Hope you all enjoyed this epic 5-part series with RM Sotheby's! Which video was your favourite? 👇 Discover the Viper for sale here: rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/lm23/le-mans/lots/r0007-1996-chrysler-viper-gts-r/1345429

@alfatbear

Жыл бұрын

I enjoyed it, thank you. Favorites would be the Nissan R90ck and the Porsche 962, although they are all very cool.

@k0618202

Жыл бұрын

My favourite was the Aston Martin, since it has the best external features and has the greatest heritage. I really hope you consider making more videos like this in the future, along with regular vlogs. Have a nice day and keep up the great work!

@Christoffski

Жыл бұрын

Some channels they just sit around waxing lyrical and show some close up shots of lifelessly still & silent cars. You bring these legendary beasts to life for us and let us hear and even feel them roar. This is one the coolest experiences since Keiichi Tsuchiya's Best Motoring, where I almost feel like I'm being chucked about in my chair. 😁

@matthew-jy5jp

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for doing all these great videos. You are a legend Ben and a class act. You should have a show like this on full time. Appreciate all the videos

@buzzworddujour

Жыл бұрын

only niggle I have is Ben saying it won in "1988"

This and the yellow C5 vette are so iconic, I cannot even remember the rest of the cars these beasts were racing back then by how iconc and legendary these cars are. Brutal machine

@DanArnets1492

Жыл бұрын

Like a dozen Porsches IIRC

@PotatoeJoe69

9 ай бұрын

Back then, they were just racing a bunch of copy & paste German cars. 😅

The Viper is definitely one of the coolest cars to come out of America 😃🙌

@superlight1999

Жыл бұрын

And people still says American cars can't turn. I'm getting sick of that joke already.

@papa_pt

Жыл бұрын

​@@superlight1999 it was true for a while, aside from exceptions like the viper and corvette starting with c5 Z06. But yeah if anyone has said it since ~2010 when the new camaro and Caddy platform came out they're just plain ignorant

@DylanvdBerg

Жыл бұрын

My fave car

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Oh yeah, it is.

@zairomolino4074

Жыл бұрын

Because it's old fashioned

Forget the Mustang, the Corvette, the Camaro and the Charger. THIS is the greatest car ever to come out of America

The Viper was a chainsaw at time when everyone was using scalpels. Was it poised? Not at all. Was it brutal and got the job done? Hell yes it did!

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Correct!

This is probably the coolest of the LeMans mini series you’ve done. Mainly for that engine. Awesome

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it! This car was insane to drive.

you are doing such a great job conveying what the car is doing, and how it feels, I hope you get many more cars to film :D

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Glad you like my methods! More in the works...

Vipers are just so special to drive. The racing success they had is unparalleled in the modern era for American Supercars. So underrated

I remember watching these dominate at Le Mans in the red white and blue Oreca paint. You could attach a house to them and they'd still win. 1999 is the first one I remember watching most of the 24 hrs.

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Given how gnarly they look was surpised how docile they drive - and a great endurance machine

The 90's was one of the greatest era's for endurance racing. Amazing cars!

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

It just was. 90s ruled.

@RefreshingCanOfCoke

Жыл бұрын

@@BenCollinsDrives Gotta give credit to the 80s as well, the era of Group C.

@marks7197

5 ай бұрын

Youre joking aren't you? Most of the 90's was a wilderness for Le Mans while they overcame the loss of Group C, lowest attendances and participant numbers and liberties with the rules so you didn't know what the top category was with neutred prototypes and cars like the Dauer and Toyota TS020 allowed to participate despite being so far removed from the intention of the rules. Only two races in the 90's were of any quality 1990 and 1999.

I use to dominate Grand Turismo in the Team Oreca Viper! Great vid, Stiggy!

The road going version of this is gorgeous. A dream car

@vaenii5056

Жыл бұрын

For me it is the opposite. Love the Vipers built by the likes of ORECA. They seem like great racing cars - fast, really responsive engine and relatively easy to drive. They look and sound so raw as well.

@stewartgrindlay9760

Жыл бұрын

@@vaenii5056 was a lovely car to

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

And a bit of nutter - drove it on Curfew the TV series and the wheelspin was outrageous in every gear!

