Consider the car market as an amusement park. Every vehicle has an analogous ride, from the Tilt-A-Whirl Lotus Elise to the Jungle Cruise Ford Taurus. The Dodge Viper and the Chevrolet Corvette Z06, then, can feel a bit like driving the Raptor.
Its an experience not unlike doing motorcycle wheelies on a freeway. In short, driving hard in a car with 500-plus horsepower is not for the fainthearted. The appeal is an addictive mixture of scaring yourself within inches of your life and laughing at how easily you can get away with it. Both the Viper and the Vette have this characteristic in spades.
The last time these two cars met Motor City Bullies, December 2005, the Z06 beat the Viper handily on the road, track, and drag strip. Since then, the 505-hp Z06 hasnt changed much, aside from revised rear shocks, although the price has crept skyward. The 2007 Z06 seen here starts at $70,000, but options such as heated seats, a premium stereo, extra sound insulation, chrome wheels, and navigation bring the as-tested total to $77,230.
The Viper SRT10, on the other hand, has received a thorough makeover for 2008 in both coupe and roadster form.
The only visual change is a new hood with functional vented gills, and this achieves the seemingly improbable feat of making the Viper look even more aggressive. The V-10 engine has been bored out an extra 0.6 millimeter to increase the displacement to 8.4 liters. It also gets variable valve timing [see Tech Highlight], new cylinder heads, a new intake, electronic throttle control, hollow intake valves, coil-on-plug ignition, a 10.2:1 compression ratio (up from 9.6), and a larger oil pump with a swinging oil pickup. The result is 600 horsepower and 560 pound-feet of torque, improvements of 90 horses and 25 pound-feet. At 2500 rpm, the Viper makes more torque than the Z06 does at its peak.
The Vipers cabin remains unchanged but is much cooler now that the exhaust flows straight to each side pipe instead of crossing under the passenger compartment.
The Tremec T56 six-speed manual gearbox gets a revised shift linkage, triple-cone synchros, and a twin-disc clutch that has 18-percent-less rotational inertia than the previous single-disc setup. At the rear theres a new speed-sensing limited-slip differential. On the suspension front, the Viper gets new Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires set up with more negative camber, new shocks, higher spring rates, and a solid rear anti-roll bar replacing the previous hollow one.
The good news is that these changes come cheap. The Vipers base price of $86,845 is $150 less than that of the Viper in our last test, thanks in part to a lower gas-guzzler tax. And even at the as-tested price of $91,145, the Viper is the most affordable 600-hp car on the market.
For this evaluation, we performed our standard battery of performance tests and some real-world driving, and then we drove to Grattan Raceway Park to see how each car would handle the bumpy 2.0-mile road course. As it turns out, all the changes to the new Viper arent enough to better the Corvette, but the Z06s claim to the title of Americas top sports car is looking a bit tenuous. Read on for a full explanation.
2008 Dodge Viper SRT10 - Comparison Tests
Despite the myriad improvements, creature comfort has never been high on the Vipers list of qualities, and the usual list of complaints still applies. Getting in and out is a gymnastic exercise of hurdling the door sill and ducking under the low roof. The Viper has no cruise control, cup holders, traction control, or stability control. The center stack of the dashboard is surrounded with cheap plastic colored inserts are still optional. The deep buckets, however, make the most of the cramped interior, and the pedals are adjustable. Once youre in the Viper and moving, its actually pretty comfortable.
But enough complaining. If youre going to file a lawsuit over a few minor leg burns from the exhaust or whine about the heavy clutch, Dodge has an all-new Grand Caravan you might like. Stick with the Viper, and you can fly from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds. Its a 10th or two quicker than the Z06 all the way to 100 mph, but by 150, the Viper has a half-second lead. Its also more than two seconds quicker to 150 than was the previous Viper. Vette and Viper are pretty much even (and impressive) in roadholding, lane change, and braking distance, but the Viper wins on the track. Its easier to drive around the road course as well, thanks to great feel from the quick steering and solid brake pedal. The Viper is more benign than you would think. Theres so much rear-end grip that its difficult to get a little back-end slide using the gas pedal, although the Viper is harder to manage once it does go sideways. We still prefer the Vipers mild understeer to the Corvettes tank-slapping oversteer.
So why the second-place finish? Blame the cruelty of the real world. At lower rpm, the exhaust sounds like a tuba having sex with a vacuum cleaner, and the baritone thrum of engine and road at highway speeds gets annoying in a hurry. The trunk volume of 15 cubic feet seems optimistica road trip for two will require soft luggage. In a street or track race, the Viper comes out narrowly ahead, but in real life, the Vipers claustrophobic cabin and noisemaker mechanicals are too much of a handicap to overcome.
