Viper vs Hemi Challenger

We are in a golden age for performance cars. This golden age of modern musclecars could be referred to as the "second coming of the era." The first, of course, was the musclecar era that spanned from about 1962 to what was the end of the era with the Chrysler Street Hemi in 1971. In the eyes of many (certainly Mopar fans), the Hemi-powered E-body cars for the '70 and '71 model years were the pinnacle of what a true musclecar is all about.

If you have any doubt about the theory of two golden ages for high-performance street cars, consider what was in between. After the Hemi Mopars, LS-6 Chevys and Cobra Jet Fords died in the early '70s, we were left with a vast wasteland of Milquetoast cars that did little to boil the blood of performance enthusiasts. For those of the Dodge persuasion, it's even more evident. In between the '71 Hemi Challenger (and its sister ship Hemi 'Cuda) and the '92 Viper, there was little in the way of absolute brute-force performance available off the showroom floor. The mid-'70s to early '80s were littered with landau-roofed, K-car New Yorkers, Volare wagons and little else from GM and Ford. In the dark ages of, say, around 1977, the Firebird Trans Am and Corvette were the only real performance-minded American cars.

These two eras of the golden age are likely best represented in the form of the '70 Hemi Challenger and the '96 Viper. We've gathered the two cars to illustrate a point: The first golden age of outrageous, factory-offered performance cars was great. But the second one is better. Consider what we've seen just since the beginning of the '90s alone. Six-speed, TPI 'Vettes and 5.0-liter Mustangs were just the start. But while GM and Ford were getting the new golden era off and running, the Mopar boys were noticeably absent in the melee. That changed, however, as the outlandish Viper made its debut for the '92 model year (the same year as the LT1 Corvette).

Originally making its splash in early 1989 as a pie-in-the-sky concept car, the Viper and "the New Dodge," much to their credit, changed everything. How so? Well, for starters, the touted King-of-the-hill ZR-1 Corvette was no longer BMOC (big man on campus). Here was a two-seat roadster with a V10 engine, six-speed trans and enough torque to give a GM Terex Titan dumptruck a run for its money in a tug-o-war. It was all wrapped in bodywork that's just too macho for its own good. ChryCo was no longer just part of the golden era, they had become the definers of it. It begs the question: How does Dodge's wildest current car compare with what some consider to be the wildest car of the older golden age, the Hemi E-body?

In the past, CC compared the Viper with a Cobra (March '92), but that was a Ford-powered car. We wanted to see how a new-and-improved '96 Viper stacked up against its proverbial corporate granddaddy, the Hemi Challenger. While a Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda is mechanically identical, we wanted a Dodge versus Dodge comparison, so Glendale, California, resident and Mopar nut Kenn Funk obliged us with his very original '70 Hemi Challenger SE.

The lore surrounding the '70-'71 Hemi E-body cars is the stuff of musclecar legends (as it is with Vipers today). Beginning with the '66 model year, Chrysler offered its 426-inch Street Hemi in a number of body styles, but a Hemi ponycar was not in the cards. That changed in 1970 as Dodge and Plymouth hit us with both barrels--a stunning new Challenger/Barracuda platform and the rip-roaring Hemi mill to go with it. The combination had the 454 LS-6 and 428 Cobra Jet guys waking up at night in a cold sweat.

The debut of the Hemi E-body made a take-no-prisoners statement in the November '69 issue of Car Craft, where a four-speed Hemi 'Cuda hammered out a 13.10-second blast at 107.1 mph. Eight other cars were tested, and only the LS-6 SS454 Chevelle kept up with a 13.12-second run at 107.0 mph. The other six cars (AMC Rebel 390, Ford Torino 429SCJ, Mercury Cougar Boss 429, Olds 442 W-30, Pontiac GTO Ram Air IV 400 and Challenger 440 Six-Pak) were more than a half-second slower. The 'Cuda had the requisite dual-quad 425hp Hemi engine, four-speed trans and Dana 60 rearend with mild 3.54:1 gears.

