I Drove Every Dodge Viper

this is the first Dodge Viper this is the latest Dodge Viper and this is every Viper in between throughout the 90s and 2000s the Viper was America's Supercar and then they canceled it why did a seemingly incredible car fail why are so many people obsessed with it and which one's the best well today we're gonna drive each of them to find out oh okay I'm gonna stop welcome to Donut [Applause] the Viper brand as a whole has a reputation for being extremely unforgiving putting you at risk of spitting out at every turn and for no generation is that notoriety stronger than with the first generation [Music] the one that started it all Nolan now back in the day this thing was pretty wild it made 400 horsepower went 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds and only cost you 50 000 bucks right now we're standing next to one of our all-time dream cars right here let's just drive it Jerry all right pretty snug very Spartan interior very 90s Dodge in here from the radio to the climate control to the gauges the these vents are pretty wild yeah there you go a beach in Crank It Up and we're off baby I can't believe I'm doing this dude I can't believe we're doing this Jerry but this is like a dream come true if there's ever a Florida car it's this yeah let's talk about why this car exists at all in the late 80s Dodge mostly built economy cars and they weren't very good Dodge's reputation was in the gutter they needed a cool car it came about primarily because Dodge was developing a V10 engine for their trucks and a couple people at Chrysler got together and said hey wouldn't it be cool if we built a sports car that had a V10 in it the accepted narrative is that the Viper lacks any Creature Comforts because team Viper wanted to build as raw a car as possible is that skipping things like traction control air conditioning and a roof mainly just helped save a bunch of money they were given less than 50 million dollars to build an entire car manufacturers regularly spend over a billion dollars developing new models when the rt-10 Viper debuted it blew people's minds the car was extremely raw no driver AIDS meant that you were on your own if things went wrong and a lot of early vipers were crashed by their owners oh nice yeah yes I feel good dude you know after you get like a massage yeah that's how I feel right now a little bit of Viper therapy I got some hypotherapy I feel great and they're scared no one a little bit I don't know all right here's the d-list we're gonna rank all the Vipers uh on the basis of which one we want the most right that was really good that's up there I'm gonna put it right here childhood dream also achieve dude it's so much fun oh dude that was amazing oh next car yeah the team had more time to develop the next Viper and it basically revised the entire car a staggering ninety percent of the first Viper's parts were changed but that's likely because Dodge upgraded their design software and had to redraw every piece which brings us to the second generation [Music] the Gen 2 Viper is basically the Evil Dead 2 of Viper basically it was a remake of the first one they just had a bigger budget this is the big one for me Jerry this is my dream car right now this is my model of a 1997 GTS Coupe like this my grandma gave this to me when I was four years old and I can't believe I finally get to drive home well let's not waste any more time come on drive this sucker oh my God the pedals are even further over to the left you have to move over even further yeah how's that shifter feel this feels better than the first gen already it's easier to find the gears let's crank her up [Music] I'm just enjoying this right here because Viper had more time to tweak the Viper the Gen 2 is a little easier to drive the revised suspension and weight balance means it's more forgiving in theory I'm going for it man this is my dream car definitely on a Razor's Edge I can kind of feel right when you're getting close to it stepping out but it lets you know what's going on you know it tells you what it likes and what it does and as we'll see over course of the Viper's life that's kind of what him Viper was going for they wanted a car that could commit it feels like an upgraded version for sure for sure it's similar but it just feels like it's up a notch everything's just been upgraded elevated yeah a big change for the second generation was the GTS coupe's roof the first gen's Target top was super leaky and buyers didn't like that plus a hard top roof would improve aerodynamics immensely you could still buy an rg10 Roadster with a removable hardtop but the GTS is the one people remember probably because it was in a bunch of video games and won a bunch of races the GTS and gtsr race car were developed side by side and going on to win 42 world-class events between 1995 and 2002 including class wins at Le Mans and the car wasn't even sold in Europe for a few of those years Dodge built a track Focus variant called The American Club racer or ACR but we'll talk about that a little more later oh my God oh my God let me shake your hand Jerry dude it's like a workout someone once said Don't Drive Your Heroes Jerry yeah their hero must not have been that card because that was dead awesome that was so much fun like you say take this put more money in it to make it better this is what you get all right can it get any better we'll see [Music] the second gen Viper was similar to the first generation Viper the engineers improved what was right and corrected some things that were a little less right however for the next car the engineer started from scratch to give us the completely redesigned third gen Viper [Music] with Gen 3 the Viper was all new Every Viper was now called SRT10 SRT stood for Street and racing technology the performance division which had begun as team Viper over a decade earlier and was now engineering