Dodge News: Dodge to End Viper Production At the End of 2017, Five Limited Edition Models Commemorate It

[William Maley]

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After eight months of rumor and speculation, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has made it official; the Dodge Viper will be no more after the 2017 model year. To mark the end of a 25-year life, Dodge has announced five limited edition models. They are as followed,

• Viper 1:28 Edition ACR: Pays tribute to the current production car lap record (1:28.65) set at Laguna Seca Raceway last October. Comes finished in black with red ACR stripes and a 1:28 Edition exterior sill decal. The Viper's optional extreme aero package and carbon-ceramic brakes come standard. Dodge is planning to build as many as 28 models.
• Viper GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACR: Honors the Viper GTS-R GT2 race car from the late nineties. Painted in Pearl White with Blue Pearl GTS stripes. Comes equipped with the extreme aero package, exterior carbon package, and carbon-ceramic brakes. 100 models are expected to be built.
• Viper VoooDoo II Edition ACR: Modeled from the 2010 VoooDoo Edition with black exterior and gray stripe and VoooDoo II exterior sill decals. Follows other ACR models with the extreme aero package and carbon-ceramic brakes. 31 models are expected to be produced.
• Viper Snakeskin Edition GTC: Only special edition model not be based on the ACR trim. Features a Snakeskin Green exterior with a custom snakeskin patterned stripe. About 25 models are expected to be built.
• Dodge Dealer Edition ACR: Only available at the two highest volume Viper dealers - Tomball Dodge of Tomball, Texas, and Roanoke Dodge of Roanoke, Illinois. Finished in white with a blue center stripe. Gets the extreme aero package and carbon-ceramic brakes as standard equipment. About 33 models are expected to be built.
  

“The Dodge Viper has had a great run, and 25 years after it was first introduced, it leaves the supercar world reaching for the records it continues to set. With more track records than any production car in the world, the Dodge Viper ACR will live on as the fastest street-legal Viper track car ever, the car that has set the benchmark for all that follows in its tracks,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of Passenger Cars, Dodge, SRT, Chrysler, and Fiat – FCA, North America in a statement.

 

Source: Dodge

 

Press Release is on Page 2

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Dodge Celebrates 25th Anniversary and Final Year of Viper Production with Five Exclusive Limited-edition Models

• New 25th anniversary limited-edition models feature exclusive content to commemorate the final year of Viper production
  • 1:28 Edition ACR (American Club Racer) – Celebrating the current Laguna Seca single-lap record of 1:28.65
  • GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACR – One of the most iconic Viper liveries of all-time
  • VoooDoo II Edition ACR – Rebirth of the VooDoo ACR
  • Snakeskin Edition GTC – Inspired by the original Snakeskin, now with unique snakeskin stripe
  • Dodge Dealer Edition – Viper ACR special edition available through Tomball and Roanoke Dodge dealers
    

  [*]Each limited-edition Viper model features a serialized instrument panel badge with the model name that can be customized with the customer’s name [*]Customers can begin ordering special edition Vipers on June 24, 2016 [*]The 2017 Viper is available in more than 50 million unique build configurations, including the ACR package, through the “1 of 1” customization program for a truly one-of-a-kind snake American hand-built supercar
  

June 21, 2016 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - The Dodge brand is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Dodge Viper with five limited-edition models that commemorate the final year of Viper production and highlight several of the most iconic special edition Vipers of the past.

 

“The Dodge Viper has had a great run, and 25 years after it was first introduced, it leaves the supercar world reaching for the records it continues to set,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of Passenger Cars, Dodge, SRT, Chrysler, and Fiat – FCA, North America. “With more track records than any production car in the world, the Dodge Viper ACR will live on as the fastest street-legal Viper track car ever, the car that has set the benchmark for all that follows in its tracks.”