@PyroBlonde7777

Жыл бұрын

@@vaenii5056 At the same time, an ACR or GTS-R would be close enough for me! I could easily modify it to feel similar anyway. They're probably the most reliable and cheap to maintain super car out there.

@automotive474

5 ай бұрын

I drove on in Forza and it was nuts, already 😅 I wish one day I can drive one on a misty twisty mountain road...

It took me a while to get used to see them on the starting grid as a newcomer back then. Didn't think it would be very competitive, but they were. The Viper became the choice of car quickly and it's a shame they stopped racing them. In my opinion, they should've been an evergreen like the Corvette and the 911 in GT and endurance racing.

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

This is the final video in the series, but I've got more in the works!

The unmistakable sound of the Viper, a howl & a gurgling at the same time. My favourite place to hear the Viper was at the top of the start/finish straight on the bank by the concert stage, hearing them come up into the first chicane and the blasting out on under the Dunlop bridge and down to the forest esses.

The noise that car makes is remarkable! What a machine.

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Hard to capture on video - in the car the tone reverberates through your whole body

What car was my dream car as kid and still is now. Lucky enough to see Oreca Cars in FIA gt series at Silverstone and Donnington in 2000 & 2001. That noise always takes me back to those days.

Man, I miss those days of racing when the Viper had a great presence. Great video, Ben!

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it. The Viper has an INSANE track presence.

An iconic car....respect!!!

The 96/97 blue on white Oreca Viper is my favourite of all the Vipers. The later red/white/blue and red/white cars were pretty great looking too, but the moment I first saw one of these aged 8 I knew I had a new favourite car.

Best two seater that the US will ever had made. Sorry covette guys, this is the track monster. Beauty, attitude and brute force. #Masterpiece

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Tough call vs Corvette - but the V10 does give it an edge 🔥

@triple6758

Жыл бұрын

@@BenCollinsDrives The Vettes get the iconic status. The Vipers are pure menaces. The looks, the engine, the track records. The Vipers represents what the US can do when we decide to work outside our own traditional boundaries. I'm not shitting on Corvettes by any means. GM won't 'let go' like Chrysler has. The C8 is a new era for GM sports cars. Not Corvettes though, honestly. Front engine, rear drive, manual. The most desirable criteria for anyone who *enjoys driving. C7 will always be the last for me (and a hell of a car at that!). We'll see if the mid engine can rewrite some of Viper's records, I'm sure. Cheers Ben. Thanks for being the Best Stig!

Truly one of my all time fave GT racing cars. I never thought any GT racing cars could compete with my love for the Porsche 935's, but this car is it, specifically in the Oreca red/white/blue and the iconic red/white for the last two Le Mans victories. Vipers are truly epic street and race machines. Had I the coin, Id have a red/white Oreca in my garage along with a 935 Martini livery. Just such special cars these Vipers are. Sad day when Dodge decided to kill off its most epic car in its modern history. Thanks for letting us live vicariously through you.

As an American I'm so proud of this car.

I was waiting for you to take this for a drive ever since I saw it in the intros of the other videos 😁

Just a beautiful car, an original that strikes the namesake's appearance, a snake, without looking cartoonist. Awesome look

Who knew the Stig had so much to say? I love hearing Mr. The Stig really break down a car, thank you!

Us mere mortals love sim racing, because its about as close as we can get to driving amazing machines like this! Awesome 👌🏼

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Working on a new Sim - incher ever closer to perfect immersion

The last of the vipers they built I thought was just amazing and if I had been a rich man I would have had one I have as many pictures of it on my computer as a screen saver Good one ben 😍😍👍👍

Legendary, this car lead the way for a revival of American sports cars, and really reverted the notion that Americans were hopeless when it came to road racing performance, that they didn't have a real worthy car culture. I remember some commentators of the time saying "the Viper has a huge v10 engine so it's faster on the straights, but it's heavy! Let's see how it does around the corners... oh... it goes well too..." Then the Corvette C5 followed, the rebooted GT-40...

Ben Collins... you are the man 🎉

Love the Praga suit with Czech flag!

