Like Bob Lutz, the Viper he backed is not retiring.
Late this afternoon Chrysler Group LLC announced that production of the Dodge Viper SRT10 and its V-10 engine will continue at the Connor Avenue Assembly Plant, where they have been built since 1995.
In a bankruptcy court filing back in May the company said there was no taker for the sale of the car and its entire Conner Avenue plant for only $10 million, and listed Viper as an asset to be disposed of by the old company. Apparently a bid of some $5 million did not have financing behind it. See Viper video here.
As the bankruptcy proceeded the company changed its mind and transferred the business to the surviving Chrysler Group. These assets, besides the car, consist of a 392,000 square-foot plant in Detroit that occupies 27 acres. There, 115 employees assemble the Dodge Viper SRT10 Coupe and Roadster along with the the V-10 engine.
It's as fast as a Viper!
There seems to be no downside to continuing for the moment. The Viper business earned $16 million in 2008 by building 1545 cars and engines. However, during 2009 only 120 Vipers have been built thus far in a plant that is capable of building eight cars a day during its single, 40-hour shift.
“The Dodge Viper has successfully captured the hearts and imagination of performance enthusiasts around the globe,” said Mike Accavitti, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dodge Brand.
“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.”
Viper was a shameless and unapologetic knock-off of an approach used by the original Ford Cobra.
Introduced as a concept car in 1989 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the Dodge Viper was championed by then president Bob Lutz. Viper was designed and engineered to test public reaction to the concept of a back-to-basics, high-performance, limited production sports car. It was a shameless and unapologetic knock-off of the original Ford Cobra.
Customer orders began before the auto show was over. Chrysler Corporation immediately decided to determine the production feasibility of what was merely a show car with no engineering or assembly data behind it.
In May 1990, after months of intensive study and testing, Chrysler announced that the Dodge Viper, powered by an aluminum V-10 engine was a “go.” The hundreds of millions that were spent for the program were hidden by Lutz under the profitable minivan line, and for all I know they might still be.
Dodge Viper production began in May 1992 at the New Mack Assembly Plant in Detroit, and was moved to Conner Avenue in October 1995.
For 2009, the Dodge Viper SRT10 has an 8.4-liter, 600-horsepower (450 kW) V-10 engine. It is capable of accelerating to 60 mph in less than four seconds. Asking prices start at about $91,220 (MSRP). To date, more than 25,000 Dodge Vipers have been built.