Supercharged Gen II Viper hands out a surprising beating to the Gen V car.
The Dodge Viper is one of the greatest American performance cars of all time and in the video above, courtesy of the megaliftedYouTube channel, we get to watch the original body style take on the newest body style in a quarter-mile battle. Thanks to some modifications, the outcome is a bit different than you would expect.
The Competitors
The camera car in the video above is a 2016 Dodge Viper SRT. In stock form, this car weighs right around 3,400 pounds and it packs a combination of 645 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque. This particular Gen V Viper has been upgraded with 3.91 gears and a K&N drop-in air filter, so it might be making a touch more power than stock while the gears help it get off of the line a bit quicker.
The car in the other lane is a 1998 Dodge Viper GTS. In stock form, this car also weighed around 3,400 pounds, but it came from the factory with “only” 450 horsepower and 490 lb-ft of torque. Fortunately for the driver, this Viper has been fitted with a Kenne Bell supercharger producing around 12 pounds of boost with an E85 engine tune. This allows the Gen II car to make far more than 450 horsepower, but we don’t get any exact numbers.
Based on the results of the run, it is likely making well over 600 horsepower.
The Race
After each Viper does a short, quick burnout, the two Mopar supercars roll up to the beams and stage. When the green lights drop, both cars ease away from the starting line, with the Gen II car jumping out to an early lead. From there, the older Viper just keeps on pulling away, taking an easy win with a time of 11.35 to the newer car’s 11.68.
In addition to capturing the racing action, the video includes some vehicle information on the vehicle parameters during the race. We can watch the speed climb as the Viper blasts down the track, along with a G-meter that shows almost a full G just after launch.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
