Is the Dodge Viper Really That Dangerous? 

“No safety system, no matter how advanced can overcome the actions of a careless driver” Mercedes-Benz owners manual

So basically its like every other 90's sports car with summer tires...

So it's not dangerous unless you drive recklessly? That is some profound logic right there.

"Is the Dodge Viper Really That Dangerous?" in the hands of richboy scrubs, yes.. yes it is.

Every RWD car is sketchy on summer tires in the snow..

every car is dangerous on the snow without winter tires...

1:36 doug the caveman

There's a product called "winter tire". Usually you need 4 of those, it's good for snow, they say.

Just picked up a winter beater...Dodge Viper

Car is as only good or "dangerous" as the driver.

Doug: Well, I wanted to see what it would be like, haha! Cop: Haha, Step out of the car.

congratulations, doug. you have once again proven that driving like normal in the snow has an unusual effect on handling. how remarkable.

hope there's no SALT on there

that police officer was very nice at the end

You know, you could try counter-steering just a little bit.

Obviously the car is gonna spin out if you floor the fucking thing as soon as you pull off

I love when people decry RWD in the winter acting like it's a death sentence. People from the 1910s-1980s did it, they obviously lived. My grandfather drove a '69 LTD every winter for years.

lmao that police officer "really?"

God that car looks just perfect!!

It's dangerous when you hit the limits. No car is dangerous at low speed.

*Police Car pulls up* Douge: *Rolls down the window* Hi. Police: Really...? Me: LOL!

You mean, drive the Viper like anyone else should drive any other car in this situation? I dislike the people, especially four wheel drive trucks that think they can drive any condition as if it is sunny summer dry. It's like saying it was your T-Shirt, shorts and flip flops' fault that you died of hypothermia in 35 degree weather.

Doug is the type of guy to crap his pants skidding in empty parking lots.

1:36 that face 😂😂😂😂

The same can be said with a FWD hatchback and summer tires...

No shit Sherlock. Get some winter tires FFS.

The Viper is a pretty misunderstood vehicle from what I've known about it. It's actually not that difficult to control once you get used to it, like adapting to a new and foreign environment. And that it's actually a front mid-engined car like the Corvette. All in all these things are easier to tame than some people initially anticipate.

The GTS Viper is by far the best looking Viper out of all Vipers. lol

That was great with the trooper at the end there. Love it

or you could try... I don't know... putting winter tires on it?

a child with the body of an adult.

Beautiful Viper...thanks for doing this, Doug. It's interesting to see how well it actually handled that. My 99 GT mustang does about the same, maybe a tad worse. Considering how much more horsepower you have, it really shows how well built the Viper really is. Cool video.

The only thing thats dangerous is that wheel gap. Ew.

Also Doug needs an exhaust ASAP

Hardest car to control in Gran Turismo 3

=))) I'm so happy I watched this till the end! The conversation with those cops was the best =))

where can i find your column?

"Garage kept 1996 Dodge Viper coup, only seen winter once"💀

I am a Canadian who has owned two Vipers in the past. The 1994, with a custom hardtop & windows, is the one I drove on average 15,000 miles/year. Because, I often drove it high speed the Viper was always kept in top racing form and tires changed way before their time. Lots of open road in Canada where I'd often cruise at 120-165 mph when there was no other traffic near me. At 150 mph in 5th gear the car just hummed along without appearing to overworked even a bit. It was a good handling car on average to good roads. The most dangerous part of driving the car which a sane person would have avoided. Is to try to lay lots of rubber below 40-45 mph while just cruising & not in 75-100% acceleration mode. If you happened to be dumb enough to do it outside of those parameters the car would snap right instantly the momentum and with it the left-side of your head would slam against the hardtop and the rest of your body would also violently be pushed left. Fortunately, you could recover because your foot on the gas would also been moved off and the car could be easily straightened out. This could have been disasterous and an accident caused if there was a car travelling parallel on your right side. ... I didn't like driving it in the rain and avoided using the car on those days opting for my All-WD instead. If I had to drive in the rain it was never over 60-70 mph because the car always felt like it was on the threshold of hyproplaning and could easily lose control. Forget driving it in snow that's for idiots even with the best winter tires. To many other crazy drivers out there who don't know how to drive in bad weather. Plus, if you don't have an all weather (and all year) vehicle(s) to drive when the weather is bad then you shouldn't have a Viper in the first place. As soon as the weather (with or without snow) got to the freezing point (frost on the road) my car was parked until Spring. ... For further details about Viper handling in good weather. Do a search on RU-vid for some of the automotive/speed/racing reviews that can be viewed. ... In closing, I've sold the Vipers, but still love the car. I'm considering buying another for old times sake, preferably a GTS model which is on my bucket list.

