Hellcat or z51 or gen 4

[Ohiotj]

I am in the market for a new car. My price range is around 60k. All three of these cars are in my wheel house. It is strictly a second car and doesn't need to be used for daily driving so I could car less about street manners. I do like to run on both road courses and drag strip. A base z51 and hellcat can be had for 56k with no taxes due to trade in. I found an 08 SSG with 2k miles coupe for about 65k after all fees. Nine grand can buy a lot of tires and track events so I am trying to wrap my head around which way to go. I would prefer the viper but dang is it hard to ignore the z51 bargin. The hellcat is a straight line ringer but is slower then a new base gt mustang on a road course. However I can take the family in hellcat for rides.
I'm curious what the viper community thinks and please try to non bias. I know we all have a thing for the vipers but I love all cars even though 90% of my cars have always been mopars.

[Schen]

I can include some input for the Hellcat. I drive a Magnum, have had it on everything last year. Road courses, autocross, drag strips. Pushing 4200lbs around the corners is quite the job and the trans gets lazy mid-corner, auto-stick is your friend. Not sure how the 8-spd torqueflite is, remember it also uses the 6-spd tremec out of the viper, my car uses a 5-spd NAG1. But you can have fun with LX/LC cars, question is are you willing to put up with it. Not saying you can't take them to the track, just don't expect to hunt down Ferrari's. (Although there are a few guys that definitely have with some suspension mods)

--RS

[Vital velocity]

I would take a Gen IV personally. I have a good friend with some very basic bolt on's that seems to out run most cars around his power level and many that have more power (torque curve/weight). The z51 and hellcat are cool cars but at the end of the day
1) The hellcat will be cool to those who know what it is
2) The vette will be another vette by next year
3) The viper will continue to break necks as you drive down the road

They all perform well; and as a toy.....Gen IV would be IMO the best bet.

[Joel]

There is a guy who runs a Challenger in SCCA events and does quite well against Mustangs and Camaros but his is not stock. All the road tests your read say the Challenger is by far more comfortable to drive every day than either of the other 2 cars. So I'd guess you aren't going to drive 10/10ths every second and I'd go for comfort over which car might be marginally faster on a road course. I can tell you from experience that when running on a road course you can get passed by cars you don't think would be quicker so what might look good on paper doesn't really matter. It is usually experience and aversion to risk that makes you fast on a road course. But Vipers and Corvettes are way different cars than a Hellcat. If you drive a Gen III or Gen IV Viper and like it, you'll have a fun car that almost no one else has and it is fun on the track. The new Corvettes are nice too but the Z51's are not Vipers. If what you're really after is a track car to have fun with, buy an older Miata and set it up. You won't like paying $1500 for a set of tires after a few track days for a Challenger, Viper, or a Corvette and you'll be surprised how many folks you can pass in a Miata for almost peanuts and you can still enough left over to buy a car for the street that you'd rather not wad up on the track. Just my 2 cents.

[Torquemonster06]

If your wanting to take the family out for drives its the HellCat you want. As far as the Gen IV vs Z51 goes 99% of the people on here are going to tell you take the Gen IV. Including me. The viper WILL be worth more for resale if you intend to. The viper WILL turn more heads, Especially SSG. The viper WILL give you the "Exclusivity" factor. You are a Mamba Member So you know about that though. Just remember, at the end of the day this will be yours so if you are happy with it and the way it performed, that is all that matters. ALSO JUST A REMINDER....SSG IS the FASTEST color out there. LOL

[Viper Girl]

The new Corvettes are nice too but the Z51's are not Vipers.
This ^^^^

John has a Z51 3lt, it'll probably bore you if you don't supercharge it.

It was recently supercharged by Magnuson, and now it's a really fun car to drive now that it's putting viper like power to the rear wheels.
Out of all the cars in the garage though, it's going to be the first to leave to make room for the HellCat. A back seat and that insane HP wins the garage slot hands down. LOL

Go HC or Gen IV, and look at every Z51 in your rear view mirror.

[Ohiotj]

Thanks for the input. I figured we would hear a few good words about the viper. I got two questions about the viper. Are we able to remove stripes that were put on at the factory or are they under clear coat? Also for a new gen v the stripes are 5k if I remember. For another 5k we could have carbon brakes. Why hasn't it gone that way yet?

[viper_eddie]

If family riding in it is important, why not a GT500? As far as classic muscle cars go I like Mopar but I'm not a fan of their new offerings except in the looks department. Just too heavy and only straight line performance. Years ago I was in the market for either a Camaro or Mustang and I liked the Mustang the most because it felt the most nimble. If you're not too crazy after HP you can consider a Boss 302, as well. You can also get a ZL1 for about 10k less than a GT500. You get less HP but better handling and brakes.

[ACRucrazy]

Gen IV has already taken the depreciation hit.
As much as I want a hellcat I'd roll a Viper first.

[MalingatorGTS]

Having sold a 600+ hp N/A 426 Stroker SRT8 Charger to buy my Viper...ummm, need I say more.

