Twin vipers duke it out in quarter-mile action to show which one was the best generation.

Some people think things were better in the olden days. The power of nostalgia is a strong one, and it can lead people to ignore some pretty concrete facts.

Take the Viper. There’s no denying that the last generation of Dodge Viper was the best one. It had the biggest motor at 8.4-L, which produced the most power of any Viper at 650 hp. It was the fastest too, capable of going from zero to sixty in 3.5 seconds on its way to reaching a top speed of 208 mph.

But there are some that think the older Vipers are better. We’re not sure why, as by the numbers the third generation of Viper is clearly the inferior machine. It’s 8.3-L V10 could only produce 510 hp and 535 lb-ft of torque. Zero to sixty took 3.8 seconds with a top speed of just 189 mph--almost 20 less than the 5th-gen Viper.

Whatever. People can like whatever they like. It doesn’t change the fact that the older model Viper is hopelessly outmatched in this drag race.

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And yet, the drivers still square off. Both cars are manual, so perhaps the 3rd-gen driver is betting on their opponent missing a shift or suffering some technical calamity.

Both cars are extremely powerful rear-wheel-drive vehicles, which causes them both to squeal their tires off the line. And even halfway down the quarter-mile strip. It seems that the white 5th-gen model squeals the longest, but manages to eventually find its footing and easily power ahead of the older black 3rd-gen.

In the end, the numbers don’t lie. The 5th-gen Viper finished in 12.17 seconds at 119.76 mph while the 3rd-gen finished in 12.77 seconds at 116.05 mph.

NEXT: OLD SCHOOL DODGE VIPER GTS TAKES ON CHALLENGER R/T IN QUARTER-MILE ACTION