Being the Dodge Viper has gotta be a bit like life as a fading actor. Younger, hungrier (though less thirsty) whippersnappers are willing to do the same work for less. You cut your asking rate, but the young ones keep coming. Witness the monstrous Corvette Z06, which just posted the highest lateral grip number and the shortest stopping distance we've ever recorded from a production vehicle. "Sure," the Dodge loyalist counters. "But every Biff, Sven, and Gerald has a damn Corvette."
To which we replay, "True enough, Steve-Dave. But like, 1.19 on the skidpad and a 70-0 in 128 feet."
"Sure man, I read your review. That car you tested had the Z07 package and cost $97,595. That's over the new Viper GT's $94,995 starting price, and within four grand of the $101,995 TA 2.0"
Steve-Dave kinda has us there. The track-focused T/A really is a pretty neat thing. But here's the problem, our Z06 was all-in, including Chevy's destination charge. Unlike our snake-charming pal, we always include destination and gas-guzzler tax, if such a fee is applicable. And the latter sure is applicable to the Viper—and adds $2100. Tack on Dodge's rather onerous $1995 destination charge (even the notorious gougers in Zuffenhausen only have the stones to bill you $995 for GT3 delivery) and you're looking at $99,090 for the GT and $106,090 for the TA, leaving only the base Viper, at $89,090, as the lone snake cheaper than our Zed Aught Six. And a base Z06, we might remind you, starts at $78,995.
- Dodge Viper 2015 Updates: New GT and TA 2.0 Models, Ceramic Blue Special Edition, Two Zany Colors
- Dodge Viper SRT MSRP Cut by $15,000, A Dealer Says It's Already Generating Heat
- Dodge Viper SRT, Specs, Photos, News, Reviews, and More
A deluxe Viper SRT GTS can be yours for $112,090, which nets a leather instrument panel, an 18-speaker sound system, six-way power seats, demographic-appropriate polished-aluminum wheels, and a microsuede headliner. We'd forego that frippery and opt for the less-expensive TA, with its fistful of carbon bits and Pirelli P Zero Corsa rubber on sinister matte-black rollers. Steve-Dave, though? Steve-Dave likes the polished wheels. Of course he does.
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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