Third is, of course, an all-important supplier of speed in the rapid transition between second and fourth. But it's also a great gear for driving around town. The Viper will happily chug along in slow traffic in third, yet the engine turns slowly enough in third at faster speeds that it doesn't drone as it would in second gear. It's a fun gear in the Viper.
Fourth is pretty much a highway gear. It also the highest useful gear for most racetracks. It would take a long straight on a racetrack to hit the redline in fourth gear. Fifth is for interstate highway travel. Sixth gear is for the EPA, and it contributed to the unrealistic 21-mpg highway fuel-economy rating. We saw 11 mpg in mixed driving. In sixth gear, the engine spins 1700 rpm at 80 mph. If the Viper could pull to its redline in this gear, it would have a top speed of 280 mph.
The Viper's engine doesn't seem to will the driver to delay the shift, but it does have a certain sound of remorseless efficiency to it. You can tell the difference in purpose between the dopey woof of your neighbor's Golden Retriever and the threatening bark of the vaguely Rottweiler-looking mongrel at the junkyard. When the Viper barks, as with the junkyard mutt, it pays to be on your guard. The hefty, long-throw shifter conveys that the driver is performing a significant contribution to the car's progress. This is no push-button auto shifter. Unlike a Porsche, the Viper doesn't seem smarter than the driver.
The Viper's extremely powerful brakes have no ABS assist, which seems anachronistic these days. But again, it forces the driver to earn his living, which gives the often-forgotten driver a bit of self-worth. The Viper's brakes provide huge stopping power and are easily modulated at the limit. They have the fine controllability racing drivers require.
The ride is rock hard, of course, but you know this is no Lexus before climbing in. The Viper suffers a driver-induced bump steer because it transfers road irregularities directly to the cockpit. (Actual bump steer occurs when the wheel toes in or out in response to suspension deflection because of incorrect geometry. It's a bad thing, and the Viper doesn't do it.) But if the car hits a bump when the driver has only one hand on the steering wheel and the other on, say, the shifter, the impact is sharp enough to cause the single arm to pull the steering wheel to the left. Note: Keep both hands on the Viper's steering wheel. Next Page