Yes indeed, I’m back with another comparison article (after a very long hiatus)! This time, I wanted to delve into the size differences between two rumored cousins: The fifth-generation Viper and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. Both are similarly proportioned (as far as their axle-to-dash ratio goes), both have mighty big engines, both are RWD, both hearken back to cars from a bygone era, and both are larger than life.
Just how big are the two super coupes though? How does the Viper compare to the SLS and vice versa? Let’s find out. Short disclaimer though: These numbers come from Car and Driver.
Length:
Viper: 175.7 inches (or 4,462 mm) long.
SLS: 182.6 inches (or 4,638 mm) long.
Clearly the SLS is the longer of the two. I was just reading an article comparing these two from Road & Track the night before and they mentioned how the SLS was longer than the Viper, but I didn’t realize the difference was really this great! In that same article, they have the two facing each other and the SLS doesn’t look that much longer than the Viper does. As I’ve long said with this kind of article though, looks can be (and tend to be very frequently) deceiving.
Width:
Viper: 76.4 inches (or 1,940 mm) wide.
SLS: 76.3 inches (or 1,938 mm) wide.
Here the difference is far less vast. I’m actually quite surprised the two are that evenly matched when it comes to width, and that the Viper is the vaguely wider car of the two! In any case though, if you can fit an SLS down a European street then you can fit a Viper down one with ease.
Wheelbase:
Viper: 98.8 inches (or 2,509 mm) long.
SLS: 105.5 inches (or 2,679 mm) long.
Honestly, this isn’t such a surprise to me. When I was doing these kinds of articles regularly some two years ago, it was pretty common to see that the Viper easily has one of the shorter wheelbases among its competition. In fact, the Porsche 911 has a very similar wheelbase. That aside, the SLS does still have a shorter wheelbase than a C7 Corvette (which, if I remember correctly, has a wheelbase of around 106.7 inches or 2,710 mm), so it’s not totally monstrous in this area.
Overall height:
Viper: 49.1 inches (or 1,247 mm) tall.
SLS: 49.3 inches (or 1,252 mm) tall.
Wow! I wasn’t expecting this outcome. Turns out the SLS is 0.2 inches taller than the Viper! I suppose they needed those extra 0.2 inches to properly fit the Gullwing doors? In any case, that double-bubble roof the Viper has might make a much bigger difference to the overall height than most of us thinks it does!
Curb Weight:
Viper: 3,415 pounds (or 1,549 kg).
SLS: 3,573 pounds (or 1,620 kg).
And… not surprised here either. Despite the Viper having a largely steel chassis and the SLS having an all-aluminum one, the Viper is the lighter of the two. I’d imagine this is predominantly thanks to the different purposes of the two cars. The Viper is meant to be a race car for the road, and the SLS is much more like a GT Car.
(For those wondering why the Viper’s numbers differ from the number in earlier articles, I believe this Viper was sans Track Package with the lighter Stryker II wheels).
There we have it though! I don’t imagine many will be surprised by the number seen today, but the width definitely shocked me the most! I wasn’t expecting the two supercars to be that close! Which number caught you off guard the most? Let me know in the comments below! As always I hope you enjoyed, see you next time.