The pay may be terrible, but as far as jobs go, it really is hard to beat being an automotive journalist. You literally get paid to drive cool cars, travel the world, attend races, talk to cool people and eat free food. And yet, there are plenty of people out there who have figured out how to make a living doing things that make being an auto journalist look lame in comparison. Like Matt Brown, aka Superfast Matt, a former automotive engineer turned YouTuber who is nearly done building an off-road Dodge Viper.
Last time we checked in on Brown and his lifted Viper, it was finally ready for its first on-road test. Sadly, it was raining that day, and for some reason, the rear tires kept spinning, so he wasn’t able to push it as hard as he probably wanted to. Then again, when you’re driving a project car on public roads for the first time, you should probably start of slowly and carefully in case something unexpectedly goes wrong. Especially if, like Brown, you forgot to put the license plate on the back of your car.
Fast forward to now, though, and the lifted Viper is ready for the test we’ve all been waiting for — the off-road shakedown. It’s still a rear-wheel drive car, so donuts are a given. Without four-wheel drive, though, how does it handle rock crawling? Ehhh…it’s not great, but it’s better than you might have assumed. Without a crawling gear, it’s just too easy to overwhelm the rear tires. If you’re more interested in doing a couple of sweet jumps, though, the off-road Viper’s got you covered. It also proved to be quicker than the Ford F-150 Raptor that they brought along.
So sit back, relax, enjoy a nice cup of coffee and take in the awesomeness that is Superfast Matt’s absurd, completely unnecessary, incredible off-road Viper.