Our collector extraordinaire, Maurice Liang, provided these photos of some primo Viper collectables. Maurice writes, “This is the new Autoart 1/18 Viper coupe. The detail is amazing! Too bad it’s not the 2008 (and in Snakeskin Green!).”
Well, we’ll just have to make do.
In the last issue of VIPER Magazine, we featured a photo from Maurice Liang where he placed an attractive model on the rear wing of an ACR and listed her as “an optional 100 lbs. of downforce.” VM had a number of inquiries about this photo, along with a request for any other outtakes from that photo shoot. As always, VM is happy to oblige.
Former Georgia VCA president Peter Mansolillo had an encounter recently that goes to show you’re only as old as you feel. “I had this 76-year-old widow customer come in the office last week, with this custom made 2009 ACR look alike,” he explained. “She has another Viper with 130,000 miles on it. When her husband passed away six years ago the GTS only had 900 miles on it. She drives it everyday. This kind of thing really gives me hope for the future.”
By Paul Schlageter
I want to tell everyone that I enjoy VIPER Magazine very much—especially the Tech Notes section. My brother and I both have 1995 RT/10s. We got them about six years ago and have had little or no problems with them. Mine is the red one and my brother Kurt has the black.
When we were growing up one of us always had to have a better car than the other. Now we have the same but, as I tell him, mine is better because it has “Last 300 side exhaust” etched on the frame.
We live in Grass Valley, California, so we get to drive them almost all year round. And all Viper owners know you always get the looks from people. As my brother and I say, “A Corvette is just a Corvette, a Porsche is just a Porsche—but a Viper is bad!”
If you frequent the drag strips around Ohio and Pennsylvania, chances are you’ve seen the “Viperizer” roaring up to the starting line, emerging from a cloud of white smoke as Ron Siegal heats up his slicks to make a quarter-mile pass. It’s a sight to see!
This beastly beauty, handcrafted for Siegal by Jerry Bickel Race Cars, can burn the quarter mile in 7.19 seconds @ 194 mph. The Viperizer’s chassis is fabricated from Chromemoly tubing, the body is hand laid fiberglass. The interior is carbon fiber, while titanium and other exotic metals are used for wheels and wheelie bars to make this race car weigh in, driver included, at a remarkable 2150 lbs.
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Incredible attention has been paid to every detail. For example check out the hand- painted tail lamps. Siegal is also an avid Mopar® collector, so when it came time for him to build the power plant for the Viperizer, there was no doubt it would be based on the legendary Mopar V8s. The current power plant is an all-aluminum 572 cubic inch V8 creation that produces nearly 1,300 hp.
The Viperizer is for the race track, but if the weather is right you might see Siegal in his 1998 Viper GTS or his Snakeskin green 2008 Viper SRT10® cruising down the road.
By Bill Rodway
Recently, the New Mexico Viper Club organized an event with the main purpose of raising money for the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation (MC-LEF). The event was the First Annual Roadrunner Charity Fun Run in Albuquerque, N.M. More than 50 exotic sports cars participated in the poker run, where participants picked up playing cards at seven locations around town and at the final stop, played their best five-card poker hand.
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Hand-made trophies made of engine parts were awarded to the top three poker hands, and more than 15 door prizes were given to random entrants. With the help of an additional large donation by a local business, Motiva Performance, the New Mexico Viper Club was able to raise a donation of $2,000 to be given to the MC-LEF. We hope to make this an annual event and we anticipate an even larger donation next year. Come and join us for this very worthwhile event.
As the glow of the 10th Viper Owners Invitational still lingers for many of those who attended, Robert Schwarzli noticed this unusual alignment when going through his photos from the event. He wrote, “Here is a picture that was taken in the parking garage at VOI in Detroit. This was not a mirror behind my car—it’s a twin Viper. And it was not planned this way. Just one of those happy coincidences.”
Although Samuel Hübinette was unable to repeat as the champion of the Formula D Drift series, it wasn’t for lack of support. The Northern California VCA members showed up in force at Infineon Raceway to cheer for Sam’s Viper SRT10®.
Nick Smith III, owner of Moe’s Southwest Grill in Charlotte, N.C., chose this plate for his 2002 black and yellow Viper. When you stop in, be sure to ask for the Snake Special.
By Brad Elder
I was going to send in my Viper story a long time ago, but we all know how that goes. Coming from a family of car lovers, it made perfect sense to me to start driving as early as possible. It all started with the family Kubota tractor. I was maybe four and in no time I had that driving skill down pat. I then progressed to Honda 70 three wheelers, a Mini Trail 50 and then to dirt bikes.
When I was 13, dad had taken me out in my Grandpa’s old 1967 VW bug and taught me how to drive a manual transmission. Well, I was about to turn 15 and I knew that if you were signed up for driver’s training, you could get a permit on your birthday. During the next year I drove as much as I possibly could. When the weather was nice I was always asking my dad if we could go out in the Viper. The day came where dad finally asked if I wanted to drive it. With all that torque it is very tough when you are first getting used to the clutch, gas, acceleration combo. But I managed quite well.
In the middle of July, I was scheduled to take the written test for my driver’s license. I had phoned my dad at work and asked him if it would be all right if mom and I drove the Black Mamba up to the license bureau. Being the nice dad that he is, he said yes.
I passed the written test and the man behind the counter asked when I would like to schedule the road test. I told him I wouldn’t be sixteen for two more weeks but he said, “You can take the driving part any time within a month of your birthday—and we happen to have an opening right now if you are ready.”
I looked at my mom and looked at him and said sure. He told me to bring my car up front and an agent would meet me. The lady who came out to give me my test was clueless to what a Viper is or she was being very professional to hide how excited she was to ride in one. I showed her how to get in without touching the door sills (dad’s pet peeve). One of the few comments she made to me was, “That is cool how you push the button to start the car.”
After we got going the test went great. I had points deducted because I stalled it while backing around a corner. I am probably one of a few (If not the only) kids that took and passed their driver’s test in a Viper Black Mamba. Thanks mom and dad!