[TusharK]

It is the end of the road for one of the most iconic American sports car. The Dodge Viper has gone out of production and with this the factory that has been building it for all these years will also shut down for good.



Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) design chief Ralph Gilles posted this image on Instagram which shows the final Viper being built. Apparently, a new ejection mitigation regulation airbag, which doesn't fit the Viper is one of the reasons why the sports car is being discontinued. The red car with polished, chrome wheels is headed to the FCA's heritage collection. That said, the last customer car is a yellow Viper ACR that can also be spotted in the image.

The Dodge Viper was launched back in 1992 and has since spawned five-generations. The current model was introduced in 2013. The modern Viper is powered by an 8.4-litre V10 that churns out 640 BHP @ 6,200 rpm and 813 Nm @ 5,000 rpm. The engine is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission which sends power to the rear wheels. The Viper has a claimed top speed of 335 km/h and 0-100 km/h time of 3.5 seconds.

Source: Ralph Gilles / Instagram

[abhishek46]

Wow.
It is really shameful that the car which single-handedly succeeded in turning around the fortunes of it's manufacturer (Dodge), is being retired due to such a lame reason.

May the Brute Rest-In-Peace.

[nishsingh]

My favourite car in Need for Speed!

I would have spend several thousand miles on it in the virtual world. Sad to see it go away in the real world.

[TejasKinger]

Another icon bites the dust. Though I have never seen the Dodge Viper in the flesh, it will continue to have a very special place in my heart.

The Dodge Viper in a way is responsible for my love for cars and my love for collecting scale models. This was in the late 90s, much before I knew of brands such as the Corvette, and Lamborghinis, Ferrari was perhaps the only brand of supercars that I knew of. I remember being gifted three scale models - a bright green Hotwheels Dodge Viper SR I, a bright red Maisto Dodge Viper SR I, and a white with blue racing stripes Maisto Dodge Viper SR II.

I was floored by the looks. I remember spending precious minutes on my dial-up internet connection looking up pictures of this beauty. Those were the days.

*Sigh* I hope someday, I'll get to see one in the flesh, and maybe even drive one.

[NaXal]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Apparently, a new ejection mitigation regulation airbag, which doesn't fit the Viper is one of the reasons why the sports car is being discontinued.

That is kind of a lame reason to give for discontinuing an iconic car.

Doesn't it raise serious doubt of FCA design teams capabilities to fix that issue ?

Anyway, in the age of strict emission rules, increasing fuel price and decrees in profit with competition, heavy engine cars are slowly getting lost in the darkness. One by one its sad to see them go.

Our generation is the hardest hit with this sorrow. As we age, world wide governments push for EV. One after another dream car would meet the darkness !!

[GTO]

The end of an icon. I've had short runs in the Viper during my Boston days and can tell you two things:

1. Nothing prepares you for the brute power.

2. Nothing touches the Viper in street cred & presence. It makes the Mustang look like a Maruti 800.

An imperfect car, yet highly desirable + full of character.

Originally Posted by abhishek46

It is really shameful that the car which single-handedly succeeded in turning around the fortunes of it's manufacturer (Dodge), is being retired due to such a lame reason.

The Viper boosted Dodge's image, but it was hardly a turnaround car. The volumes were way too low for that. It's minivans, trucks, SUVs & Jeeps that led to Chrysler's profitability. The Viper was a fun project by the famed Bob Lutz.

Originally Posted by NaXal

That is kind of a lame reason to give for discontinuing an iconic car.

Let them say what they want. Fact is, there is no business case for the Viper, especially when parent Fiat-Chrysler is in such a risky position.

Pic of a Viper in India (related thread):

[Amartya]

Originally Posted by GTO

2. Nothing touches the Viper in street cred & presence. It makes the Mustang look like a Maruti 800.

An imperfect car, yet highly desirable + full of character.

Well said . The Viper was an unapologetically bonkers car. In the age of Ecoboost engines, the Viper decided that its original 8L engine was not enough, which in it's next avatar was upped it to 8.3L, before they settled at an eye-popping 8.4L, V10 for the last revision.
If ever there was a contest to judge whether a car lived up to its name, the Viper would be undoubtably near the top of the list. As a trip down memory lane, here are a couple of photos I'd taken at the Chicago Auto Show in 2014, the second one shows a cutout of that ginormous engine.