Christian Wardlaw’s 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe Driving Impressions:
Driving the 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe on public roads does not do the car justice. Even ripping down my favorite road in the Santa Monica Mountains as fast as conditions allowed, I could only glimpse what the Viper would be capable of in its element: the race track. This is a car clearly set up for hard charging around a closed course with plenty of run-off on either side of the blacktop. The sheer rock cliffs, tight shoulders, lumpy pavement, oncoming traffic, steep drop-offs, and occasional hiker or bicyclist that characterize the mountain road on which I drive almost every test vehicle make it no place to test a Viper’s considerable limits. Add to this mix the chilly temperatures, damp shadowed patches of blacktop, and recent rockslides this stretch of road revealed on the winter morning I had the keys to the Viper, and, well, it comes as no surprise that the car remains almost as much a mystery as it was when I first got in to make a mid-day run down the 405 freeway to Best Buy.

This much I can tell you. The 2006 Dodge Viper is ridiculously fast, tugs at every ripple and groove in the road surface, and sends every single crack, joint, and bump on the pavement directly to the cabin. I haven’t driven a road car this raw since the Ford Mustang Cobra R, or the first-gen Viper GTS Coupe. Launch the car, punch the accelerator, and you can’t help but spin the massive rear wheels. Shifts come hard and quick, the clutch easier to operate than the previous Viper – or a recent Honda Accord V6 we had in the test pool. On public roads, you’re constantly aware of the Viper’s width, an issue that would disappear on the track. The steering and brakes respond instantly, the suspension erasing all unnecessary motion. Tire grip is extraordinary, as long as you keep your foot out of the throttle.

Indeed, the 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe is a thrill to drive, an adrenaline injection like few others. But aside from attracting attention to yourself, making lots of noise, and compensating for, ahem, shortcomings, I see little point to owning a Viper if you’re not going to take it to the track.

Thom Blackett’s 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe Driving Impressions:
Good God, man.

Push the start button and you know you’re in for an experience unlike most others, even if you’re ignorant to the fact that 510 horses and 535 lb.-ft. of torque are impatiently lying behind that aluminum gas pedal. Our tester had a clutch that was a little late in engaging, but once it hooked up it didn’t take long to get a sense of the Viper’s power. On my first bit of driving, on a straight and isolated stretch of road, while already moving along at about 20 mph, I goosed the throttle in first gear and the 19-inch rear rubber instantly started spinning and the rear started to dance a little from side to side. Ah, right, no traction or stability control on this baby.

Further along the drive route, the Viper’s power made its presence known in other ways. While using a straightaway to row through the six-speed a bit, I noticed that the tachometer was only registering about 2,000 rpms at near triple-digit speeds in fourth gear, and that was just skimming the surface of the V10’s potential. Fifth and sixth gears are only necessary on the highways, and even then they keep the rpm’s ridiculously low at a pace more than slightly above the posted limit.

On curvy back roads, the 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe offers razor-sharp steering with tremendous feel through the wheel, and brakes that would probably be sufficient for stopping a semi-truck weighing several tons. And while there’s no noticeable understeer or oversteer, all of that power going to the rear wheels makes for a tail that likes to flick out unprovoked. Combine a touch too much steering with a hair too much pressure on the throttle and you’ll instantly be testing your recovery skills.

Brian Chee’s 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe Driving Impressions:
It is alive. And it is angry, always angry, and is always looking to eat. The monster that lives inside the 2006 Dodge Viper is not to be trifled with, not with polite driving habits or commutes better handled by sedans.

No. If you want one, you have to feed the beast. It likes to be fed. It likes eating nice long straight-aways and corners; it loves to go brute fast and crazy. Take care of the 8.3-liter, V10 engine and it will show you the joys of 510 horsepower and 535 lb.-ft. of torque, will take you to places within yourself that you didn’t know existed, unleashing a cocktail of thrill, fear and oh-my-god adrenaline, straighten your tie and punch you in the chest. Clearly, this is not a car for any commute except for the one that takes you to a track. Indeed, even entertaining the idea of a commute is like taking Uncle Buck to a museum. Try it and people will stare, and it’s obvious from the looks that one of two thoughts is coursing through the noggin of the guy next to you at the light: you’ve got to be kidding me, that dude must be over compensating and dang, if I could only get one green light behind the wheel of that beast…

There’s a simple solution: to drive the Viper is to make a commitment to your local track, or at least some nice open road in the boondocks, simply because this car is not engineered for transportation: it’s built to go like the dickens and that’s exactly what it does, with a bite of asphalt and a hungry, burbling roar. To my driving experience, there is nothing as powerful in a straight line; dip into that torque band and prepare to feel an incredible surge of power from the Viper’s 13.6-inch rear tires. Zero to sixty feels like a slingshot, and it’s easy to believe Dodge’s claim of less than four seconds. Brakes are sensitive and gripping: those big brakes bring the coupe back to zero very quickly, with no fade. The ride is sports car harsh, of course, and not one to be stuck in any kind of gridlock. Drive this car at five o’clock on a work day and you get the cramps you deserve for being a bit of a nincompoop. It’s easier than you’d think to cycle through the six-speed manual transmission; it’s a heavy shifter, to be sure, but friendly enough to not hamper the driving experience. And what an experience! It’s just too much power on public roads, and while handling is incredible – those wide tires provide plenty of stick to the ground – the pure, raw nature of this car leaves little room for mistakes, and those mistakes will be much, much more serious than a little fender damage. I didn’t drive on the track, so pushing it to the limit was out of the question. But what mild cornering I did do in the Viper produced oversteer.

So be warned. The bottom line? God Bless Dodge for building this car as they did. Curse them, too, because to drive it on a public road was a dicey experience that I, for one, don’t ever care to repeat. And even with that, after my taste of the Viper all I could think of – for two days – was to get it back, find a track and rip into this beast with both hands.

Ron Perry’s 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe Driving Impressions:
The beauty of this car is that the Dodge Viper Coupe spits in the face of convention. While every other manufacturer is refining their cars by isolating the driver from the driving experience, Dodge has left the Viper alone. It doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is, a muscle car. From the minute you push the red start button and the engine springs to life, your primal senses tell you that you’re behind the wheel of a serious machine. From the loping of the engine at idle, to the burble and popping sound the exhaust makes when backing off the throttle, the Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe brings a smile to your face that is hard to erase.

Mash the accelerator and the Dodge Viper SRT-10 lunges forward with alarming speed. Give it too much throttle in a corner and the Viper will bite you. With all of the torque the Viper possesses, it will break the rear loose faster than you can mutter your favorite swear word. Oversteer is easily counteracted and controlled. Steering is quick and precise and transmits to the driver a feeling of stability and control. Between the great engine and the exceptional handling, the Viper easily allowed cornering at twice the posted limit on my run with little effort and without approaching the car’s limits. Stopping isn’t a concern either. The Viper’s brakes relay everything the driver need to know.

This car has quickly become one of my favorites to drive because of its adherence to the original intention of the Viper. The car’s rawness is exciting and the experience of driving the Viper is one of being in a racecar minus the roll cage and helmet. It is just a hoot to drive.