In the late 1980s and early 1990s, two iconic American super sports cars emerged. The first was the Vector W8, known for its futuristic wedge shape and a centrally-mounted 6-liter twin-turbo V8 engine producing 625 HP and 880 Nm of torque. Only 22 units of this exotic machine were made.
Then, in 1991, the Dodge Viper RT/10 arrived with a massive 8.0-liter V10 engine, modified from a truck, delivering a raw 400 HP. Unlike the limited-production Vector, the Viper saw multiple generations and was sold until 2017.
Mat Watson from carwow teamed up with the Petersen Automotive Museum, where both cars reside, to pit them against each other in a series of drag races. Despite expectations that the more powerful Vector W8 would dominate, it lost to the Viper. The reason? The Vector’s 3-speed automatic gearbox wasn’t ideal for its immense power as compared to the Viper’s six-speed manual transmission.
In the first drag race, the Viper took a strong lead and completed the quarter-mile in 12.2 seconds, while the Vector trailed behind at 13.7 seconds. During the rolling race, the Vector got closer to the Viper near the finish, but the V10-powered Dodge still maintained its lead.
Either way, it’s still worth watching these two iconic sports from the 90s give it their all in a race!
