Posted on 10/09/2003 12:19:52 PM PDT by mhking
NEWTON - She had only been allowed out a few times for special occasions, and when she did go out, people couldn't help but stop and stare.
With her V-10 motor and six-speed manual transmission, there wasn't many like her on the road, and her owners, Kevin and Max Short of McClane Motors in Newton, knew how special she was. She was hand-assembled and part of a limited production.
After she was purchased in the later part of '94, when it was worth $60,500, the owners toyed with the idea of selling her, but with looks like hers, they couldn't help but become too attached.
On a few occasions, the McClane's had taken her out to show her off in parades and she did go on a few short trips here and there, but she was mainly used as an attention-grabber to attract people to the dealership.
On Friday night, she was driven proudly through the Newton High School Homecoming Parade, where she carried a queen candidate, Kevin Short's stepdaughter Emily Matson, for all parade-goers to admire.
Following the parade, she wasn't taken back to her normal storage area, but instead with her odometer set at 169, she was parked in the shop area of the dealership where her owners had intended for her to stay until the next day when they planned to take her out and show her off a little.
Her next trip, however, would come just a few hours later, when a driver she was unfamiliar with took her out for a spin.
As she left McClane Motors in Newton with the unfamiliar driver, no one could have anticipated what would happen next.
Just four short blocks from the dealership along Illinois 33, the '95 red Dodge Viper became airborne as the driver lost control causing the vehicle to strike a parked tractor at Newton Tractor Sales. The motor of the tractor was pushed back an estimated 6 inches, and the Viper was ripped to shreds.
Witnesses say they saw the Viper pass by around 4:05 a.m. Saturday at an excessive speed and then they heard the crash - which residents say was heard blocks away.
Kevin Short, general manager of McClane Motors, who has been around the car business as long as he can remember, said when he heard the news about what had happened to the car, he was in disbelief.
"I was pretty shocked about the whole incident," said Short. "We initially had gotten it as a possible vehicle to sell, but it is not a car that everyone in this area is going to buy. We had gotten attached to it."
Although it is unknown what the exact rate of speed the car was traveling when it crashed, Short said the car is capable of reaching a high rate of speed in a very short period of time.
According to a Web site that features specifications on that year of Dodge Viper, the Viper is capable of reaching up to 113.8 mph in a quarter of a mile, which is about the distance the Viper traveled before it was wrecked.
The car that was once admired as it traveled down the roadway now sits in an undisclosed location, and the driver of the car, Joshua S. Clasby, 25, of Greenup remains in critical condition at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana.
Illinois State Police is continuing to investigate the crash, and Clasby could face criminal and traffic charges.
See here
I'm gonna use that next time I'm trying to 'splain to some doodoo-head why I would shoot a burglar, car-thief, etc.
I'd smoke you all!!
Could face? What's up with that? It was a stolen car.
What's your 0-60?
I was blowing copious smoke, of course. The PES G2 supercharger transforms the 2.8L V6, but is shy on torque below 4000 rpm. Boost is limited because of lack of room for intercooling.
Supercharged A4's are generally running 14.5 - 14.9 sec in the quarter mile. That should give you some idea. Lively and tons of fun, but not a muscle car. A chipped S4 smokes it, as would obviously the Sub WRX Sti.
my vette generates 375 ft/lbs of torque at 6k rpm. It's optimized for 3rd and 4 th geer.
The A4 Quattro is heavy--around 3400 lbs, I think. Supercharged, it moves, but I'm OBVIOUSLY envious of your 375 ft-lbs!
My wife is looking at an '04 Maxima with a 3.5L normally aspirated V6. 265 hp. That SOB smokes, even with the excellent 5 sp auto trannie. I'm not sure I want her to buy that car though. She drives it like a crazy woman.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.