Dodge announced plans to deep-six the Viper nameplate after a 25-year long production run last June. The model was sent off with a batch of limited-edition cars that predictably sold out almost instantly. Demand from enthusiasts was unprecedented, and a dealer in North Carolina succeeded in buying 135 cars — that represents about 99 percent of the final production run.
The Viper should have joined the pantheon of automotive history after the last car was spoken for, but Motor Authority has learned Dodge is building a few additional cars because executives realized they have more parts left over than they thought they would. Whether a few means two, 20, or 200 remains to be seen, but the Viper has always been a low-volume model so it’s reasonable to assume the final figure will be in the two digits.
The fire-breathing Viper has resisted the sports car market’s shift towards dual-clutch automatic transmissions and smaller, turbocharged engines; it’s the ultimate old-school American muscle car, and it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s exclusively offered with a naturally-aspirated 8.4-liter V10 engine that pumps out 645 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. All that power is channeled to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission.
Dodge hasn’t announced precisely when the 2017 Viper will again be available, and we don’t know how much it will cost. If you want one, our advice is to get in line as soon as possible. The last Vipers ever built will certainly sell out fast regardless of how much Dodge chooses to ask for them, and production will end once and for all once the company runs out of parts.
Edited 3/15/2017 by Ronan Glon: Corrected the Viper’s engine displacement.