 

One of the most unique and exotic high-performance machines on the road today, Dodge is honoring the Viper’s rich, colorful and exceptional performance heritage on and off the track by paying tribute to some of the most iconic Vipers in its history. Beginning on June 24 and new for 2017 model year, customers can order their special snake in the following exclusive special edition configurations:

 

Viper 1:28 Edition ACR

• Pays tribute to the current production car single lap record of 1:28.65 set by champion driver Randy Pobst in a 2016 Dodge Viper ACR at historic Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, Calif., in October 2015
• Features black exterior and painted rear wing with red ACR stripes, Extreme Aero Package, Carbon Ceramic brakes, 1:28 Edition exterior sill decal, ACR interior with red accent stitching, serialized instrument panel 1:28 Edition badge, along with a custom car cover that matches the exterior paint scheme and showcases the customer name above the driver’s side door
• As many as 28 units of this new special edition configuration will be built for the 2017 model year
• Looking back in Viper history: Using the same track record theme, Dodge previously produced 33 units of the 2010 Viper ACR 1:33 Edition to tout its previous track record of 1:33.915 set by SRT dynamics engineer Chris Winkler at Laguna Seca Raceway in November 2009
  

Viper GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACR

• Designed to pay tribute to one of the most distinguishable and iconic Viper paint schemes of all time – the white and blue combination of the 1998 Viper GTS-R GT2 Championship Edition
• Features Pearl White exterior with Blue Pearl GTS stripes, Extreme Aero Package, Carbon Ceramic brakes, Exterior Carbon Package, unique red Stryker badge decal, GTS-R exterior sill decals, USA flag B-pillar decals, ACR interior with red accent stitching, Header Red seat belts, serialized instrument panel GTS-R badge and a custom car cover that matches the exterior paint scheme and showcases the customer name above the driver’s side door
• As many as 100 units of this new special edition configuration will be built for 2017
• Looking back in Viper history: 100 units of the 1998 Viper GTS-R GTS Championship Edition were produced to commemorate the Viper winning the 1997 FIA GT2 championship
  

Viper VoooDoo II Edition ACR

• Modeled after the original 2010 Viper VooDoo edition
• Features black exterior and graphite metallic ACR driver’s stripe with red tracer outline, Extreme Aero Package, Carbon Ceramic brakes, VoooDoo II exterior sill decals, ACR interior with silver accent stitching, serialized instrument panel VoooDoo II badge and custom car cover that matches the exterior paint scheme and showcases the customer name above the driver’s side door
• As many as 31 units of this new special edition configuration will be produced for 2017
• Looking back in Viper history: 31 units of the original VooDoo Viper ACR were built in 2010
  

Viper Snakeskin Edition GTC

• Color was inspired by the original 2010 Snakeskin ACR
• Features new Snakeskin Green exterior with a custom snakeskin patterned SRT stripe, Advanced Aerodynamics Package, GT black interior, serialized instrument panel Snakeskin badge and a custom car cover that matches the exterior paint scheme and showcases the customer name above the driver’s side door
• As many as 25 units of this new special edition configuration will be produced for 2017
• Looking back in Viper history: 31 units of the original Snakeskin Viper ACR were built in 2010
  

Dodge Dealer Edition ACR

• Available exclusively through Dodge’s highest sales volume Viper dealers, Tomball Dodge of Tomball, Texas, and Roanoke Dodge of Roanoke, Ill.
• Features Viper White exterior with Competition Blue center stripe, Adrenaline Red driver stripe, Carbon Ceramic brakes, Extreme Aero Package, ACR interior with red accent stitching and custom car cover that matches the exterior paint scheme and showcases the customer name above the driver’s side door
• Serialized instrument panel ACR badge
• As many as 33 units of this new special edition configuration will be produced for 2017
  

Industry-first ‘1 of 1’ Viper customization program continues
Continuing for the 2017 model year is the exclusive Viper “1 of 1” customization program that enables buyers to create their one-of-a-kind “Snake” from the ground up. With 16,000 exterior color options, including matte exterior finishes, 24,000 custom stripe colors, 11 wheel options, 16 interior trims and seven aero packages, three brake packages and four suspension options, there are more than 50 million ways for buyers to customize their one-of-a-kind Dodge Viper. Each “1 of 1” model Viper features a personalized instrument panel badge with customer’s chosen name to commemorate their exclusive design. No two customers can order the same configuration, including color, in the same model year

 

ACR model returns as ultimate street-legal racer
The Dodge Viper ACR returns in 2017 as the indisputable “ultimate street-legal race car” with significant aerodynamic and suspension upgrades. Relaunched in 2016, the third edition (1999-2002, 2008-2010) of the Viper ACR has taken the performance car world by storm with more track records than any production car in the world — a total of 13 road course lap records as certified by the Sports Car Club of America.

