The C7 Really Is That Good

"Victorious Secret" (victorioussecret)
10/19/2013 at 19:23 • Filed to: None

Dodge, no sorry SRT should be genuinely terrified.

70k for this 2LT Z51 in Canada or 131k for a Viper GTS. Do the math, cause I've already seen more C7s here than I have Vipers. Hell, the Viper doesn't even have a dealer markup because word on the street is thats how hard a time dealers are having in moving these cars.

They should start with calling it the Dodge Viper again. You know, the name the entire world resonates with. Not SRT Viper. Why. Just why? Stupidity. Gilles you done fucked that one up.

DISCUSSION (22)

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Victorious Secret
10/19/2013 at 19:25

I gotta wait until spring to get my mitts on a C7 to review. This will be a long winter :(

Chappie > Victorious Secret
10/19/2013 at 19:28

You think it's the name? I don't. I mean I suppose it's possible, but the price discrepancy is really the difference in my opinion.

Paul, Man of Mustangs > Victorious Secret
10/19/2013 at 19:28

If they improved the Viper's suspension so it could actually handle well without causing the driver to break a sweat, it might sell better. But where is all the money for the Viper going? Is it all into the engine or something?

Victorious Secret > Paul, Man of Mustangs
10/19/2013 at 19:30

I honestly have no idea. 60k between the two cars and what? The Viper ACR isn't going to be any cheaper and at this rate a top end ZR1 will be cheaper than a low end Viper. I don't understand it.

Victorious Secret > Chappie
10/19/2013 at 19:31

It might not be, but its the only thing I can rationally point to.

The price gap makes no honest sense to me. None. I want to know where 60k more is going, but it sure as hell isn't going into a car that is 60k better.

Victorious Secret > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
10/19/2013 at 19:31

It will be worth that wait.

Very worth it.

MtrRider Just Wants Doritos > Victorious Secret
10/19/2013 at 19:32

I don't think breaking SRT into its own brand was Gilles' call, that was Marchionne. And I agree, the C7 kills it. It kills everything though, so the Viper shouldn't feel too bad.

Victorious Secret > MtrRider Just Wants Doritos
10/19/2013 at 19:33

Either way, its one of the dumber things to do with a car. Its probably not why the Viper is flailing though.

Everyone I talk to say they like how it looks, the driving is more of the same, but the C7 is bringing so much to the table that they can't fathom making that choice anymore.

Maybe once upon a time, but I just don't get it.

Chappie > Victorious Secret
10/19/2013 at 19:35

I think a lot of it has to do with the interior. They spent a lot to completely change the insides.

I haven't driven either cars, so I can't comment, but I feel like the c7 is also going to be at least 60k better than many sports and above classed cars. We all know what the z06 is rumored to be pushing, and the ZR1 will only be that much more of a beast. In general, Chevy is hitting a huge home run with this car.

Paul, Man of Mustangs > Victorious Secret
10/19/2013 at 19:36

Maybe it's a more extensive use of carbon fiber to make up for using an excessively huge and heavy V10. Or something. I'd rather they put in a Hemi and turbocharge it. There'd be lots of room in front of the engine for the turbos with two extra cylinders removed.

Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom > Victorious Secret
10/19/2013 at 19:39

Did you buy or just test drive? I got to sit in the C7 at a GM media event in NYC this past January. Very impressed with the interior, and I got to speak with top guys Tom Peters (designer) and Tadge Juechter (engineer) about the car.

Victorious Secret > Paul, Man of Mustangs
10/19/2013 at 19:39

The carbon fiber clam shell seems like sheer overkill to me.

Which is nice, but the Viper is really answering a question we stopped asking.

MtrRider Just Wants Doritos > Victorious Secret
10/19/2013 at 19:40

I think the Viper looks old. It looks good, but you can pick up a old GTS that looks almost identical for $40k and from what I've heard, apart from a nicer interior, the cars are both scary. The engine is basically the same.

The Corvette, on the other hand, looks new. It looks fast. It has been upgraded completely, and it drives better than the Viper. It's cheaper and has an as good or better interior, chassis, and when the Z versions come out, engine. I would buy the Corvette, because it impresses me and the Viper doesn't.

Victorious Secret > Turbineguy: Nom de Zoom
10/19/2013 at 19:42

Just drive.

I'm too young and poor to get one. Poor because, well, thats self explanatory. Young because I probably would wrap it around a tree within 2 minutes of taking delivery.

Tom McParland > Victorious Secret
10/19/2013 at 19:52

So 100/100 then?...I've seen a few C7s in person, they look even better than the pics, they sound amazing, and from what everyone is saying drive amazinger (I know that is not a word). The Vette was always a car I respected, but never had a desire to own. However, if I had the monies for a new one I just might get it, black with black wheels please. :)

I love you but I've chosen hooning! > Victorious Secret
10/19/2013 at 19:56

They probably tried to move the Viper upmarket but failed miserably. In that sphere, buyers look for something more sophisticated - and while I really like the looks and the sound of the new Viper - it doesn't scream sophisticated. It's more like a young Fran Drescher, no doubt it's hot but at the end of the day, will she be the one you take home to your parents/ friends at the country club?

The Corvette on the other hand seems to be a fantastic deal though (at least in the US). People who're in the market for a Nissan Z or a Porsche Boxster will most definitely consider buying American instead.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Victorious Secret
10/19/2013 at 20:01

Kinja'd!!!

Get rid of that, and replace it with USB ports and a plug, smokers can bring their own lighters.

Victorious Secret > Tom McParland
10/19/2013 at 20:09

Yea, more or less.

Downsides? Interior is still got the aura of 'looking' cheap even though it feels amazing to touch. Its weird, cause you still think "Oh look plastics" when its really "Oh look, dead cows everywhere"

Rev matching paddles are stoopid. Don't need them. Make it a switch instead.

Driving position is godly.

Seats could use more support on the bottom, I'd swear these were engineered more towards the side of "long distance comfort" but that itself isn't a bad thing.

I want a glass roof. So its 99.9/100.

Black plastic on the back is a bit much. So its now 99.8/100.

In Top Gear maths, its still 100/100.

Tom McParland > Victorious Secret
10/19/2013 at 20:27

So wait there is paddles and a manual shifter? So instead of heal-toe shifting you are supposed to pull the paddle with one in the middle of a shift with another?

Victorious Secret > Tom McParland
10/19/2013 at 20:32

You activate it or shut it off with the paddles, but not mid shift or whatever. Just seems like a silly way to turn the rev matching on and off

Tom McParland > Victorious Secret
10/19/2013 at 20:34

Oh..ok, for a second there I was all confused. How is the pedal spacement for old-school rev-matching?

SonorousSpeedJoe > Victorious Secret
10/19/2013 at 21:15

Did the 'Vette have the GT seats or the Competition seats?