American Exotics

[stangvette1]

Which one would you take and why?




2003 SVT Mustang Cobra
2003 Corvette Z06
2003 Dodge Viper SRT-10

[Neutrino]

i would chose the srt-10.....its the fastest car here both in the 1/4 and twisties....and the most exclusive....

also its the best one in the lineup that fits the exotic tag....the mustang IMO its far from being and exotic.....

[GTStang]

I dont think the Z06 or the Cobra is an American Exotic.

[Neutrino]

Originally posted by GTStang
I dont think the Z06 or the Cobra is an American Exotic.

i agree

they are very fast cars.....but they are too cheap and their design is not extreme enough.....qualities that wold make a car exotic......

[YogsVR4]

SRT-10 mainly because there are fewer of them.

[Polygon]

Originally posted by Neutrino
i would chose the srt-10.....its the fastest car here both in the 1/4 and twisties....and the most exclusive....

also its the best one in the lineup that fits the exotic tag....the mustang IMO its far from being and exotic.....

Took the words right out of my mouth.

[kfoote]

ummm, before I got to the poll, I would have taken the Saleen S7R over the Mosler MT900, Callaway Corvette, and Hennesey Viper.

Of the group, I'd do for the Corvette because of the superior handling and brakes over the Viper.

[Polygon]

Originally posted by kfoote
ummm, before I got to the poll, I would have taken the Saleen S7R over the Mosler MT900, Callaway Corvette, and Hennesey Viper.

Of the group, I'd do for the Corvette because of the superior handling and brakes over the Viper.

The Saleen S7 is a design rip off from the Mclaren F1. Also seeing the first generation S7s at LeMans I must say they were crap.

Also the Viper SRT-10 stops in a shorter distance and holds a higher slalom speed than the Corvette. So. . . .

[NISSANSPDR]

Viper SRT-10...when it comes out in coupe form

[kfoote]

Originally posted by Polygon


The Saleen S7 is a design rip off from the Mclaren F1. Also seeing the first generation S7s at LeMans I must say they were crap.

Also the Viper SRT-10 stops in a shorter distance and holds a higher slalom speed than the Corvette. So. . . .

If you're going to do a design rip off, the McLaren F1 is a pretty good car to start with. However, having seen the two on several occasions, there are a lot of design differences. The only reason the S7R was not competitive with the Corvettes at LeMans was because of Saleen not meeting homologation regulations and being penalized as a result.

The Viper is better than the Z06 in transitions between corners,but the corvette is much better balanced in steady state cornering. The shorter stopping distance has more to do with the larger tires on the Viper than the use of the brakes. From higher speeds, and in repeated threshold braking, the brakes on the Viper fade a lot more quickly than on the Corvette.

[Polygon]

Originally posted by kfoote


If you're going to do a design rip off, the McLaren F1 is a pretty good car to start with. However, having seen the two on several occasions, there are a lot of design differences. The only reason the S7R was not competitive with the Corvettes at LeMans was because of Saleen not meeting homologation regulations and being penalized as a result.

I don't like rip offs no matter who they are from. And they are still too alike for me to ignore. The problem with the S7 in LeMans was they fact that they kept blowing engines. They weren't at all reliabe.

Originally posted by kfoote


The Viper is better than the Z06 in transitions between corners,but the corvette is much better balanced in steady state cornering. The shorter stopping distance has more to do with the larger tires on the Viper than the use of the brakes. From higher speeds, and in repeated threshold braking, the brakes on the Viper fade a lot more quickly than on the Corvette.

I'll quote someone elses posts instead that make the point and prove you very, very wrong.

Originally posted by Radracer
You guys who think the z06 turns faster times than a viper, stock vs stock are obviously uniformed. Please do a search, any search where a viper and a vette, driven by the same person and you will be informed.

