Most race cars require special skills to keep from putting straight into a tree after a few seconds of driving, but the average production car can be piloted by an eight-year-old without much damage. We want to hear about the non-average production car that requires more than average abilities to drive.
This photo from Zerin Dube of Speed:Sport:Life was taken of the Viper I spun it out on the turn behind John Hennessey's shop in Sealy, Texas. I'd been warned the Viper had a bite, but a few days of driving encouraged me to think that the nanny-less Viper wasn't much of a challenge. Maybe for other people, but not for me.
I was wrong.
Automotive photography may look dramatic, but it usually involves driving the same turn repeatedly until the photographer gets the right panning shot. Even in a Viper it gets a little dull.
(My favorite example of image manipulation comes from a Sport Compact Car cover photo of a car shot as it rolled downhill because the engine didn't work. A few people eventually noticed the car appeared to be going backwards.)
I decided to go faster and faster around the long, carousel-type turn at the end of the Lonestar Motorsports Park's quarter-mile, both to get a better shot and because I wanted to make things more interesting. This was great right up to the point I went in with way too much speed even for the grippy Dodge and there was no electronic cure for my overconfidence.
The Viper snapped out of place and I was rolling right towards Zerin, our friend Tim, and Tim's new-ish Dodge Ram. I went two-feet in and the car stopped, as I'd hoped it would, a few feet short of the truck. There was no harm to anyone or anything but I felt like an asshole for doubting that, yes, an older Viper is a challenge.
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