hot versions of many Dodge cars I think if you're a hardcore Viper fan this one might be your least favorite but we're gonna give it a fair chance yeah SRT we're giving a clean sheet for the Gen 3 design but there were some critical directives more power less weight with a few Creature Comforts but no unnecessary frails like cruise control digital gauges traction control or cup holders this car feels a little tighter love that the side exit exhaust and the convertible combo is awesome [Music] gen 3's heart was a heavily revised V10 with a larger boring stroke for a total displacement of 8.3 liters or 505 cubic inches [Applause] the car communicates with you when you're doing uh being a dumbass let you know used to improve flow of both intake and exhaust helping the engine produce 500 horsepower and 525 foot-pounds of torque speaking of complete redesigns Jerry I'm wearing our all new Shimmer t-shirt right here it's got a green hit on the front it has Shimmer text on the back that means shiny it's one of my favorite designs so far I love the font and I love the design so go check that out at donutmedia.com get yourself one oh dude the clutch is way different yeah oh yeah this car feels pretty damn bro yeah man gen 3 had a 0-60 time that Dodge claimed was 3.8 seconds for the Roadster but magazines struggled to match that time simply because like its predecessor it was hard to get all the Vipers powered down on the road nice game underneath baby [Music] oh dude yeah let's take rips we got a problem here Jared I know so that one the motor's super good but the looks I don't think it looks better than the GTS but I do think it is better than the first gen I agree so there we go look at that red white and blue okay time for something a little different okay really what what's that what's up [Applause] it's it's scary yeah I mean I guess that's clean enough [Music] Mom Zach that car is filthy look at all those spots and streams give me a break Mom I just cleaned it honey that's not clean this is clean whoa what are you magic it's not magic it's Mother's polish and lucky for you they're sponsoring today's video now start cleaning and don't make me say it again all right God mothers has been revolutionizing the industry since 1973 and has over a hundred unique Car Care Products whether it's paint metal Chrome glass plastic vinyl leather and even rubber mother's products are specialized to tackle any problem and designed with ease of use in mind so if you're looking to give your car the love care and attention to detail it deserves head to mothers.com or click the link below and give it that Mother's Love and do something about all those water bottles on the floor I mean come on come on dang my mom's crazy as hell a year after the gen three debut Dodge shocked the World by stuffing the V10 engine from the SRT Viper into a truck creating the Ram SRT10 yes we know it's not a Viper but it's almost impossible to talk about vipers without talking about this insane truck boom Diggity oh yeah dude this feels so familiar we got a lot of customized orange bits and pieces in here and back driving vipers I've been waiting away for you all right well I'm glad you're here Justin because about to drive a truck with a Viper engine I'm excited oh loud obviously the ram couldn't outperform the Viper but it's still one of the fastest pickup trucks ever made the quad cab version is the only pairing of a viper motor with an automatic transmission 0-60 took just 5.2 seconds which is amazing for a vehicle weighing 5 400 pounds oh my God I don't like this at all no but you're a psycho it doesn't feel that scary from the driver's seat guys I didn't sign up for this I'm having a lot of fun guys oh boy this is is a truck it sure is now you know Nolan I think that I think we're good I think we're good got the gist I mean it's it's scary dude all right Jerry it's not a Viper but that doesn't mean that it's the bottom of the list I think it's kind of just like over here doing its own thing having a great time but you know what I think it's time for us to get back to some real vipers yes how about we go drive a fourth gym I like the sound of that chair in 2007 there was no Dodge Viper the car kind of took a gap year the factory that was building them closed down and people were afraid that the car would disappear forever but in 2008 Dodge gave us the Gen 4 Viper right here [Music] it's serious Nolan I know man just like the gem one and two the fourth gen car improved on everything from the third gen car underneath everything's been revised more power better suspension yep we're in the perfect place to test this guy out and I think we should go give it a rip yeah feels good to be back in a car yeah like the change from gen 1 to 2 the transition from three to four wasn't a total shift compared to the Gen 3 I mean it's extremely similar in here we're still using this kind of pushy plastic whatever type stuff the interior and body remained largely the same with the exception of the hood which contained much larger vents those give us some hint but the changes that lurk underneath oh yeah God there's just such a small amount of window in front of you it's like looking out of a tank dude under the hood was a revised version of the Gen 3's V10 displacement was up to 8.4 liters but the real story is the power [Music] brakes are just so they're just insane Jerry I could have gone so much faster but I don't want to because I'm scared with help from McLaren team Viper Engineers had gotten the v10's output to 600 horsepower the Gen 4 just gave you a lot more warning before letting loose this Viper might have looked similar to gen 3 but everything had been precisely engineered to provide more more found out I feel scared I know that I cannot extract everything from this car this this is meant for legit endurance racing drivers not some so you're probably wondering why