Ben, your channel is a goldmine, so glad I found it. Time to binge some of your videos 😂

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Welcome along!

Ben was truly enjoying his time with this car. Analogue, powerful, engaging. Long live the STIG.

So beautiful!… So awesome!…Thank you!

More of this!!!

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

More in the works....

Fantastic! Love this channel. Hope you get to drive whatever you wish. Your descriptions nearly transport me to the driver's seat! All the best.🎉

So awesome!

Been looking forward to this one for a while, it didnt disappoint. Look forward to whatever videos you have in the pipeline 👍🏻

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Glad to hear it 🙌🏻

I watched the whole of this with a massive grin on my face!

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Good to hear!

My all-time favorite Viper remains the GTS-R GT2 Champion Edition Package, the street-legal version of this same car. Down to the white/blue paint, the huge rear wing and the front splitter. A dream machine.

Love this first GTS-R

Another great video...loving the content 👌

Absolutely incredible Ben...thank you for such awesome content man!

Loving the excitement

Oh yes. Gran Turismo also provided some tidbits about the Viper, there's also the JGTC Viper. At this point it didn't even matter that the engine is up front or the giant engine. No turbo lag and no extra whoosh sounds other than the air at around 200 mph. Or as that Gran Turismo line said "Viper is about driving." Looks fun!

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Pure driving - very special

@PyroBlonde7777

Жыл бұрын

The Viper V10 is actually behind the front tires. So even though it is "front engine" the car can be considered "mid engine" as a result. The engine itself is relatively small in width/height, excluding its length of course. The displacement is large but it's not like it's some kind of boat anchor lol.

Ah man this is one of my favorite American cars ever it's so awesome to see you put it through it's paces thanks so much for sharing!

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Pleasure glad you enjoyed it !

@joshschneider9766

Жыл бұрын

@@BenCollinsDrives you rock Ben thanks very much for the personal response

Another great video. Keep them coming. 😊

Ben Collins, livin’ the dream, baby. 🤟🏼 His book The Man in the White Suit was fantastic, as well. Had me in stitches plenty of times. 😂

Masterpiece! ❤

I remember my first ride in a Viper. It was awesome!

Beautiful car My first memory is gran turismo 😍

Impressive and very enjoyable video. Talking while driving Viper without it killing you, also impressive.

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Thank you - actually it didnt want to kill me it was very friendly in a kind of tame T-Rex way

If the original was a widow maker i can not imagine this one. Lovely car❤

The Viper & the mental looking Marcos LM600 are my favourite GTS racers

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

what about the Panoz? Another front engined bronco ;)

@automotive474

5 ай бұрын

@@BenCollinsDrives The Panoz is the unsung hero that decyphered this formula and opened up the road to the Viper, and subsequently the Corvette C5. Underapreciated for sure, perhaps because its consumer offers were not so well structured (or well styled).

ABSOLUTELY loving this Le Mans car test drive series !!!! Hope to see more of theses videos

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Thank you will be working on some more specials like this one!

My all time dream car! I still have posters and hot wheels of these gts-r's! Such beautiful and awesome cars

Great vid thanks

The Stig quoting Ludichris. How the coolest guy with the coolest job gets even cooler.

These cars are so iconic! The gen 2 bodywork is epically timeless and beautiful as well! EDIT: I see this car sold for 623K EUR, that seems like a steal IMO!

Amazing video 😍i love Corvette and Viper ❤️💪

Love the noise off that thing man it sounds awesome. What a machine.

Back in the days as a Young Boy i Had a 1:24 scale model of the zakspeed viper. I Loved IT so much. Absolut timeless Design still looking so damn cool and that legendary V10 IS second to none!!!! Thanks for the Video Mr.Collins Greets from Germany

Watching you feed the power in on corner exit, lovely

Epic!

I'm very proud you cooperate with Praga 👍

loving this content ben

I'm glad I still have my 2001 gts!

Love these & all the front engined GTR racers from late 90,s-early 2000,s.Try to get hold of a Panoz Esperante & the mental looking Marcos LM600!

Perfection ❤️

One of my dream cars!😊

God, wow. The memories of watching these machines race on TV, in Europe (I'm in Canada) and they would just effortlessly walk away from the competition.

