Ken Garff - Your Used Porsche Utah Dealer

Porsche 911 & Dodge Viper Comparison

Porsche 911 Overview

With the exception of a few disparate models scattered over the decades, Porsche has built its fame and fortune on a single rear-engine sports car, the 911. Today's version of the car provides stunning levels of performance without sacrificing much in terms of day-to-day usability, and many Porsche purists still consider the 911 the only "real" Porsche.

The history of the Porsche 911 dates back to the 1960s. In 1965, it superseded the 356, Porsche's first production sports car. Like the 356, the 911 had a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine. This basic layout can be attributed to Ferdinand Porsche's original design for the VW Beetle (from which the 356 had its mechanical roots) and offered the practical economy-car benefits of tight packaging and enhanced traction.

Alas, what might have worked on a 24-horsepower Bug suddenly became somewhat of a problem on a 160-hp sports car. There are countless stories of drivers of earlier Porsche 911s entering a turn too hot, intuitively lifting off the throttle and being left hapless as their shiny Porsches pirouetted off into the bushes. Surprisingly, this basic configuration of a horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine driving and hanging over the rear wheels has held true through each one of the 911's 10 generations. Thankfully, Porsche's engineers have been making continual improvements to quell the car's peculiarities while keeping its distinctive attributes of lightness, responsiveness and power. The 911 has also had enormous success as a racecar and spawned many iconic variants, such as the Turbo, Carrera RS and GT3.

For the sports car shopper, a wide choice of drivetrains and body styles through the years means there should be a new or used 911 that fits one's desires. And although other sports cars have been able to outperform the 911 in one area or another, nothing has yet to match Porsche's overall blend of performance, practicality and that endearing connection between car and driver.

There are essentially 15 models available for the current Porsche 911. The most common are the Carrera and Carrera S (both of which are available with all-wheel drive -- indicated by a "4" after the "Carrera"), which are further broken down into regular coupe, convertible Cabriolet and the Targa 4 with its giant glass sunroof. There are also the high-performance offerings, including the sublime GT3, the track-ready GT3 RS, the ferocious Turbo and the ultimate GT2. In short, the car offers world-class performance while being more than civilized enough to serve as a daily driver. The high-performance editions are less commuter-friendly, but they offer performance and handling on par with exotic supercars. Yet the "base" 911 Carrera should be more than enough, as that car will blast to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds and hit a top speed approaching 180 mph.
The current 911 is part of the car's 10th generation, which debuted for 2005. Compared to past models, the current 911 features a wider track for better handling, larger wheels and tires, an available active suspension system and a much improved interior in terms of materials quality, comfort and ergonomics.

Although the present 911 is mostly unchanged since its debut, its full model range was unfurled over time. The Turbo, GT2 and GT3 models produced for '05 actually belonged to the previous generation and went on hiatus until they re-emerged in their present form. The all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 and 4S arrived for '06, while the Targa, GT3, Turbo and limited-edition GT3 RS followed the next year. The GT2 emerged for '08.

The previous (ninth) generation Porsche 911 (1999-2004) marked the first time water cooling was used for the car's flat-six engine. The switch to water cooling and the Boxster-like nose left many 911 fans irked. There was, however, no dissatisfaction with the increased performance, thanks to a jump to 300 hp (and later, 320) for the standard 911 and a heady 415 hp in the Turbo.

This era also brought a glass-topped targa model and saw the Turbo put out 400 hp and adopt all-wheel drive. The seventh-generation car (1990-'94) brought smoothly integrated bumpers along with available all-wheel drive and the Tiptronic automatic gearbox. Standard Carreras at this time were pumping out 247 hp, while the Turbo's output ranged from 315-355 hp.

Dodge Viper & Porsche 911 Comparison

Cost

The destination charge is a standard charge for transporting the vehicle from its point of origin to the dealer. It costs about the same to get the Porsche to the dealership as the Dodge Viper. Producing an exact gas mileage evaluation is so difficult that some think not even the federal government can do it, but it looks as though the Porsche 911 is the winner as far as fuel economy. Regarding fuel economy, the 911 beats the Viper. When it comes to MSRP, the Dodge Viper doesn't cost much less than the Porsche 911. The Porsche 911 will save you a bundle at the pump every year compared to the Dodge Viper.

Utility

The Porsche will indubitably prove more practical than the Dodge Viper for those of you with frequent kid-cargo.

Convenience

You will doubtless have to visit your friendly gas station more often with the Dodge Viper than with the Porsche 911. You'll very likely have to take the Dodge Viper for a fill-up more often than the Porsche because of its tank size and gas mileage.

Dimensions

The Dodge Viper is somewhat more ponderous than the Porsche 911. The Porsche 911's tank is roughly the same size as the Dodge Viper's, though the Dodge Viper's is a little bigger. The Dodge and the Porsche 911 compete for the same parking spaces. The Porsche 911's shorter wheelbase will likely give a sprier feel in daily traffic. On the other hand, the Dodge Viper is likely to have a smoother, more stable ride.

Performance

With that kind of horsepower, both the Dodge and the Porsche 911 are true sportscars.

Handling

The Dodge Viper has substantially bigger tires than the Porsche 911. Remember that wider tires might look and feel better, while narrower tires may provide better handling in deep snow.

Drivetrain

The Dodge Viper has a more sizeable engine than the Porsche. Note that smaller engines are often cheaper to fix, but a smaller engine usually has to work a little harder. Torque is roughly equivalent to acceleration, and in this respect, the Dodge Viper is tremendously more powerful than the Porsche 911. The Dodge packs quite a wallop compared to the Porsche 911 when it comes to torque, which is roughly equivalent to acceleration.

Overview

The basic warranty that comes with the Dodge Viper isn't quite as generous as the Porsche 911's.

Other

The Dodge Viper emits fewer smog-forming pollutants per 15,000 miles than the Porsche 911.

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