I always thought this viper was so beautiful, one of my favourites. I had my z28 camaro painted viper blue lol. I use o put sand bags in the bag when the snow was bad, when I got my first fwd with winter tires I felt like I was driving a tank in the snow compared to my rwd lol. Can you please do a review on Steve jobs model car, I want to know why the king of design and simplicity loved it. Thanks

I had a 96' viper exactly like this one and found it to be very drivable, even predictable. I was surprised how easy it was to play with and slide around, it's a great car!

You know what's really dangerous, when people think that their new AWD crossover will handle better in snow and slush than their old FWD sedan. It may be marginally less likely to fishtail, but mostly they're setting themselves up for disaster.

1:36 dougs face had me laughing lol

This video makes me think of my dad daily driving a 69 427 Stingray in a Chicago winter a long time ago. I'm told the Positraction made it even worse, because it just led to both rear tires spinning instead of only one of them. But as far as all the nanny features lacking on this car - it doesn't matter, it's just a question of what the driver is used to. To this day I've never driven a car that did have those features, except for some rare occasions driving cars with ABS. And if I got into a panic stop with ABS, I know I'd end up doing the wrong thing because my instincts are programmed for doing my own driving.

this is just supid, almost every car can spin the wheels if you floor it even on dry

WAIT, so you are telling me that if you are not an idiot you won't crash and die!?!?! This news will send shock waves throughout the car world!

I hate the way his mouth and tongue move, like if he had a hot potato in it

I think this model of Viper had a limited slip differential. That should help getting off the line smoothly if you feather the throttle. Also since it is a manual you can engine brake and not lock up your wheels by slamming the brake in snow.

Do snow tires for the Viper exist? If so do you plan on getting them?

He talks like his tongue is too big for his mouth.

me: looks at news paper newspaper: viper kills 23 year old man in Ontario me: reads fine print, Dodge Viper shoots driver off cliff

My brother got an old Cutlass late 60s early 70s model, I can't remember what year. It was the one with the squared back glass (actually had corners like a fish tank). His new wife's brother have it to her. We lived in Detroit suburbs and they lived in Traverse City/Sutton's Bay. I remember I was 17 and we drove up 5 1/2 hrs to get it in the same conditions as this video. My brother had me drive the Olds home. I remember the tires were kind of slick. It was so powerful, they would spin out just idling. I learned to goose the throttle and brake all the way home. I was scared and excited. Great experience for me at an early age. Now I'm one of the best drivers of my siblings

No ABS? Damn. That's dated for 99.

Doug: How ya doin?? Cop: Really?? Perfectly explains my thinking.

"The car doesn't randomly try to kill you." Haha so entertaining. Great job!

This is actually not dodge viper... It's doug viper

Very nice cop at the end of the video.

driving any car with summer times on cold icy roads is just plain stupid, doesn't matter the car

I drove a 69' 318 Coronet for two years straight back and forth to work in Columbus Ohio about 10 years ago and I imagine it is somewhat like that. Lived on the east side and drove to Lewis Center. Brake early and brake light in the snow AND the rain. Nice car btw

Lime Rock Park has a winter autocross this weekend. They have a good layer of snow and running snow machines. Bring the Viper!

Spun out in my evo after a car wash in 40 degree weather

Only in America can you do a video in front of a decommissioned aircraft carrier. I love it.

As long as you're not stupid, you wouldn't drive that car on Snow ;)

Cars don't kill people; people kill themselves in cars.. Same logic that guns don't kill ppl, ppl with guns kill ppl ... If you're not capable of driving a car , even if it's not a viper, with no traction control nor stability control, then don't drive it... period... Stop making false pretenses that the car itself is most dangerous..lol... Fyi, I'm not speaking in regards knowing that Doug tested the car in the snow.. it's obvious he has no snow tires and that he's just messing around.. he's not that stupid...lol but I'm letting you know my statement does not revolve around that.. I own a 06 Viper and an 06 M3 I put 15k miles on my viper and no problems at all.. As far reliability goes, it's so far, the most reliable exotic I ever owned Haters go ahead and keep hating lmao...

