I had the opportunity to test drive a 2002 Viper GTS ACR over the weekend. (3900 mi, 6-sp). I'll try to sum up my experience objectively and subjectively, while comparing it to my '95 NSX-T.
I've always liked Vipers asthetically and I even gave some consideration to RT/10's in the same price range as my X before I got serious. When I see a Viper on the road it gets my attention and, honestly, I love the stance of the car (especially from the rear). Vipers have only gotten more visually appealing with age even though I'll admit the new body style looks less impressive in pictures than in person.
The shiny silver beast and I really only spent 15 minutes in each other's company but, like so many first dates, I realized soon after the introduction that we were not meant for each other. Unlike many NSX enthusiasts, I don't come from a Japanese sportscar background; my previous car was a yellow Mustang GT with Flowmasters and K&N. So I was no stranger to torque or thoaty idling. (I actually miss that part of the GT). I already knew that Vipers are horsepower beasts, the modern interpretation of Shelby's 1960's racers. Fix all problems with more power.
The five-point harness laying the seat was my first clue that this was a rocket. (Although I just used the normal lap/shoulder belt). Turning the key woke the grumbly V10. Pedals seem to be too offset to the left as a result of the huge drivetrain tunnel. The clutch was high and grabby, but I got used to it quickly. The shift knob was comical but in proportion to much of the rest of the car: huge. It was like Dodge used a baseball. Forward visibility feels as though you are hiding from the outside world peering over a wall of white-faced gauges. This feeling isn't exactly helped by the long wave of sheetmetal ahead of the windshield. It makes a Corvette C4 seem almost stubby.
From a standstill this thing accelerated like a raped ape, but not uncontrollablly. I admit I was initially cautious with the right foot--having read all the reviews--so that I did not break the rear loose. But I'm sure I could have. EASILY. Once on the road, the Viper's gauges play games with your head. "I can't be doing 120 in 4th at 4500rpm" I thought to myself. "No, no! I can't be at the speed limit already! What are the other 4 gears for?" I selected 5th gear at about 85 for giggles once. I can't imagine what speed would warrant 6th. The car pulls hard for as long as you have the guts to stay in the power, and its exhaust lets those around you know the storm is coming. The best way I can explain the sound and power delivery is would be like bolting two Mustang 5.0L 302 V8 engines onto the same car. Or more appropriately, bolt 'em onto a Jeep Wrangler with a solid rear axle. And this is my personal problem with the car: the ride.
The Viper ACR sucked up bumps and potholes with all the grace of a cinderblock. I did a double take as the car skipped and bounced all over the place on the same roads that the NSX takes as smoothly as a Lexus. Sure, this car's supposed to be raw and mean but for me the poor ride quality undid all the great things that the rest of the package delivered. It seemed downright dangerous to carry any real speed through all but the smoothest of curves.
Admittedly, after hopping back into the NSX I wondered who took my engine. Even 6-7K rpm couldn't reproduce the space shuttle shove in the seat. But everything else seemed to be right again: I could see the road through that lovely huge windshield, I sat in the car rather than behind it, and that razor-sharp precision handling was back. These are two completely different cars for two completely different purposes.
The Viper is throwback to the heyday of 1960's musclecars, street racing, and Carol Shelby. It's brute force that is meant to propel the driver from point A to point B as fast as possible. It's the roadgoing equivilant to a John Force's top fuel dragster.
The NSX is a precision tool (hence the calipers in the Acura logo) painstakingly designed to defy the rules by doing everything well. It's an LMP car for the road: sleek, low, and responsive to all inputs and glued to the road surface. Controls and gauges are designed based on function not form. It's a state of balance that makes nearly all others so unbalanced.
I've always liked Vipers asthetically and I even gave some consideration to RT/10's in the same price range as my X before I got serious. When I see a Viper on the road it gets my attention and, honestly, I love the stance of the car (especially from the rear). Vipers have only gotten more visually appealing with age even though I'll admit the new body style looks less impressive in pictures than in person.
The shiny silver beast and I really only spent 15 minutes in each other's company but, like so many first dates, I realized soon after the introduction that we were not meant for each other. Unlike many NSX enthusiasts, I don't come from a Japanese sportscar background; my previous car was a yellow Mustang GT with Flowmasters and K&N. So I was no stranger to torque or thoaty idling. (I actually miss that part of the GT). I already knew that Vipers are horsepower beasts, the modern interpretation of Shelby's 1960's racers. Fix all problems with more power.
The five-point harness laying the seat was my first clue that this was a rocket. (Although I just used the normal lap/shoulder belt). Turning the key woke the grumbly V10. Pedals seem to be too offset to the left as a result of the huge drivetrain tunnel. The clutch was high and grabby, but I got used to it quickly. The shift knob was comical but in proportion to much of the rest of the car: huge. It was like Dodge used a baseball. Forward visibility feels as though you are hiding from the outside world peering over a wall of white-faced gauges. This feeling isn't exactly helped by the long wave of sheetmetal ahead of the windshield. It makes a Corvette C4 seem almost stubby.
From a standstill this thing accelerated like a raped ape, but not uncontrollablly. I admit I was initially cautious with the right foot--having read all the reviews--so that I did not break the rear loose. But I'm sure I could have. EASILY. Once on the road, the Viper's gauges play games with your head. "I can't be doing 120 in 4th at 4500rpm" I thought to myself. "No, no! I can't be at the speed limit already! What are the other 4 gears for?" I selected 5th gear at about 85 for giggles once. I can't imagine what speed would warrant 6th. The car pulls hard for as long as you have the guts to stay in the power, and its exhaust lets those around you know the storm is coming. The best way I can explain the sound and power delivery is would be like bolting two Mustang 5.0L 302 V8 engines onto the same car. Or more appropriately, bolt 'em onto a Jeep Wrangler with a solid rear axle. And this is my personal problem with the car: the ride.
The Viper ACR sucked up bumps and potholes with all the grace of a cinderblock. I did a double take as the car skipped and bounced all over the place on the same roads that the NSX takes as smoothly as a Lexus. Sure, this car's supposed to be raw and mean but for me the poor ride quality undid all the great things that the rest of the package delivered. It seemed downright dangerous to carry any real speed through all but the smoothest of curves.
Admittedly, after hopping back into the NSX I wondered who took my engine. Even 6-7K rpm couldn't reproduce the space shuttle shove in the seat. But everything else seemed to be right again: I could see the road through that lovely huge windshield, I sat in the car rather than behind it, and that razor-sharp precision handling was back. These are two completely different cars for two completely different purposes.
The Viper is throwback to the heyday of 1960's musclecars, street racing, and Carol Shelby. It's brute force that is meant to propel the driver from point A to point B as fast as possible. It's the roadgoing equivilant to a John Force's top fuel dragster.
The NSX is a precision tool (hence the calipers in the Acura logo) painstakingly designed to defy the rules by doing everything well. It's an LMP car for the road: sleek, low, and responsive to all inputs and glued to the road surface. Controls and gauges are designed based on function not form. It's a state of balance that makes nearly all others so unbalanced.
