if you thought the ZR1 and the GTR was fast around the N?rburgring...

[DTNS]

This car's faster!  

http://www.motortrend.com/av/features/112_0811_2009_dodge_viper_acr_nurburgring_record_video/index.html

[Leepu Awlia]

a viper is something to reckon with on the track... it was just a matter of time....

[wrx265_karter]

Nice video. Looks like the ACR's gearing isn't well suited for the ring, it was constantly hitting the rev limiter especially during the long long straight right before the start finish line. Could get a faster time if they raise the revs a bit or change gearing. Also, the driver almost lost it in the the Karussell. Fast car none the less, beat the lap time with sheer force rather than technology ala GTR.

[Leepu Awlia]

what i want to see is some sort of endurance competetion between these cars in stock form and see who is gonna be able to sustain the fastest lap times for the longest time and not break down.

[AM]

The Viper's driver also missed a shift around 2 min 11 sec (5:38-7:49) into the video. It looks like he was shifting from 2nd to 3rd but it didn't engage, he probably lost a second or two there....

[hungryalien]

that car is loud.. sounds like a train inside hehee 

[pinoyamg]

Its fast, that is for sure but has anyone driven one?  Its hot as heck! Those side exhaust really burn up the cockpit on regular driving let alone track days.  You really need a fire suit for the acr. The ride is stiff as expected and very harsh for normal driving.  No traction control, ie, at the slightest of taps on the pedal, the rear want to lead!  The other thing of note as well, the car is set up with the hardcore package, which deletes anything that does'nt make the car go.  No radio, no carpets for gosh sakes...  Its a track car all right and its accomplishments are truly amazing but if money was not an issue, a scuderia, which posted a much slower time than the vaunted acr would be the best of both worlds.  Dont get me wrong, I'm a big fan of acrs, I've got a friend who owns one and its a blast to drive.  He ran laps around me on the track, but I assure you if we had to drive our toys home from the track, he'll have to buy a block of ice to cool him down on the way home and narcotics for the back pain.  While I'll be cruising home with the ac on full with the comfort setting on.  If the nurburg is you goal, get a radical SR8.  Much faster than any other "reasonably" priced car out there. BTW, gtr is amazing but I still can't get past the looks.  Different strokes for different folks I guess.  Just my .02.

[niky]

Not to mention the fact that the ACR package has the "track-use only" front splitter and a really tall rear wing that provide nearly ten times the downforce a ZR-1 or GT-R has... but still, that was an awesome lap... the driver was on the edge the whole time... I can forgive the missed shifts... between wrestling with the steering, the balky gear box and the surfeit of torque, the guy had his hands full.. in many cases, he was banging off the limiter in order not to lose speed and not upshifting in order not to lose his grip on the steering wheel.

There's also mention somewhere on the net that the ACR package makes the Viper really slow to accelerate over 165 mph, making 5th and 6th gear mostly useless on the racetrack (too tall to make the car accelerate any further)... the fact that he was banging the limiter in 4th gear down the back straight means that he could maybe have shaved another second or two off that time with a shorter 5th gear or at least a shorter final gear (which is the most common... and cheapest... method of modifying gearboxes for track use).

[Leepu Awlia]

You dont drive on the track to lolly gag. You drive on the track because you want to prove that YOU have control over the car and not the other way around. Wrestling that kind of a brute means that you got the cojones! Some people get too hung up on hardware and technology and forget that its how you take control of the car thats whats important.

Not to mention the fact that the ACR package has the "track-use only" front splitter and a really tall rear wing that provide nearly ten times the downforce a ZR-1 or GT-R has... but still, that was an awesome lap... the driver was on the edge the whole time... I can forgive the missed shifts... between wrestling with the steering, the balky gear box and the surfeit of torque, the guy had his hands full.. in many cases, he was banging off the limiter in order not to lose speed and not upshifting in order not to lose his grip on the steering wheel.

There's also mention somewhere on the net that the ACR package makes the Viper really slow to accelerate over 165 mph, making 5th and 6th gear mostly useless on the racetrack (too tall to make the car accelerate any further)... the fact that he was banging the limiter in 4th gear down the back straight means that he could maybe have shaved another second or two off that time with a shorter 5th gear or at least a shorter final gear (which is the most common... and cheapest... method of modifying gearboxes for track use).

[johnqpublic318]

Whatever the negative people can say about the Viper ACR, it's still a perfectly street-legal production car that just did 7:22 in the Ring!  Enough said.

[pinoyamg]

Whatever the negative people can say about the Viper ACR, it's still a perfectly street-legal production car that just did 7:22 in the Ring!  Enough said.

I really don't think people are being too negative at any one particular car.  I think every car has its own good and bad points.  Even cars like the veyron, whom some people think its hideous even with its astonishing stats and engineering.  No one car will meet everyone's approval.  Its just great that there are people out there that are passionate enough to build them.  Some may like it brute and raw, while others might like all the techy gadgets, while others value oppulent surroundings like cross-stitched seats, hand massaged rare and exotic wood finishes.... thank goodness there's a car for every car nut out there!

[hungryalien]

^^ so are you ditching the zr1 for the acr viper? 

[pinoyamg]

^^ so are you ditching the zr1 for the acr viper? 

I really don't need a dedicated track car.  Which is exactly what my friend uses his for, and if I were to own one, I would most definitely do the same.  Its just not comfortable on city streets.  Its absolutely brutal, and I need more lessons to drive one well on any track.  With that said, if I were to buy a "track car", I'd love to get the sr8.  I did think about an ACR for a while until my friend got his in and I got a chance to drive it around.  I actually more of a "gt" kind of guy who occationally goes on track days.  I'd rather go on scenic drives and occationally push it around the twistys and I think the zr1 fits the bill.  And besides, the obvious "bang for the buck" rationale.   

[hungryalien]

I did think about an ACR for a while until my friend got his in and I got a chance to drive it around. 

so we actually have an ACR viper in manila?

[DTNS]

so we actually have an ACR viper in manila?

I think pinoyamg is based in the US. but I know there IS a 600hp Viper SRT10 here in Manila. the one brought in by CATS for the Marlboro promo. I think it's still for sale. (I saw it for sale in MB classified ads one time.  )