It’s official: Dodge Viper production will end this year

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has confirmed what enthusiasts have assumed for the past few months. The Dodge Viper is dead or, at least, it will be soon. This is the final year for Viper production (although the last cars will be considered 2017 models), but it also happens to be the 25th anniversary of the model.

Dodge will both celebrate that anniversary and mark the Viper’s passing with five special-edition models, all referencing some tidbit of Viper history. Sporting a sinister black exterior with red stripes, the Viper 1:28 Edition ACR trumpets the single-lap production car record of 1:28.65 set by a Viper ACR at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in October 2015. The white-and-blue Viper GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACR nods to the 1998 Viper GTS-R GTS Championship Edition, another special edition that commemorated the car’s 1997 FIA GT2 championship win.

Pulling away from motor sport trivia, the Viper VooDoo II Edition ACR replicates the black-and-graphite color scheme of the 2010 Viper VooDoo Edition. Similarly, the Viper Snakeskin Edition GTC borrows its green exterior from the 2010 Snakeskin ACR model. Finally, the Dodge Dealer Edition ACR is reserved for Dodge’s highest volume Viper dealers, Tomball Dodge of Tomball, Texas, and Roanoke Dodge of Roanoke, Illinois.

Read more: 2016 Dodge Viper ACR first drive

None of the special editions get any mechanical alterations. All five stick with the Viper’s stalwart 8.4-liter V10, which produces 645 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. At least most of them are based on the hardcore ACR model, which boasts uprated suspension, brakes, tires, and some of the most extreme aerodynamic add-ons of any production car. The current Viper is definitely an impressive machine, but ushering out with special editions that, for the most part, just reference other special editions seems a little weak.

At least the Viper final five will be rare. Dodge only plans to build 28 units of the 1:38 Edition ACR, 100 units of the GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACR, 31 units of the VooDoo II Edition ACR, 25 units of the Snakeskin Edition GTC, and 33 units of the Dodge Dealer Edition ACR. They’ll be available to order June 24.

There is talk of reviving the Viper at some point, but given the current model’s dismal sales, looming fuel economy standards, and the competitiveness of the Viper’s rivals, it’s not something we’d count on. So long Viper, it’s been a great ride.

from Planet GS via John Jason Fallows on Inoreader http://ift.tt/28NOPqo
Stephen Edelstein