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 - Comparison Tests
Moving from the Viper into the Corvette is like taking off a pair of glove-tight spandex shorts its not that you werent comfortable, but the extra space is appreciated. Everything associated with normal driving is easily accomplished in the Z06: getting in and out, working the clutch, turning the lightly weighted steering wheel, or accessing the 22-cubic-foot cargo hold. We have our standard list of criticisms for the Z06 as well, however, such as the flimsy seats and vague shift lever. The shifter and the steering rack have been revised for the 2008 model year, but we werent able to get our hands on one. Its likely those changes would improve the Corvettes on-track behavior, where the steering gets a little too light and gearchanges turn into a distraction. Around Grattan, the Z06s time of 1:27.2 is half a second slower than the Viper%u2019s, and it took more work to keep the Z06 going in a straight line. Take note, letter writers: Lap times were slower than those of the previous comparo because of a damp track.
The LS7 V-8 in the Z06 might be down on power compared with the Vipers V-10, but it revs more freely to its 7000-rpm redline. The Vettes power comes on more explosively as well, which is handy for sliding sideways through corners but nerve-racking on a conventional hot lap. Sure, the Chevy is a bigger handful than the Viper on the track, and slightly slower in a straight line, but the Z06 is no slouch. Its 0-to-60 time of 3.7 seconds is only bested by ultra-expensive exotics and, of course, the Dodge Viper. But the fact is that the Corvette Z06 does not hurt for speed or comfort, and its exhaust note is one of the best in the business. If we had to choose between the Viper and the Z06 for a modern-day Cannonball, the Chevy is the easy choice. Plus, the Vette is almost $14,000 cheaper, the price of a Chevy Aveo. Even at 77 grand, the Z06 is one of the best performance bargains going.
Remember the Cavalier? You probably do, because it sold remarkably well during its lifetime (particularly towards the end when it was offered at unbelievably low prices) and still has a rather loyal following in the sports compact arena.
Even with this in mind, as a compact car it fell rather short in comparison to other cars in its class. The people at GM’s Performance Division sat up and took notice. The sport compact class of vehicles is a hot market segment, and it’s got some pretty cool cars competing for your dollars, so Chevrolet decided back in 2005 that it wouldn’t just idly stand by and risk its owners checking their baggage for a Japanese or European import.
Besides being a big step forward in general, the Cobalt SS Supercharged (not to be confused with the regular, and quite frankly lame non-supercharged SS) was a big step forward for GM’s performance offering in the compact segment. Z24 drivers won’t be the only ones pining to get behind the wheel of one of these, with promises of handling tuned on the Nurburgring and rather appealing exterior visuals. While the oversized rear wing has become the telltale sign of an SS Supercharged (the SS doesn’t have as big a wing), it literally cuts out half your rearward visibility. You really can’t tell if the car following close behind belongs to the folks in law enforcement or not. The car’s body does have flares in all the right places, and the front and rear bumper skirts look great, as do the polished, flangeless 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels. The Cobalt immediately distances itself from its predecessor in terms of a visual statement, such as the new Civic Si and Sentra SE-R that look rather ordinary. The car has the looks, but given the choices sport compact buyers have, how does it drive?
Quite well, as it turns out. As we said, if you’re a Cavalier owner the Cobalt will blow you away. It’s a huge step forward. The chassis rigidity of the international Delta platform (also shared with that exciting new Saturn Astra) is leagues above the J-Body, and gives the car a nice, tight feeling. For the Cobalt application, the Delta underpinnings come alive; it seems perfectly suited to its sporty demeanor. People often talk about rigid structures as a vital starting point to tuning the car dynamically, and the Cobalt SS doesn’t disappoint. Not only does it have a solid feel, but you feel just as confident tracking straight and true on the highway as you would on a twisty back road.
And twisting roads in mind, the sport-tuned suspension with aluminum links does a great job at controlling body roll and dive when the going gets quick. In fact, the Cobalt’s rear suspension has some really trick hydro-elastic bushings that allow sharpness of handling without shaking your fillings loose around town. It’s a technology found on some premium import brands, and it works well on the Cobalt. All these components conspire to endow the SS with handling abilities that rival or exceed its competition; it can generate cornering forces in the neighborhood of 0.90 Gs on the skid pad. The Cobalt SS Supercharged was a little low on steering feedback, due to the fact that the car has an electrical power steering system instead of the traditional hydraulic power steering.
