I had a friend in high school who got a Viper GTS when he turned 16. His Dad owned a bunch of dealerships and thought it was a great idea. 1 month later he wrapped it around a telephone pole. Then his Dad bought him a Hummer H1 thinking he couldn't hurt a tank. He ended up destroying it off road. No 16 year old needs an expensive car. Get them something cheap to get around in.

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If I hated my kid, I'd take out a huge death/dismemberment policy before I gave him the GT500, because I'd have to be a ******* idiot to not realize that this is an incredibly stupid thing to do if I wasn't trying to help him kill himself.

This is America, the kid is free to get whatever car he wants and have fun for a week or two before ending up in jail or the hospital.

hey if it takes him a life changing accident to make his rich a$$ come down to earth and realize ' hey we all breathe the same air... Money do not mean a damn thing, when you die you cant take it with you. so no more big shot' id say ' hey let him, let him learn the hard way'

not saying its gonna happen but ....not even 18 yet... first car.... rich parents, cocky, seems to like to brag, probably no credit established......... you take all those elements and mix them? its a a disaster waiting to happen. there is no mommy and daddy there no matter how rich they or you are, when your cars flipped or wrapped around a tree and your laying on the ground inches from death wondering " i should have never..... this is it... this................. is......." and you flat line.

be smart people. Money doesnt buy you smarts, it doesnt help you breathe, it gets you in trouble if you are foolish. money is the ultimate Devil's Advocate. " sure i'll get you all you want..... BUT the minute your foolish with the stuff you buy with me.... your done, im bringing the pain down on you"

with that car not only is he endangering himself, he will no doubt endanger other drivers. It's not even appreciation of value (which is an issue as well) but it's a matter of knowing the "feel" of a car. Im sorry if your first car is 600 hp you will not know how a car is suppose to feel in different situations. I seriously hope they do not get that car for him.

First I'd like to say. That's 1 less GT500 from the few thousand built. Second I hope he does kill himself or others when he totals the car.

...a little harsh eh ?

anyway, who cares what the kid gets. nobody here on the forum has to make the car payments.

Well, it's an interesting question, though. Although, we've discussed it before, usually just with a Z.

Nothing wrong with civil discussion, imo, but in the end you are right, it's their money, their choice.

Only problem with that is that he's not really risking his own life but the lives of others on the road. How terrible would it be if he ended up killing some innocent person because his parents were dumb enough to get him a GT500 as his first car.

The parents would probably have multi million dollars life insurance on this kid :tup::tup:

It's 662 HP 202mph car. A 16 year old is going to attempt top speed on any road available without regard for anyone else. He will going flying off a curve and shred the car, himself, anyone in the car, and anything in its path.

I might be harsh, but I'm a realist. Even if I were rich and was willin to let my 16 year old drive a $60k car it wouldn't be that, it would be a fully load luxury SUV or sedan. Something that doesn't give the driver an attitude towed speed.

...spoiled to death? Unless the kid has an extreme amount of self control and can respect the power this car makes, and on top of all that has some professional driving instruction, it's a time bomb waiting to happen.

As far as a safer car, he'd be better off going with a GTR, AWD and the electronics make it a safer car (within reason of course) even though the GTR is a much faster car. Again, the key requirement is whether the kid can respect the car's speed. Similar to bikes, I've known people who have started out on 600's and 1000's and been fine because they respected the power and knew their limits. When it comes to a 16 year old kid, again unless he can respect his own limits and the power...I'd say NO unless you want a lawsuit and enjoy making funeral arrangements.

Love it or hate it...you really do need to have some respect and experience with a GT500...new or old these cars make quite a bit more power than the factory rating. Big reason that I love my car is the fact that you really do have to drive the car, get it right and you end up with a smile that lasts quite a long time.

BTW...what's that kid's name...oh that's right NICK HOGAN...yeah...look how that turned out.

Funny part is even at 2500rpms the GT500 makes more to the ground than most cars have bhp. My lowly 2010 puts over 200rwhp at 2500rpm...I'd bet at 2013 is already approaching 300rwhp. Torque...even higher! So, I agree with your logic but think it should be limited to somewhere between 600 and 800rpm :tup:

Buy the 16 year old a $20k V6 mustang and if he can drive it for 4 years without killing himself, someone else, or his car then buy him the GT500.

Mine may be a decent bit more than stock but I can varify that on sub60 degree roads, 3rd gear will spin tires at 2500rpm.

My dad bought my brother a '97 Honda Prelude when he was 18. Crashed it 6 months later. That's like 200HP trying to be quick. He was trying to race his car on the street like I did on the track with my '85 Celica GT-S.

Difference was my car (which was 1 year older than me) had only 110hp & 140lb torque, but weigh only 2300lbs. I went to racing school and learned to respect my Celica a whole lot more because how much better it feels driving something 2300lbs is than something 300HP. Fucken lack of power and light weight saved my young butt a lot more than a heavy and powerful car.

Nice...mine will only spin 3rd but once the boost hits in cooler temps, warmer temps 3rd is OK if I ease into it otherwise it will spin a little. Your car is simply a beast! I'd love to see how your car would do from a roll with a GTR. A friend of mine has an 09 GTR and I cannot wait to run him from a roll :tup:

BTW...what tires are you going to go with? I'm thinking about the Nitto 555's, I've heard good things about them. The F1's are simply scary on this car, they handle decent but very little straight line traction. Guys switching to a sticky tire are posting low 4 0-60 and mid 11's on a stock 10' 500. Just goes to show how crappy those tires are, no doubt with a better tire your car will run 10's stock.

NT555 is an old and tired tire. You can do so much better.

Get Michelin PSS for the car... you won't be disappointed.

NT555... to put it in perspective we were putting those tires on Mustangs in the early 2000s. They sucked then and they suck now. But they were cheap!

:iagree: Sticky, they make a sound before they slip and quieter on freeway.

Sorry...not even sure why I said 555...I meant the Invo. I'm not putting them on until the spring so I'll do some homework on the pilot. I think those may be the same tires my buddy runs on his viper.

Invo is the same, really. Better than 555 but the PSS is vastly superior to the Invo!

Unless you're looking at something like the RE-11, AD08, RS3, etc, the PSS is the best street tire you can get.

". . . and easily, the reckless child slips from the mind, forever lost to some slag pile of metal burning in some odd ditch, hundreds of miles away . . ."

I actually laughed out loud. I love this forum :roflpuke2:

I will check into those, my previous experience with michelins were great handling but couldn't handle a lot of power. A lot of the GT500 owners run the Invo's so that is why I was considering those. I do not want to go straight DR because I want the car to still be able to handle, if the PSS can do that once warmed up when I may consider those.

Thanks for your input!

As far as the kid...sad to see a GT500 wrapped around a tree because some spoiled brat wants one. :eek:

It all depends on the persons attitude about driving. If he is the type that would go show off doing stupid things with it, bad idea.

However he may be responsible, his parents may know this and are rewarding him for something he accomplished. I love how everyone just judges without knowing families like this personally.

I haven't read responses on this thread but seen many like it over the years, for those that did not come from families that were beyond "well-off", you won't understand their day to day lifestyles.