The Viper is a Car Guys Car. Just pure sport. Carroll Shelby and Bob Lutz are true innovators, The Viper is their quintessence

Mr Colins seems to be saying the word “Playful” im sure he means “terrifying” 🤣

Magnificent beast. Well done Sir; enjoyed every second of this video.

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

👍 thank you

Great video, thanks Ben. A friend of mine had a street viper, strangely at idle it sounded like a inline four motorcycle.

what a machineeeeeeeeeeee one of my favorite cars of all time

Still remember this being unreal in Gran Turismo. Still love it in GT7 (the newer gen)

I love your content!!!!

Cracking video squire, this little series has been absolutely epic. I think this and the porsche videos are my fav's. The viper is an incredible car, drive in equal measues of joy and terror. Thing wheels spins in every sngle gear. An ex's dad owned the road version and let me drive it. Big grin and brown trousers soon follwed I can tell you.

A true legend

Saw these racing at Philip island back 1997. What a great sight!

Another Great car. Great video and of course Amazing Driver 👍👍

The Viper was a raw car when it came out. No windows, a snap on soft top that totally impractical.

Legendary WIPER !

I love how it took back to back to back wins in 1988, 99, and 2000 🤣

One of my all time favourite cars, love it.

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

From viewing on motorsport or as a gamer ??

@BrunoSantos-jw3er

Жыл бұрын

@@BenCollinsDrives both to be honest, for it's uniqueness, looks, and performance (race car) in real life and I had many kms done in a Viper in the Gran Turismo games, ever since the first Gran Turismo game.

Great video. Awesome car

Every time you turned onto the Bugatti circuit instead of heading to Tertre Rouge, I felt the desire to just go left. It must have been tempting, but you're a pros pro.

I saw one of these back in the day, here in Australia in Geelong. It competed in what they called 'Speed trials' along the Waterfront, which was a 400 meter track with a straight curve. People could enter, and drive their cars flat out. 2 day event, modern cars first day, classics on the second. A red GTS-R was entered, and even with a slight bend in the track, the car ran close to a 10 sec quater.

What a car I love it and we definitely don’t need background music 😁

Yeah! Right on Ben !!! #HEMI #Shelby #701 #MorePowerBaby !!❤❤❤

Those car was dominating the 24h of Nürburgring so much that the organization of the event have to banned it. A old GT car dominating the new one was quite humiliating for the manufacturer.

@JHKCF

9 ай бұрын

Somewhat the same scenario with the ‘69-‘70 hemi Dodge Daytona/Plymouth Superbird. NASCAR banned them cause of their dominance. IMO the competition needs to go back to the drawing board and build a competitive car, not ban the one that developed a winning formula. Only difference here is the Daytona/Superbird we’re backed by the manufacturer. I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know.

Loving the videos, Ben. Quality stuff. Do me a favour and do a video on the XJR-9!

A mate of mine here in Australia had one until recently when he crashed it. He fitted a supercharger and had the same hp as this viper and it was crazy wicked fun to drive. And the noise, oh the noise

Nice sound！

One of my favorite cars since I was 5!

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Iconic!

@Akyuz1000

Жыл бұрын

@@BenCollinsDrives Indeed! I remember getting Road & Track with all the cars and those Diecast Cars and 18 Wheelers Trucks/Lorries. All kinds of match box! Were the days. One day, I'll have me a Early 90's Foxy Body Trans AM-ed also heavily inspired by Carol Shelby, Ken Miles and Mickey Thompson. On day.

Your last 2 videos including this one, its like gran turismo dreams but hands on

the copper: the car purposely designed to send their owners a early visit to their god. what a way to go i guess. great vid Stig!

I think Mr Collins was enjoying himself quite a bit. The Stig was showing through when that got sideways.

@BenCollinsDrives

Жыл бұрын

Had to be done!

Beside for the Ford GT which was super limited production, the Viper is probably the greatest modern American car ever built, and maybe the greatest American car ever built, looking at performance. Especially the later ones.

Misha drove the non-R without a stock setup and tires and it was beastly. I can imagine this version has much better handling & performance than the road version. Iconic car, great job Ben.