Perhaps one of the biggest surprises surrounding this particular Cobalt is the awesome braking performance it serves up. Its four wheel discs are of modest size, yet it scrubs off speed quite well. We suspect that a lot of time was spent calibrating the brake balance. Whatever the case may be, the Cobalt stops reassuringly, even after aggressive use. Another feature we enjoyed about the car under braking was the pops and burbles the exhaust makes as you zing the tach on a downshift, conducted through a short-shift five-speed Getrag manual transmission.
As with so many cars in this class, the big story is what’s under the hood. The SS joins the party with a 2.0-liter version of GM’s Ecotec four-cylinder. For this most ultimate of Cobalts, it’s mated to an Eaton supercharger that allows 12 psi of peak boost. The guys at GM Performance deem it necessary to know exactly what the blower is doing, so they mounted a boost gauge in the A-pillar for easy monitoring. We liked making it swing to its limit as much as possible. When you do that, your ears will be treated to some classic supercharger whine followed by an impressive shove forward. In fact, just over 6 seconds is all it takes to hit 60 mph. That’s fast. Even during a street start, the car lunges forward convincingly as it autographs the asphalt with two black stripes of rubber. Needless to say, we were quite pleased with the car’s penchant for speed.
Though 205 horsepower and 200 lb-ft of torque is now merely average for a car in this category, especially with the introduction of the 280-hp Dodge Caliber SRT4 and the 263-hp Mazdaspeed3, the Cobalt SS Supercharged plays daily usability as its strong card. Because the supercharger provides power on demand, there’s no waiting around. The Cobalt SS Supercharged is also available with a limited slip differential from master engineers Quaife, which helps to put the power to the ground.
Even though the SS Supercharged doesn’t have a big-block engine, we think that it’s one of the best representatives of the SS nameplate. People take the Cobalt SS Supercharged seriously, and it’s helped to elevate GM’s position in the marketplace substantially. It’s for this reason that we’re saddened to see that the Cobalt SS Supercharged won’t be around for much longer. But don’t cry too much, as all you need do is look to the new turbocharged HHR SS for a sign of what the next-gen, top-line Cobalt SS will produce. Trustworthy sources from within GM have strongly hinted that the turbocharged, direct-injected 260-hp turbocharged inline-four also used in the Pontiac Solstice GXP and Saturn Sky Red Line will find its way into this sporty coupe, and really spice things up.
For supercharger fans, even though the clock is ticking there’s more than enough time to get into one of these cars, and with good reason too. MSRP on a Cobalt SS Supercharged starts at under $22,000, which makes it cheaper to buy than a VW GTI or Mazdaspeed3. The Cobalt SS Supercharged might’ve fallen off the radar in the past little while, but it’s a sports compact that can put a smile on your face without denting your wallet too hard.
Overview: With plenty of power and torque on tap, the Silverado Hybrid shows truck owners that a hybrid vehicle doesn’t just have to be a small car. The Silverado is every bit as capable as its gasoline-only brothers, and though it only offers a slight increase in fuel economy, it brings its own unique set of features to the table. With lots of features and nifty options, we think that this truck is a solid entrant into a crowded market.
Detail: We don’t quite understand how you can take a pickup truck, which is typically associated with being the “workhorse” of an automotive lineup, and strap a hybrid power train to it. And, even if it can be done, will it even make a difference?
To answer our questions, we are testing a brand new Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid, fully optioned out. This truck has 300 horsepower and 330 torque on tap, and has a tow rating of that is equal to the gasoline-only variants. It is powered by the same 5.3 liter V8 that powers the other Silverado’s.
What’s the Difference?
This truck contains two 110 volt batteries which are connected to the hybrid system. This vehicle has the advantage of being able to power standard electric devices, such as a power saw or laptop, without having to purchase an expensive electrical converter. Simply plug the appliance into a power jack and enjoy.
We noticed that the truck was much quieter when traveling at low speeds through town. We can only assume that this is the electric motor doing its thing. When puttering around, the truck operates and feels the same as the other trucks, only the hybrid experiences a modest increase in fuel economy. All of the variations of the V8, hybrid or not, operate using regular gasoline. With gas prices as high as they are, that’s a good thing.
In Closing…
With the government offering $2,000 cash back on the purchase of a hybrid vehicle, there is no reason not to purchase a Silverado hybrid. The hybrid model only costs an additional $2,500, and after the rebate, a mere $500. Even if you plan on owning this truck for only a year, you’re likely to see some kind of return on your dollar.
The price of the truck isn’t the issue. It comes down to usability, and whether or no the Silverado hybrid is really worth your time. The modest increase in fuel economy might not be as pronounces as we’d like, but the addition of standard electrical plugs and other small features are actually a nice touch.