Amatuers and only amatuers will tell you that a vette is a better handling car than a viper. Why? A vette is an easier car to drive than a viper, so amatuers automatically assume it's "better". A race car on the other hand is not easy to drive fast! You can set a car up to drive easy around the turn by "slowing" it down. You do this by adding toe out and soft suspension. A true race car (like the viper) will be setup different and will not be so forgiving. So, if someone tells you a vette handles better than a viper, read this on his forehead...

"Amatuer"

This is really a meaningless discussion, all intelligent people who have owned both, driven or raced both, know the facts.

You will find that 75% of the viper owners are previous vette owners and have "stepped up" to the viper.

I have met 0 (nada, zilch) vette owners that are previous viper owners.

That alone should tell you something. People tend to step up to better and faster performance, not the other way around.

The viper won the lemans 3x in a row against the vette and has won most scca races this year against the vette.
Viper was pulled from lemans because the governing board decided they were too dominate and imposed many restrictions on the viper, such as intake restrictor (to reduce it's power down to at or below a vettes power) and weight and tire restrictions. THIS is why the viper is not at the top at Lemans the last two years.

Vipers are America's king of the hill, the very best in performance in power and handling. A few people (like those who have posted here) cannot accept that for whatever reason. Yet it wins and wins and wins and wins race after race, review after review. Even GM's top brass admit the corvette is not able the rightfully challenge the viper's king of the hill status. Why should you???? Yes, Mr. Lutz has in the works a "viper killer". Something that will challenge the viper in raw performance and handling. Until that day happens (if it happens) accept the fact that the Viper is the best performance vehicle this country has made to date. Bar none. Is the Z06 a great car? You bet it is, in every way. But it's not a viper, it plays 2nd fiddle to the viper in all performance aspects (even braking now that the srt is out).

It's a joke to call a viper a straight line performance vehicle. Couldn't be further from the truth. In fact it was designed as a road race car, not a 1/4 mile king although it does fairly well there too. Even though it wasn't geared or designed for 1/4 mile tracks it BLOWS the z06 away by nearly 1/2 second which is a significant margin. (average, some tests are more than that)

The viper has a slalom rating HIGHER than the vette. (better cornering and balance ability) and the viper has a higher rating on the skidpad than the vette. (better roadholding ability).

If someone would like to post here any proof to the contrary, such as a road test by ANY reputable organization that shows the vette having a faster or higher skidpad or slalom rating, then PLEASE do so.

THIS IS A CHALLENGE!

Otherwise go try to brainwash people elsewhere. It's not going to work here. I'm a republican, not a democrat so I don't go for that misleading information crap.

Originally posted by Radracer
Oh and one more thing.

For those viper haters/z06 lovers out there who keep saying the z06 handles better then the viper.

What is your take on the latest test results by Justin Bell (corvette race car driver and race school operator)? He test drove all the latest supercars. Justin put each car through a series of tests, including laps on a road course and braking test.

Now according to you guys, the vette would win right? It's a better handling car and it's being driven by one of the world's BEST corvette drivers. No question the vette would win right???? ????


WRONG! The viper spanked the vette all around the track, every time by several seconds each lap. And it bested the corvettes brakes as well.


My question is, what have you got to say?

Do you admit the viper is indeed a better race car, a better handling sports car?

No, I doubt it because this is not about reason, it's about emotion.

You LIKE the vette because you own one or your friend owns one, so they MUST be a better car. You WANT to believe it's faster.


There just is no arguing this point, can't you see? It's like the OJ trial, even if they would have had a video tape of OJ killling those two innocent people, the jury would have aquitted. Why? Because it was an emotional issue, NOT one of reason. They WANTED to believe he was innocent, despite the facts, despite the truth.

The viper is a better performance vehicle.

Originally posted by Radracer
Hopefully, this will enlighten all those who are uninformed and have only heard "retoric" on the z06 vs viper handling debate.

This test was performed by JUSTIN BELL (a well known and respected Corvette racecar driver) This should at least kill the "but in the hands of a better driver, the vette would win" argument.

What have the z06 die hards to say to this?

I got this from another site that was promoting the lambo position so some of the numbers are missing although the order is correct.

