SRT CEO Ralph Gilles piped up about the ever-lasting comparisons between the Viper and the Chevrolet Corvette in a recent interview with the Automotive News, saying the Viper never intended on competing with Chevrolet’s iconic sports car.
“We’ve never tried to be Corvette. We never will be. We’re handmade. It takes 18 hours to paint the stripe on a Viper. We color sand the entire car, inside and outside. All the panels are beautifully finished. We’re trying to build a custom show car that you can own. This is not a disposable device here,” said Gilles.
Try as he might, Gilles can’t deny his Viper had every intention on sticking it to the Corvette when they rolled out the Viper Time Attack special edition last year. Once the Corvette ZR1 squashed the Laguna Seca lap record previously held by the Viper ACR, Gilles pushed the Viper TA out in just nine weeks with the sole intention on taking the title away from the ZR1.
When Motor Trend ran the story that the ZR1 had beat the old ACR’s record, Gilles blamed the driver, Randy Pobst, tweeting out: “There is a lot more left in the car. Randy has always struggled with the Viper,” to which Randy replied, “Well, yeah, I’ve always had a hard time with cars that don’t handle well!”
Still, we’ll give credit where it is due. The TA did take the lap record away from the ZR1, posting a 1:33.62 in comparison to the ZR1’s 1:33.7. The question remains, what is Ralph going to do about the 2015 Z06?
Comments
Ralph is correct as the Viper has tried to be the anti Vette.
It has always had that crude unrefined feel to it for better or worse. Hand built means little when you are flying down the back roads of America. How well a car performs there is what matters.
The original Viper was a true show car for the road. It was loud, hot, and crude. It had a charm in it like the original Cobra. They have lost this and now have made the car softer and that puts it in comparison with the Corvette.
For many years the Vette also felt unrefined and in need of polishing up. Today we have a world class sports car for about half of the money of the others.
The Viper will get better and they may improve it but it will always be Americas other sports car. The Corvette is and always will be Americas sports car and Ralph has to learn accept this.
Just like Honda and their V bikes. They may build a better Harley but it will never be a Harley.
viper will continue to play catch up to the vette, just like rest the navigator is playing catch up with the escalade, GM’s line up has taken huge steps last 10 years to become real bar setters!
Part of the problem is the viper program never was willing to make different versions of the car that were less expensive so more people could have them!
A small block version was never used! It would of cost much much less, sold more per year, and could of been used to Spread the cost out more with other cars and trucks like GM does!
People can grow up and buy any kind of corvette today, from stock to Holy crap wild!
While sending that new technology to it’s other cars and trucks!
The issue is the Viper program is not high enough volume or set up to make a high volume 2 seat sports car cheap. If you look at history there are only two 2 seat sports cars that have made it long term the Vette and the Miata. Careful marketing and construction has kept them viable. Generally most 2 seat cars never have enough volume to carry them more than one or two generations. Too often they grow a back seat or added weight from more options and they die.
Here is what I see for the Corvette. Remember this as I have a hunch I am not far off.
The ZR1 is gone the Z06 has effectively merged the ZO and ZR1 models into one. But we will see a new car come and it will be named L88. Now do your homework and study what the 68-69 L88 really was. It was a car much like the present Z/28 where they cut options and weight. They add the most powerful engine in the lineup and sell it as for what amounts to a street legal car that can go racing with only a few changed.
The March issue of Vette magazine lays out the history of the L88 and just what it was and it hit me this is where GM is going. The L88 name was just registered and the recent work of GM has been to engineer lighter and faster performance cars that do not compromise much for comfort.
I see it as a car with just over 700 HP and it will come in around 3000 pounds. As for the engine it could be a larger supercharger or what I think will come a TT V8 that GM has been working on. This car will have even better brakes and suspension tuning. This car is a car that will take the track ready Viper and make it look silly.
The new C7 has a solid platform to pull this one off and with the additional part will set a mark very high for many cars to reach. While it will be over $100,000 it will challenge cars 4-5 times as much.
This formula has been done with the Viper, The RSR 911 and even the 458 race edition. This is where the market it and why I think GM will head this direction. The key is we have not lost the ZR1 as the Z06 has it’s heart with the better suspension bits of the Z06.
Now this is not any kind of a leak but this is what I expect based on the recent movements from GM and past history that they like to revisit in a modern way.
As a kid I got to get behind the wheel of the L88 Greenwood Smothers Corvette and even though I was young I can still remember being inside that car and playing with the shifter and steering wheel. It really was still a street Corvette that accomplished great things just as the Heinz Rebel Corvette. I expect the new car will be a modern form of this model and may well be seen on the street and track.
Scott, if you are correct, if there’s a twin turbo corvette coming that weighs 3000 lbs with better brakes and suspension, basically a street legal racer, why not call that a ZR1? It would obviously be different than the ZO6, faster and more expensive. Makes sense to me to call it ZR1.
I’m not sure on anything right now because its still too early for any true speculation. But I feel maybe the engine in the new top dog vette will be called the L88, and maybe the vette itself still retain the ZR1 title.
You might want to do a bit more homework yourself? RPO L88 was an engine option on 67-68-69 Corvettes. When opting for the L88 427, you were required to take heavy duty brakes, suspension, posi-traction rear, etc… A radio, heater and A/C were not available, but you could order many other regular Corvette options like side exhaust, leather seats, removable hardtop for convertible cars, tilt-tele steering, etc…It really wasn’t about weight savings for these cars, the no radio/ heater or A/C was to discourage people from ordering these as street cars. Another way to discourage street use was the 430HP rating. The L88 was not an engine designed for street use, it was a race engine, that was made available to help privateer racers better compete with the Cobra. Some made very impressive drag cars with minimal modification.
Personally, I would prefer that L88 be left alone and not used again as an engine designation or option package? If it is used again it will be done so in an effort to spark Corvette sales and interest with such a legendary moniker. If they have to resort to those kinds of tactics, then Corvette may be in big trouble anyway?
This is the American version of the Ferrari Lambo war. The Vette is equivalent to Ferrari, they have the passion and history. Where the Viper is Lambo, loud and ostentatious. They don’t want to be each other, they want to cut each other’s throats for sales. What needs to happen is an American Pagani needs to show up and blow their doors off. Having said this, I am waiting for the Z06 to drop so I can pick up a second hand Stingray. It is an awesome car.
GM is in a good place with the Vette as they are increasing sales and improving the car to the point they can stabilize the product. The Viper already left us once and the volume being so low is a burden to Chrysler and Fiat. I wonder how long till Fiat moves the production base of the car close to one they already have in Europe to save cost.
They also need to lose the 10 cylinder at come point as it really is more hurt than good to the car. They need a lighter smaller engine for MPG and better balance. Besides it is no the most pleasing sound with the odd cylinder count. It needs two more or two less to sound better. My buddy owns one and said he car sounds like a school bus. LoL! .