Quotes from stories in CC during the same time period make the Hemi ponycar even more incredible. The same November '69 story explained, "We were told that our test car was capable of 12.90s at 108-110 mph on a good track, but we found that it ran 13.10-13.18 with speeds of 106-107 mph." After a few months to let the dust settle, CC got its grimy mitts on another Hemi 'Cuda, this one an automatic with 4.10:1 gears. Christening the car as the official "Woodward Avenue Survival Kit" in the February '70 issue, it easily ran in the mid-13s at 106 mph. The car was run several times on its Goodyear Polyglas F60-15 hockey pucks set at 32 psi. The three quickest runs were a 13.64, 13.61 and 13.53--all at 106 mph. On top of that, "Total weight with a three-quarters-full tank was a heart-sickening 3930 pounds." Basically, Hemi 'Cudas and Challengers were the quickest musclecars you could buy off the showroom floor in 1970.

They didn't drive too badly, either--for their day. Kenn Funk's super-original Challenger SE felt pretty good on the street, but only as good as the technology of a 25-year-old tire design would allow. Put a set of modern radial tires on the car and the difference would be like night and day. But you'd still have to take the sour pill of a car that, according to the February '70 CC story, got 7-9 mpg.

Just that alone makes the Viper's EPA highway rating of 21 mpg look like the eighth wonder of the world. While no Geo Metro, the Viper's 12-mpg city rating proves that it was never meant to be one in the first place. It was meant to be, however, brutally quick. And on our test day at Pomona Raceway, the silver-striped black '96 ran a 13.11 at a screaming 113.2 mph. In deference to those who'd rather walk than drive a modern-tech '90s car, the Viper does have the advantage of huge P335/35ZR17 Michelin Pilot SX tires out back.

Getting to the engine and its components, '96 brings about more change--for the better. The rear halfshafts have been enlarged to handle more power. And more power there is, as the new under-the-car exhaust system bumps the 8.0-liter V10's output from 400 horsepower to 415 horsepower at 5200 rpm. The new exhaust setup also gets rid of the milk-truck sound under full wail. Now you only get it at idle. For torque, there's one lb-ft at 3600 rpm for each of the engine's 488 cubes. Clutch and rearend pieces have also been made beefier. But why all the changes? Mainly because the new equipment will be found on the soon-to-be-released Viper GTS coupe.

But consider the Viper's numerous upgrades for the '96 model year, and the gap widens. Basically unchanged from '92-'95, the '96 car has been put on a weight-saving program that puts a two-ton Hemi E-body to shame. The '96 Viper's frame is lighter by 60 pounds and also has a 20-percent improvement in torsional stiffness over the '95. In addition, the '96s get cast-aluminum A-arms, replacing the welded tubular versions. Along with hollow antisway bars and slightly lighter (and better-looking) wheels, unsprung weight is reduced by about 15 pounds--at each corner. Other suspension updates include improved geometry at the rear and new locations for the shock attachments, which move them closer to the lower ball joints for better control of slight suspension movements.

So how does the Viper stack up against the time-honored Hemi car? We didn't actually hammer the hell out of Kenn's Challenger specifically, considering the car is probably worth more than the new Viper. But after a few blasts around the Pomona raceway, it's safe to say that its 425hp street Hemi does a commendable job at mimicking the V10's feeling of earth-moving torque. In fact, the Hemi engine is actually rated with an extra two lbs-ft of torque (490 at 4000 rpm), as long as you remember that's a gross rating as compared with the Viper's SAE net figures.

Some may call it crazy to compare a new car that has huge 13-inch disc brakes, modern-tech engine control, six forward gears and nearly 1g road-holding capability to an old car that has lousy drum brakes at the back, two obsolete carburetors, four forward gears (with no overdrive) and about 0.70g of skidpad grip. However, both cars are close because they both ran in the low 13s during their respective days in the limelight. In that department, consider it a wash. But in the end, both of these legends (old and new) are winners because they truly represent not just one, but two golden ages for all-out performance cars we're not likely to see again. Let's just hope this second golden age never ends.