Here we go again… the never-ending battle of who makes the better 640-650 hp American supercar; Dodge with their Viper TA or Chevrolet with the C7Z. We admit that we might be a bit partial to the 650 hp supercharged 6.2L V8 ‘Vette, but that’s because we’re GM EFI. However, that’s not to say that Dodge is offering a very decent bit of kit with the latest Viper, thanks to its naturally-aspirated 640 hp 8.4L V10.
We’ve seen it go back and forth; the first Viper won in a street race, then another Z06 beats a Viper in another unsanctioned outing… then the Viper and Z06 faced off on a dynoĀ where the Z06 won the dyno shootout. Now this video surfaces of the Z06 beating a Viper on the Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR) dragstrip.
With both cars reportedly being bone-stock, producing similar power levels and curb weights as close as you can realistically get, we call it a very fair race in terms of automobiles.
Now driver’s talent, well that is still in question. Both cars are supposedly high-10 second/low-11 second cars out of the box, but with the Z06 running an 11.75 at 124.35 mph and the SRTĀ clicking off a 12.17 at 122.97 – handing the win to the ‘Vette. Naturally, there are many factors that we have to question.
The ‘Vette bogged horribly off of the line and although the Snake got the jump on the Z’ driver as a result, we feel that his time could, and should, have been quicker as well. The war rages on…
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isnāt tuning, testing, or competing with the brandās current crop of project vehicles, heās busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.