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[G. David Felt]

Have to say this drives the question of WHY such specific weird numbers to be built? Is this due to a limited supply of parts and so they are using up the parts and that will be it?

 

I also question Sergio state of mind in killing off such an awesome Halo auto with nothing to replace it. Dodge does not needs an Italian POS auto as the new Halo.

 

This also just reaks of Sergio continuing to steal all the profits from America for his Italian survival mode of trying to keep dead brands alive in some form rather than just accepting history and leaving them to the books.

 

Sergio = IDIOT CEO that never really built anything just moved shells around to confuse and distract the IDIOT Board.

[oldshurst442]

Ive read somewhere that the Viper is being discontinued because of a safety regulation that takes effect in 2017 that this current Viper platform could not comply with.

Could it be side curtain airbags that are to be mandatory in all vehicles?

 

Anyhoo, blame federal crash laws and low sales volumes where engineering a new Viper platform may not justify the costs involved for the death of Viper.

 

Actually, Sergio could have not even resurrected this latest Viper if he did not want to as the Viper went in hiatus BEFORE Fiat acquired  Chryco.

So...Ill let this go by and not blame Sergio...

 

PS: Sure, Sergio could have allowed for a bigger budget for the resurrected Viper when he green lit the Viper on again, but bigger fish needed to be fried then as it is now.

A new platform was outta the question then as it is now...

 

The Viper was doomed as soon as the federal government made side curtain airbags mandatory for 2017...

 

And....technically, twas the Daimler-Chrysler merger that did in the Viper as Mercedes-Daimler did not put money aside for a new generation Viper way back when.

 

Rumor has it that the Dodge engineering money and efforts were given to the M-B SL Gullwing Coupe...true or false, the Viper program was underfunded and under developed from when the Germans owned Chryco.

[Guest Howie]

Side airbags are a good excuse but they had years to plan it. So I think low volume is the true culprit. An halo car is nice... if you can afford it! I  doubt FCA has the resources nor the will for such a money pit. FCA seems to have bet all it has on the Pacifica, desperately looking for a partner for compact/medium size cars as unloading Fiat's euro models doesn't seems to work... Luckily (or not) they got Jeep !

[Robert Hall]

I thought side curtain airbags were required years ago...the Viper doesn't have them??

[oldshurst442]

@Guest Howie

 

Take a look at the rest of the post I made....

 

It doesnt just stop at side curtain air bags...

 

Rumor has it....and it has been debunked....however....

http://www.motor1.com/news/22306/mercedes-sls-amg-started-development-as-next-gen-dodge-viper/

 

According to Inside Line, Dodge was indeed working on a new Viper when then corporate partner Daimler got involved in the project to use it to co-develop the SLS. Later, the Viper side of the development was dropped when Chrysler got into financial trouble.

Dodge engineers got as far as building an aluminum chassis for the model as well as creating a new suspension.

Now they may get the chance to get back to where they left off and complete the new Viper for a resurgent Dodge brand that will become the performance-oriented division of the post-bankruptcy Chrysler.

 

 

 

http://www.wired.com/2015/05/dodge-viper-last-truly-insane-sports-cars/

 

Whenever I ask about this story, Chrysler reps change the subject. But the fact that the tale keeps circulating is telling—people want the Viper to have an underdog origin. They want it to be a throwback to the weird old days of the business, when emotion ruled. (The other unkillable rumor holds that the current Viper was meant to be all-new and a platform twin to the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. When Mercedes and Chrysler split, the Germans gave Auburn Hills the finger, leaving with the SLS. Which might explain why the current Viper is little more than a heavy face-lift of its predecessor. Again, I don’t know if it’s true, but the story’s popularity supports the underdog thing.)