I drove a Hellcat, it's a brute. It behaves like a brute and for what it is, it's a fun ride. It's no sports car. If Dodge had the technology in 1970 they would have built the car just like this.

That said, and my Charger was fully custom, paint, motor, air ride suspension and just about everything else, it's NOT a Viper! Just telling someone you own one gets them drooling and asking when they can see it or have a ride. You don't get that from most cars under 100k.

[Ohiotj]

I should add that I never drove any of these cars. However I did have a 13 challenger rt which handled better then my 93 viper on the road course. I am quite familiar with the weight of these cars. I am not interested in a Mazda or similar car as I really feel in love with the strip last year. I like the idea of a hellcat but I really want to get a road course car too. I ruled out a zl1 and gt500 as I would rather be in a hellcat. But the zl1 would be my choice outta the two.

[Leslie]

Hard to find a car that will do it all, especially if you throw in wanting to track it and have a back seat.

If you are open to non-mopar.....I see Cadillac CTSV's at the track a lot, seen guys throw Hoosiers on them and fly! Have you considered a BMW?
See those all the time too at the track. Both good choices with back seats.

You could go with the challenger R/T, plenty of hp, tires, susp, save some $ for track time, scat pack is kewl, been looking at those myself.

GenIV if you want pure adrenaline at the track and uniqueness on the street.

[Shooter]

Thanks for the input. I figured we would hear a few good words about the viper. I got two questions about the viper. Are we able to remove stripes that were put on at the factory or are they under clear coat? Also for a new gen v the stripes are 5k if I remember. For another 5k we could have carbon brakes. Why hasn't it gone that way yet?

The stock Gen IV stripes are painted on. People get confused sometimes because of the ridge you can feel on the edge of the stripes, but if they are factory, they are painted.

[Photog1]

No question...VIPER!!

[slitherv10]

I am in the market for a new car. My price range is around 60k. All three of these cars are in my wheel house. It is strictly a second car and doesn't need to be used for daily driving so I could car less about street manners. I do like to run on both road courses and drag strip. A base z51 and hellcat can be had for 56k with no taxes due to trade in. I found an 08 SSG with 2k miles coupe for about 65k after all fees. Nine grand can buy a lot of tires and track events so I am trying to wrap my head around which way to go. I would prefer the viper but dang is it hard to ignore the z51 bargin. The hellcat is a straight line ringer but is slower then a new base gt mustang on a road course. However I can take the family in hellcat for rides.
I'm curious what the viper community thinks and please try to non bias. I know we all have a thing for the vipers but I love all cars even though 90% of my cars have always been mopars.


Hellcat is the new hype, its faster than the Gen 4, has room for 4 and a good sized trunk if needed, and comes with a new car warranty.

Hands down the Hellcat!! The looks you get for the Viper are great but at the end of the day are you buying it for looks, power, or comfort. Hellcat covers all 3, Viper 1 (looks) and as far as the Corvette is concerned none of the above.

[slowhatch]

If you are serious about the performance side of things I wouldn't look past a Viper. The car is a monster in a straight line, and in capable hands, a monster on the circuit. Not many cars possess that duality. If space considerations are a real concern and you need a backseat, I doubt you'd be too upset in a Hellcat. I love vettes, many of my buddies have them and they are great cars, but they are no Viper in either the performance or the cache standpoint (maybe this means nothing to you). Last week, my buddy showed up to my house in his brand new '15 Arctic White Z51 C7 M7, loaded to the gills, beautiful car. I took it for a spin, rolled into the throttle and.... couldn't believe how slow it was. I really forget how fast our cars truly are. I'd love to stuff all of his gadgets and interior amenities into my car though, so basically what im saying is, I want a gen 5 ;)

I was in the same boat a while back and wanted the most performance 65-70k could buy, you can see what I ended up with. I also take great pride in the fact that when I pull up places I am usually the only Viper in attendance (unless my Viper buds are in tow :)). They are just rare cars, and although I sometimes get desensitized to ownership because I see it everyday, people on the street, on the freeways, in parking lots, at gas stations, etc running up with their cellphones never fail to remind me how special these cars are.

Get a snake and never look back.

[slowhatch]

Hellcat is the new hype, its faster than the Gen 4, has room for 4 and a good sized trunk if needed, and comes with a new car warranty.

Hands down the Hellcat!! The looks you get for the Viper are great but at the end of the day are you buying it for looks, power, or comfort. Hellcat covers all 3, Viper 1 (looks) and as far as the Corvette is concerned none of the above.

Hellcat faster than a gen 4? LOL.

http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/gallery/no/John-Krasinski-no.gif

[slitherv10]

Hellcat faster than a gen 4? LOL.

http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/gallery/no/John-Krasinski-no.gif


Stock to stock...I would hope so. If not what is all the hype about anyway?

[Ohiotj]

The stock Gen IV stripes are painted on. People get confused sometimes because of the ridge you can feel on the edge of the stripes, but if they are factory, they are painted.

Thanks. I did not know this. The one I found has black stripes but I love the look of a solid SSG.