this gen Ford looks radically different from our gen 3 and that's because one of the biggest changes for the Viper was the American Club racer package the ACR came with carbon fiber splitter canards and a rear wing that provided a thousand pounds of downforce at 150 miles per hour its minimalist interior and additional carbon fiber in the exterior produced an 80 pound weight reduction all of that meant 0-60 in three and a half seconds and a quarter mile time in the 11s so much crap dude oh my God how is this possible oh my God I don't think I I took a breath in oh my gosh this car is nuts I mean it's better than all of them yeah but I don't know if I like it more than the GTS what do you think oh yeah I like it way more from an aesthetic I love the GTS but from Just Pure Performance and pure fun that car is just wild perfect There She Goes the Gen 4 ACR was truly a Viper Supercar setting laps at Laguna Seca and the Nurburgring unfortunately in 2010 the unthinkable happened Dodge's financial situation was at an all-time low and then CEO Ralph GEOS announced the Viper was canceled by 2013 Chrysler's reputation was once again in shambles it had been three years without the Viper but Ralph GEOS the head of Dodge had convinced Fiat to let them bring it back this is the Viper gtsr it's a version of the ACR and even crazier version of the car we just drove yeah this is a full-on race car this is the closest thing to a Le Mans winning Championship race car that I'm maybe ever drive yeah so without further Ado let's get going Let's Get It Ralph knew that for the car to be successful it needed to appeal to a wider audience than just existing Viper fans and owners they needed to design a car that could woo Porsche owners while still delivering that raw feel Viper fans expected finally leather Alcantara don't know if that's real or very nicely appointed in here yes definitely more of a luxury cart with this car they knew that sports car drivers and people could afford something like this wanted something a little nicer so they're actually benchmarking the Porsche 911. there's a big one there the final one this is a big one I just glued to the road dude the Gen 5 Viper utilized more carbon fiber than ever before with the roof hood and deck lid all being made from the lightweight material the new car had a completely revised suspension geometry for improved handling gosh that sounds so good sounds nasty dude to retain that raw feel the software Engineers tweaked the now federally mandated traction and stability control systems only to kick in at the last possible moment I mean again this thing can just go so much faster than I can holy crap oh my God my God like every Viper before it Corners were cut to save money wherever possible for example the mirrors are from the previous car the side markers are from the Fiat 500 my heart is pounding bro oh my God oh my god dude holy crap we're a roller coaster like versus like an animal yeah faster but doesn't want to kill you as much as a previous car but if you want something that can be anything else on a track day that's this car [Applause] unfortunately though that wasn't enough to save Viper Dodge wanted to sell 2500 units a year the Gen 5 Viper hit a sales peak of just 760 in 2016. Dodge ended their own Viper racing program to save money on the project but even that wasn't enough Viper ended production in 2017. all right I'm not as scared as dude there's something about you know how like when we first started this it was like oh like you're giggling you're like like such a visceral experience this is like you're going much faster than we've gone but it feels safe yeah that like scare factor is not in this car which is scary because that means like we're just not pushing this car the Gen 4 was terrifying this great yeah this is great holy crap that was fun that was so awesome all right this is gonna be a tough decision the dedicated Engineers of Team Viper were able to perfect a Relentless race car for 25 years there are tons of cars out there that don't make it that long so don't be sad the Viper is over be happy it happened at all the Viper set the stage for what Dodge would later become the Hemi charger Hellcat and Demon would not be without this car it empowered Dodge to return to what it was in the 1970s a brand synonymous with loud and ridiculous power and Shameless access and that's the Viper this is The Last of a Dying Breed it's sad because I want more of these things out there where do you put it on the list in my head it's a very difficult decision but honestly it's it's really not it's right there it's at the topper oh thank you so much for watching this video make sure you like And subscribe so we can continue making more of this stuff not sure where we go from here to be honest but you know we got some ideas now there's also the Supra to be done so we'll do that in the future if you hit like And subscribe make sure you go to donutmedia.com get yourself some donut media t-shirts of course there are a lot of people we gotta thank for making this video possible first up Joey at Four Eyes you can check out his YouTube channel down below next up is Rahim and Harris Khan of Paris Burger in Moreno Valley check them out they got a drive through and some good old food get yourself some then there's Nikki B with the Gen 3 Robert Kennedy at badass performance David with the Gen 4 and Kaiser cars thank you guys so much from the bottom of my heart for making this video possible thank you for letting us have a lot of fun with your cars all their links are down in the description go support them thank you so much for watching see you next time [Music] and foreign foreign foreign

Channel: Donut

Views: 2,764,475

Keywords: donut, donut media, cars, james pumphrey, up to speed, moneypit

Id: 1LdXMzMftB8

Length: 22min 15sec (1335 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 28 2023