Come on, you would have missed it!
The Dodge/Chrysler Viper will live to fight another day, in spite of the lack of interest by potential suitors when the brand was put up for sale ‘lock stock and barrel’ during Chrysler’s restructuring.
Interest was rumoured from buyers as diverse as Roush, Saleen and the Devon Motor Works, but a deal was never stitched together.
Now, according to a news release by Dodge, the Fiat-owned Chrysler LLC group is ‘no longer pursuing a sale of the Viper business assets’. Dodge Brand president and CEO Mike Accavitti is quoted as saying: ‘We're extremely proud that the ultimate American-built sports car with its world-class performance will live on as the iconic image leader for the Dodge brand.’
‘Originally slated to cease production in December 2009, the Chrysler Group Connor Avenue Assembly Plant - the home of Dodge Viper production since 1995 - will continue to build the V-10 powered sports car.’
For those of you interested in the Viper legend, the announcement arrived attached to this official history:
“Introduced as a concept car in 1989 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Dodge Viper was designed and engineered to test public reaction to the concept of a back-to-basics, high-performance, limited production sports car.
The reaction was so overwhelming that customer orders began to flow in even before the auto show was over. Chrysler Corporation immediately decided to determine the production feasibility on transforming the crowd-pleasing Dodge Viper show car into a limited-production sports car in no more than three years.
In May 1990, after months of intensive study and testing, Chrysler Corporation announced that the Dodge Viper, powered by an aluminium V-10 was a "go."
Dodge Viper production began in May 1992 at the New Mack Assembly Plant and was moved to Conner Avenue in October 1995. Viper V-10 engine production transferred from Mound Road Engine to Conner Avenue Assembly in May 2001. In 2008, Dodge introduced the all-new, fourth generation Dodge Viper SRT10. With more horsepower, more torque and more than 30 exterior and interior colour combinations, the latest Viper gives enthusiasts the performance they expect on the track and off, with more factory customization options than before.
For 2009, the Dodge Viper SRT10 offers outrageous power, with an 8.4-liter, 600-horsepower (450 kW) V-10 engine contributing to blistering acceleration (0-60 mph in less than four seconds, 0-100-0 mph in the low 12-second range), setting an American sports car benchmark.
To date, more than 25,000 Dodge Vipers have been built.”