"99 per cent" of Vipers bought by dealer

As Viper production enters its final throes, one US dealer is making sure as many will be built as possible!

While it may not appeal to all tastes, news that the current Dodge Viper is to cease production is rather sad. As the motoring world becomes ever more homogenous, to see a car so defiantly do its own thing is rather nice. Especially when 'its own thing' involves an 8.4-litre V10.

Farewell to a legend!

Another person upset at the news is Gerry Wood, a Dodge dealer in North Carolina. Seeing the build slots for the remaining Vipers unallocated, he has secured them all. Depending on which number you believe, that's between 135 and 140 cars. Why? "I felt an obligation as a fan, owner and Dodge dealer to help others experience the rare privilege of this amazing machine." What a selfless chap! However, don't think this has been done simply to turn a big profit by purchasing every single one. Wood again: "For those who think we are 'cornering the market'... you all couldn't be farther from the truth. I have never mark cars up [sic] over MSRP... We just saw that the orders were not being filled and the plant is closing down, so we wanted to make sure all these cars were produced."

Even better, the dealer has created its own special edition Vipers in this production run. Gerry Wood's 'exclusive Viper Team' went through more than 8,000 colours to create the ACR Solid Edition, the Advanced Aero Solid Edition and the Black Stripe Edition. There are more details via both the original Jalopnik story and the dealer site, but there's a green ACR Solid Edition that has PH written all over it. Just need the $150K...

The last NA V10 on sale?

As for the remaining cars - the special editions account for approximately 40 - they're also for sale with the spec and colours seemingly settled. But if you are in America and want one, there certainly seems to be plenty of choice. Will enthusiasts start to realise they want a Viper as the end finally nears?

Fingers crossed they do and Gerry Wood's gamble pays off. Because even if there is another Viper after this one, we'd bet on it being very different to this car. Get 'em while you can!

[Sources: Jalopnik, Gerry Wood ]