Good question. I can give you one man's observations that owns both.

Last October, a bunch of us went out to Mid-Ohio for a track date. One of the guys in our group ended up instructing a guy with a Z06. This Z06 and driver were very FAST. As it turned out, the Z06 owner also had a Viper and while lapping was making comments to our buddy about the fact that the Z06 permitted him to carry more speed through the turn which translated into higher speeds going into the braking zones at the end of the next straightaway. The Z06 owner was surprised that his new Vette was actually quicker around Mid Ohio than his Viper.

One man's experience. FWIW

 

Here's the comment the GM head Lutz made to an interview with Edmunds.com
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You did the Viper during your stint at Chrysler, and now Neil Hannemann, who led the Viper team, is doing the GT at Ford. Does GM need a Viper/GT class vehicle, or is the Corvette strong enough to handle that role?

Let me tell you that the Corvette C6 will have versions where we confidently predict it will suck the doors off of both the cars that you just named. The current Z06, with 400 horsepower, on the Gingerman Raceway, laps faster with its 400 horsepower than the new Viper does with 500. So other than just brutal straightline acceleration, the Z06 is faster today. Clearly the C6 Corvette, without giving anything away, is going to be a major step forward in vehicle mass, dimensions, handling, braking and, most important of all, power-to-weight ratio. So I think whatever gap exists now is going to be eliminated — in total performance. I think we'll match the competition in acceleration, and we will beat them in on-road handling. And if the Z06 version of the C6 is not enough to do it, we've got a few tricks up our sleeve, which we're already investigating. But it will always be Corvette-based.

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Doh!! I don't know why I put the Miata in there.

 

Mr. Lutz also said in the same article. That there may be a "Super Corvette" in the future. Some where in the 100,000 dollar range, that will be competitive with any other super car.

Good Luck Mr. Lutz!!!

 

"The Z06 owner was surprised that his new Vette was actually quicker around Mid Ohio than his Viper."

He shouldn't have been surprised. Mid Ohio is very much a handling track, particularly if they were running the chicane.

"The current Z06, with 400 horsepower, on the Gingerman Raceway, laps faster with its 400 horsepower than the new Viper does with 500. "

And Gingerman is a _lot_ tighter than Mid-Ohio.

At Elkhart Lake, I'll bet the results would reverse. Horses for courses.

But, no question, the Z06 can out_handle_ the Viper.

 

I think that your average Corvette driver will be able to easily out-handle your average Viper driver...since your average Viper driver will be spun out on the side of the course

 

handling questions are somewhat irrelevant because MOST drivers will never get anywhere close to the car's capabilities.

 

Then the question is which car will inspire the most confidence, and is the easist to drive to its limits. on the racetrack or off.

Personal subjective feel, between the driver and the car.