 

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/06/16/report-dodge-originally-developed-sls-amg-to-be-next-gen-viper/

 

The story apparently goes like this. Dodge engineers were already hard at work on the next-gen Viper, with an aluminum chassis already completed and a new suspension on the way. Mercedes caught wind of the project and decided that the chassis would be the perfect starting point for the upcoming SLS. The two teams reportedly worked side-by-side on the project until Chrysler's cash crunch caused the Dodge team to focus its resources elsewhere. The end result was a brand-new SLS for Mercedes and a hole in Dodge's Viper lineup. IL bolsters its account of the Viper-turned-SLS with the fact that early SLS test mules caught by spy photogs were fitted with ill-assembled Viper sheetmetal.

While it's hard to blame Mercedes for utilizing existing engineering work (it did, after all own Chrysler at the time) to bring the SLS to market faster and cheaper, we're thinking it would have been nice to have a new aluminum chassis Viper on the streets. Here's hoping that the 2012 Viper makes us forget about our loss.

 

 

 

And even if this rumor has been debunked and its just a myth, the truth of the matter is that when the 3rd generation Viper, this one that we have today, was first being developed, engineered and funded when Stuttgart was calling the shots, and 'twas Stuttgart that put a limit on Mopar's developmental time and money for  the 3rd generation Viper.

Whether the SLS is a 3rd generation Viper underneath or not is a moot point..

The 3rd generation Viper did not get any love from Stuttgart.

So....blame Stuttgart for the lack of hindsight to make a 3rd gen Viper a tad more compliant for any future safety regs....because the funds ran dry for MOPAR.

Dodge was forced to used 2nd generation bits and pieces for their 3rd generation Viper.

Sergio sure as hell did not have the budget to give SRT enough dough to truly make the Viper all new.

 

Like you said for FCA.....at least there is Jeep.

That goes for Mercedes-Daimler as well. And those mini-vans. And the Ram Trucks.

Coincidentally, that V10 is a Ram engine....all Lamborghinied up.

 

And yes, low sales do have an impact for a 4rth generation....

But if the 3rd generation  was FULLY developed  in the early to mid 2000s  with a shelf life of more than 5 years....than a slight refresh might have been the difference for a 4rth generation.

Instead what we got for a 3rd generation was a refresh of a 2nd generation....

Edited June 23, 2016 by oldshurst442

[hyperv6]

Sergio has starved Chrysler auto divisions horribly. He has no interest in them and pretty much distroyed their futures unless someone comes in now and turns it around. 

The 200 and Dart were below what they needed. Chrysler tried to fix the Fiat corporation platforms with better styling but it was hard to cover the bones under the skin. They fooled little other than those looking for a good discount on a new car. 

 

The RWD lines only got a shot in the arm with better interiors and some PR from the Hell Cat. These were only due to Chrysler and not Fiat trying to stretch the line as they still have not been given the money to properly to replace them. 

 

I expect even if they end up using the Alfa platform they will be a disappointment much as the Alfa is starting to prove to be. The delayed and often quality issues are already proving that while you can dress an Alfa up the quirky nature and quality still prevails. 

The Viper has suffered from the lack of spending pure and simple. The Chrysler engineers did what they could but the car is much like a C3 Vette that has gone too long with out major changes. The low volume just seals the deal.  Whole the Corvette continue to move on with better and faster development even into the Mid engine now the Viper is becoming a retro car no by plan either. Again Sergio has failed this company.

 

It is hard enough to sell sports cars long term but anymore you need to keep moving the sticks forward or you will find the car will only live 5-10 years anymore. Just look at all the sports cars we have had under $100K and how few live beyond the 5-10 year span.  

[A Horse With No Name]

On 6/22/2016 at 9:18 PM, Guest Howie said:

Side airbags are a good excuse but they had years to plan it. So I think low volume is the true culprit. An halo car is nice... if you can afford it! I  doubt FCA has the resources nor the will for such a money pit. FCA seems to have bet all it has on the Pacifica, desperately looking for a partner for compact/medium size cars as unloading Fiat's euro models doesn't seems to work... Luckily (or not) they got Jeep !

In the US they are Jeep, Trucks, retro Muscle cars and little else. One wonders what they will do when the price of fuel goes back up.