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| The Viper ACR's 18-inch rims are up to the task while its adjustable suspension, designed for the smooth surfaces of the track, is a bit brutal when mere civilian road surfaces become uneven. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press) |
But of course this isn't a normal day in a normal car, the sky is blue, the streets are dry and I've got one opportunity to thoroughly enjoy a car I might never get the chance to again. Its cornering ability is staggering, tracking level and flat no matter how sharp the turn or undulating the road surface.
Still, what makes the ACR achieve a 0.96 g rating on the 300-ft skidpad will also shake your skull innards to atomic sized particles. Its ultra-stiff adjustable suspension uses unequal-length control arms, coil springs and an anti-roll bar for minimal body roll during heavy lateral forces. The stiff chassis is perfect for the track, where it was intended, but the bumps, ruts and heaves found on the open road become quite unsettling, bouncing the car into the air when full tire contact would be preferred.
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| Everywhere you turn in the California mountains, another vista opens up to a perfect photo op. |
Speaking of making the best of a tire's contact patch ABS was added to the brakes for 2001, making all the difference in an otherwise unwieldy beast. Independent 100 km/h to 0 tests show a 12.2 m (40 ft) improvement from the pre-ABS 2000 model to the 2001 car with anti-lock brakes - 47.2 m (155 ft) to 35.0 m (115 ft) respectively. Up and down the tight twisting California highways no fade is noticeable, only hyper-blasts of acceleration followed by obedient binders biting into the rotors over and over again without commotion.