NOT ONE test result showed the Z06 AHEAD of the Viper. I find this amazing. The viper wins or ties the z06 in every catagory.


0-60
MT900 3.13 sec
Murci 3.51
Viper
575M
CL55
ZO6
EVO
Cobra
XKR

1/4 Mile Standing
MT900 11.02 sec @126.88
Murci [email protected]
Viper
575M
CL55
ZO6
Cobra
Evo
XKR

60-0
Viper 97ft
MT900 100
ZO6 105
EVO 106
Murci 111
CL55
XKR
575M
Cobra

0-100-0
MT900 10.98
Viper 12.75
Murci 12.71
ZO6
575M
CL55
Cobra
Evo
XKR

Standing Mile
MT900 [email protected]
Murci [email protected]
Viper
575M
ZO6
CL55
Cobra
XKR
Evo

100-0
Viper 274ft
MT900 275
ZO6 292
Evo 292
Murci 300
CL55
575M
Cobra
XKR

600 Foot Slalom
MT900 74.7
EVO 71.4
Viper 70.4
ZO6 70.4
575M 66.2
Murci 66.2
Cobra
XKR
CL55

Figure Eight
MT900 23.3 [email protected]'s
Viper [email protected]'s
Murci [email protected]'s
ZO6
Evo
575M
CL55
Cobra
XKR

Top Speed (limited by space)
Murci 193
CL55 (derestricted)
Viper
575M
ZO6
MT900
XKR
Cobra
Evo
F-150

I know that was a really long read, but those are the facts.

[SPIKO]

Well i always thought vipers had the upper hand, but this enlightend my thinking. They are both great cars and i would like to have either one.

[kfoote]

http://www.scca.org/amateur/club_rac...s/t1-grid.html

http://www.scca.org/amateur/club_rac...s/t1-race.html

http://www.scca.org/amateur/club_rac...s/t1-race.html

http://www.scca.org/amateur/club_rac.../t1-thurs.html

http://www.scca.org/amateur/club_rac...s/t1-race.html

http://www.scca.org/amateur/club_rac.../t1-qual3.html

http://www.scca.org/amateur/club_rac...s/t1-prov.html

Since 1999, when the T1 class came into being, the only qualifying grid or race result for the SCCA Runoffs that the Viper has been faster than the Corvette (in 99 and 00, not even the C5 Z06) was qualifying in 2001, and I'll take Bobby Archer as a driver over a large portion of all road course drivers in the US.

For the 2001 season, Tom Lyons switched from a Viper to a Corvette, and he had been winning in the Viper in Nationals in the Northeast until the ZO6 came along.

One other thing to consider when looking at road tests: Tires. All cars are tested in magazines with the tires they come with from the factory. The tires that the Viper comes out with are wider than what comes on (and what will fit on) the Corvette. All the tests posted for braking are SINGLE stops with time to cool between runs. T1 requires any pad material on stock calipers, with the stock rotors and stock ABS. After the brakes on the viper get hot, they fade more quickly than those on the Corvette.

In STOCK form as the cars roll off the assembly line, the Viper is better handling and better braking than the Corvette. Put $2000 worth of maintainence items in the car, as one mormally would over the life of the vehicle, and the Corvette becomes a better handling car over time. All of the statistics posted show me that the Viper has a lot more power and better accelleration than the Z06. The only test that takes power totally out of the equation is the slalom, where in stock form with stock tires I have already conceded that the Viper has beter tires from the factory.

[Neutrino]

all i see is excuses thant the viper is faster......

[klohiq]

I doubt I would call any of them an exotic besides maybe the viper. You can see new corvettes all the time and yes they (mostly) aren't the amazing z06, but that doesn't add much to it's pretige.

An exotic in my opinion is a car that is rare in all trims and while I've seen several vipers before, they are still very rare compared to the other two, probly mostly because of price which is most likely why all italian exotics are pretty rare. Though the lotus costs less than most and is rarer than all hell...import numbers is probly the reason for that and it doesn't have any hype around it.