserati coupe due to a miscalculation on road position in the same issue. The car isn't too wide in rhd, but is in lhd. See what I mean?

It is a report written with a bit of prose, to make it much more readable than a stream of souless statements of fact.


Slicks - you obviously have a massive chip on your shoulder about British journalism.

Really I just found the article and posted it. After reading it I thought that it was pretty funny how the mention the width of the Viper. And yes, generally i do have a chip on my shoulder about british journalism, especially after the 'tounge in cheek' treatment of TopGear. It just seems weird that they mention some dislikes about some cars, then others (thier own) they tend to 'see around' the flaws they mention before...

The thought occurs - have you read any French/Spanish/German reviews?
They could be just as critical.

It doesnt matter who reviewed the car. I posted the review because it was a review. And then made a comment about the strange journalism.

Go find some, and then get back to us on whether
a) Evo is wrong, and the Viper is the single greatest creation devised by mankind
b) Everyone outside the USA thinks it is rubbish
c) It works in Europe, but doesn't on the hugely different UK roads.

I do very much like how EVO says "it doesnt work in the UK" rather than calling it "rubbish", that shows intelligence. And I never said the Viper was "good" or "great" in this thread. I was making a comment on how they are uncomfortable with the width of the car, yet dont mention that about the wider Vanquish...

[SIMPLETON]

The roads down here are crap. They were actually rated as some of the worst in the country. Half the time your driving you have to dodge potholes and roadkill and suicidle animals. The street that I live on is particularly bad. Awould never recomend driving a viper on this stretch, especially if your worried a bout chips in your paint. Its so narrow thar if two cars are driving by eadh other, each have to pull a-quarter of away off the road. Not to mention the previous problems that also plague it.

[Coventrysucks]

Originally Posted by Slicks

Actually the exact quote is "too wide to thread with confidence."
And undoubtably it is a very wide car, but narrower than Vanquish, yet they say nothing about it being "too wide" for the roads.

Probably because you feel "ensconsed" in the Vanqiush. Having sat in a Vanquish I have to say that it didn't look all that wide anyway.

Does it really matter?

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by Slicks

Actually the exact quote is "too wide to thread with confidence."
And undoubtably it is a very wide car, but narrower than Vanquish, yet they say nothing about it being "too wide" for the roads. .

Really Slicks I had given a reason why.

An analogy might help.

Get a sewing needle and a piece of thread.

Hold the thread 1/4inch fomr the end and push it through the hole in the needel.
Easy, huh ?

NOW hold it 2 inches form the end and try to thread it.
Harder , yes ?

The SEATING position in a car makes a BIG diffrence in the "CONFIDENCE" in placing it.

And your 'chip' ( as you acknowledge it ) is preventing you from seeing/hearing any negative against the Vanquish. So they didnt' talk about it being "too wide" so what, they DID say "Aston needs to lose half a ton, gain about 60bhp and offer an alternative to the F1-style gearbox."

Doesn't sound too biased in my opinion

[Slicks]

Problem is they say the Viper is to wide, not feels to wide. It would be a different story if they stated it as an opinion.