The key word is being "Not an idiot" Any high-performance car can be driven as long as you are careful and again "not drive like an idiot". Great job Doug.

that salt going YUM YUM YUM YUM LOVEEEE VIPER BODIES

Doug DeMuro, you are my favorite person. 👍🏽🙌🏽🙏🏽

Or a 79 Mustang Indy Pace Car 5.0 4 speed with old dry low tread TRX tires. That car was scary in the winter! I lived in Rochester Minnesota when I had it, working in the SE part of town and living in the SW part of town. I used city streets instead of the highway because it was too light in the rear.

still a great looking car

Put some Bridgestone Bilzzaks on that bad boy and have some fun in the snow!

Years later, coming back to this...I really don't see much difference with the 1990s Dodge Viper compared with any other car from that era-even the cars with T/C & ABS. Just be a sensible driver and you're fine. Even my 2000 VW "New Beetle" With 16 valve 1.8t gets loose & has crazy torque steer in the snow with all of it's 150hp when driven like an idiot and it's ASR is broken from old age/electronic failures... Come back North Dougie! We miss you! Ever since you moved to Southern California...the world has gotten so much worse(probably not your fault, LOL!)

Cops sitting across the street at Dunkin Donuts are having a blast watching Doug tear up the winter pavement

Do they salt the roads there? Won't be much left of the car in a few years...

Love the police snippet at the end!

the last part - hilarious man!

Sure it's not gonna randomly try to kill you. It's not an S2000.

Doug has wise things to say about driving in winter conditions. But what he says has nothing to do with the Dodge Viper. Everybody should drive like he advocates.

The Viper IS dangerous... in the hands of idiots who think "450 horsepower, RWD, no electronic aids. I'm gonna floor it and make some heads turn"

Best FWD car on snowy roads.....First Gen Civics....hatchback. I had an 87 Hatchback in Southwestern Colorado that would consistently pass by brand new $60,000 SUV's, 4X4 Trucks, Wagons, Crawlers, whatever... gliding right off the road. I'll never forget all their little snowman figures and how they turned to see a Honda in all its $1200 of glory as I passed by them roaring up the hill with just enough to make it to the top and down the otherside. I even lived on a dirt road that was not plowed by anyone and always made it to the front door with a little momentum and some rally E brake skillZ.

I suggest you to learn drifting. In my country (Finland) you HAVE to master drifting in any car to be able to stay alive driving on the snowy/icy roads. We also need stud tires. Thats one thing why we have many great rallydrivers lol

Doug, you need to do a collab with Saabkyle04! Your two Vipers would look awesome together!

"I'm not an idiot" he says judging the danger by driving at 30mph maximum...

Driving in winter conditions - it's not a matter of car but its tyres. Every car on summer tyres is hard to drive in the winter. If the road is all wet ice then you sometimes just can't drive it on summer tyres at all. If it's standing slightly uphill you won't even start.

Have you tried countersteering? Maybe you won't believe it, but it really helps to keep direction of movement during the wheelspin.

The cop: "Really?" Lmao

So, basically, drive the Viper like you SHOULD drive a car in these kind of weather conditions.....don't be an idiot....which is true with ANY vehicle you drive....I knew the Viper would be fine, people are just scared of it because they have heard horror stories of people being stupid in them...

Great "how not to test a car" video. A ford festiva would spin it's tires in these conditions...smart people know how to "modulate" throttle input.

I had a RAM SRT10 with 305 series perelli's. 4 sandbags in the bed and it was the best RWD vehicle I've ever had in the snow. Just because an engine "CAN" make a lot of HP it has no bearing on the driveability. I think Doug doesn't understand that when people say "The car is dangerous" it's already implied that if your foot is down, as in lifting or braking in a skid. ABS isn't there to be your nanny. It as nothing to do with part throttle winter driving.

Dodge Viper, dodge stealth. Oh dodge you used to have so many cool sports cars

It's a bit like having a pit bull. Be a responsible owner and you won't get any trouble out of it.

3:38 lol ”got the whipers on in the Viper”

If you drive like it like a normal car its just fine... If you drive it like a race car, it's a death trap

Love the underbite acceleration assist.

A police Mustang Owner?..that seems a little backwards

I love the police officer saying "really?" :D

SLP Firehawk has similar responses to these conditions, though about 2/3rds the Hp of this Viper model. I found dedicated winter tires make a HUGE difference and then can be driven year-round. I did for several years in North Dakota.

Sorry, I don't get it. Did he turn on his wiper's vipers or his viper's wipers?

All cars are dangerous to drive if you don't know what you are doing.

Love these cars. Just got one. I pick it up Thurs. in Calif. I'm in Nv. so Hopefully I'll never have to experience snow and ice. Mines a 2001 GTS. Blue with White strips.

Just like any other car it has to be driven extra careful in conditions like this, but 450 hp Viper deserves more respect.