A Dodge Viper Drifting in the Rain is a Treat For All Of Us

TopSpeed

By Kirby Garlitos

Published Jul 22, 2019

Bet you can't do what Dean Kearney can do aboard this Dodge Viper drift car

It’s been a few weeks since the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed, and we’re still getting a steady diet of videos from the event. Not that anyone’s complaining, least of all me. I’ve come to enjoy these video parachutes, and one that we haven’t seen yet is this video of a Dodge Viper drift car that partook in the hill climb. Driven by drifter extraordinaire Dean Kearney, the Viper drift car snakes its way up the hill climb in ways only the Viper can. Extra points also go to Kearney, who managed to complete the hill climb even in the middle of a rain-soaked course. Then again, Kearney’s not your average drifter — he’s a veteran of Formula DRIFT — and this particular Viper is not your typical drift car, either. Check out the video and watch the Viper going sideways in the rain. It’s worth the next two minutes of your mornings.

Dodge Viper Drifting

There’s something oddly refreshing seeing a race car driving up the Goodwood Festival of Speed’s course and not worrying about setting any fastest laps. It’s easy to get caught up in going the fastest that certain nuances aren’t noticed, or, in some cases, ignored completely. Take drifting, for example. Over the years, drift cars that have participated in the Festival of Speed have shown that the hill climb is an ideal course to do drift laps. There are enough corners to get adventurous on, and the actual front lawn where the annual sculpture sits has a big patch of road space for drift cars to perform silly donuts.

The Viper drift car is meant to spin around and go sideways, even if it ends up on a patch of grass along the way. It’s meant to do donuts, too, which it did rather admirably in numerous sections of the course. The sheer spectacle was made even more special with the rain-soaked pavement and the sprays of water being ejected into the air by the Viper.

Whereas other drivers are more concerned about having a clean lap and setting fast lap times with the cars they’re driving, drifter Dean Kearney looks like he was more concerned about putting on a show in front of everyone who braved the rain for a chance to see these cars. He did just that, much to the delight of the rain-soaked masses.

Bonus points, too, also go to the Viper’s massive 8.4-liter V-10 engine. In the middle of the rain and all the slip and sliding action, hearing that V-10 come alive is an audible experience unlike another. We’re not just talking about a standard Viper powertrain, either. Altogether, the V-10 produces a whopping 1,350 horsepower on 16 pounds of boost. It’s so powerful it can easily chew through its rear tires if Kearney wanted to do it. Bless the wet surface then, it seems. At least it can cool those tires down somewhat.

If you have a bit of time to spare — only two minutes — I suggest you give this video of the Dodge Viper drift car a good watch. Raise the volume on your smartphones or computers, too. There’s a good chance that you’re going to have as much fun watching America’s bad boy sports car slip and slide all over the Goodwood Festival of Speed as that monstrous V-10 engine pierces the damp air with its powerful roar.

Dodge Viper Drifting

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