VIDEO: Dodge Viper GT3 and Porsche GT3 battle at the 'Ring
Click the image above to view the video after the jump
The Nurburgring demands respect, and the Viper GT3 and Porsche GT3 are world-class race cars that demand that you get the Hell out of their way. Put the two together, and you've got a winning formula. Watching cars drive around the track shouldn't be this much fun. But the race-ready Viper and 911 took the 'Ring by the horns, and are sure to keep your eyes glued to the screen. The Viper sounds like pure evil out on the track, yet the agility of the Porsche is even more impressive, especially since it keeps pace with the Viper on the long straight-away.
Hit the jump to take in all the action. The Porsche stays in front for most of the lap, which is good for us because the Viper had a picture-perfect in-car camera that lays out the action sublimely. In fact, watching from the vantage-point of the Viper makes it feel like you're playing Gran Turismo, except cheating by cutting corners and jamming the guy in front of you to take the lead is a really bad idea for both car and driver.
[Source: Speed Hunters]
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
hoyaCS08 10:37AM (5/20/2009)
FIA GT3 cars are all "equalized" in performance, so no surprise the lap was so close
Reply
Ian Barrett 11:20AM (5/20/2009)
The Viper driver should have been more careful. His increase weight and top speed, make him a bad candidate for the passing trying to do in the beginning of the lap. I think he could have passed the Porsche on some earlier corner exits if he wasn't braking so much because of his entry speed.
Dave 11:42AM (5/20/2009)
Ian you mean that extra 365 pounds he is throwing around? Viper is 1315kg and Porsche comes in at 1150kg. For cars like this 365 lbs is nothing. And Id bet dollars to donuts that the extra weight is placed in areas that will benifit not hinder the Viper. And the extra 80 HP the Viper carries over the GT3 will defintly make up for it. 440 to 520.. If the FIA GT3 website and car specs are to be believed...
I think he could have passed the Porsche in many spots but was filming the video. You can hear him left off the gas prematurly many times.
naggs 11:59AM (5/20/2009)
365 lbs is nothing...
you sir have no idea what you are talking about
its cool that the cars are closely matched but totally different in their strengths and weaknesses, if there wasn't so much traffic, there would have been more passing between the two
hoyaCS08 12:02PM (5/20/2009)
The FIA imposes a series of restrictions (ballast, limiting max RPMs, tires, air restricters, etc) to balance the performance of cars in the official FIA GT3 Championship races. All cars have to be around the same power/weight ratio before they are allowed enter the series. Then cars finishing in the top 3 get more ballast added, cars outside the top-3 get a small amount removed.
However, since this was not a race on the FIA GT3 Championship calendar, this Viper and Porsche would not necessarily be subject to those regs. They would likely be very close in performance however, since GT3-class cars are generally homologated to the FIA-spec performance goals by their manufacturers/prep-teams.
sparrk 2:36PM (5/20/2009)
The Viper has a lot more torque than the 911, this shows the benefit of the Porsche's rear engine , the amount of grip it has when it exits corners.
Motor_Yakuza 10:41AM (5/20/2009)
This must be frustrating for the Viper's driver.
Reply
Franz 10:44AM (5/20/2009)
Holy late braking in to the first turn Batman! That Porsche driver's got some balls. The Viper was quicker everywhere though... which surprised me a little. I expected the Porsche to be a bit quicker through the turns. And the Porsche definitely has a taller 6th gear. The Viper was out accelerating it on the straight, but ran out of ratios. Great video though... nice way to waste 10 minutes I should have been using for working. :)
Reply
13enS 10:50AM (5/20/2009)
Well, that just made my morning!
Reply
addicted2sp33d 10:51AM (5/20/2009)
That Gallardo GT3 must have been pretty bad. He was "racing" with hot hatches and sedans when he really should have been dicing with these guys.
Reply
Jsams4131 10:53AM (5/20/2009)
his race probably wasn't against the viper and porsche at the time he looked a lap down.
JDM Life 10:53AM (5/20/2009)
The Viper is such a beast....like it was preying on that GT3.....
The Viper driver was pretty pissed...you could tell he really wanted to nudge him out the way but wanted to play fair.
The GT3 much be pretty fast to keep up with a light weight, V10 600hp Viper
Reply
JDM Life 10:56AM (5/20/2009)
Also...
THAT WAS SOME GOOD ASS DRIVING.
God i love racing :)
Reply
Sam Watson 12:37PM (5/20/2009)
Very impressive driving! Both the Porche & Viper must have excellent brakes. I'm sure I would have bounced off the slower cars 20 times in trying to gracefully get around them. haha
Makes me want to at least go play Need For Speed. Closest I'm getting to the 'Ring... ;D
JDM Life 10:57AM (5/20/2009)
Funny how they just flew past teh Lambo like it was noth hahahahahahahah...
Lambos are not very good at racing...leave that to Ferrari =P
Reply
Avinash machado 11:00AM (5/20/2009)
Sad that the Viper itself might be canned. Hope Chrysler finds someone to buy the Viper brand and tooling and keeps it in production.
Reply
Vetmstr 11:00AM (5/20/2009)
THAT WAS BRUTAL. 100% AWESOME
Reply
Stump 11:21AM (5/20/2009)
I need a smoke now..... wow!
Reply
swimtedswim 11:31AM (5/20/2009)
even the surgeon general would smoke a pack after that video
hoyaCS08 11:23AM (5/20/2009)
By my estimation, looks like they ran about 7:30 from bridge to gantry... not bad for an endurance-race lap weaving in and out of heavy traffic. Wonder what they could do on a clear, hot lap
Reply