Chrysler, with the obvious backing of its new partner Fiat, has decided to keep producing the Dodge Viper SRT10. That’s because Chrysler is no longer interested in selling the Viper brand after shopping around for a potential buyer for months. Viper production was stopped for a few months while this transaction was being attempted.
The car is American beefcake in the metal and is powered by an aluminium 8.4-litre V10 engine, which is about four times the size of an Audi TT S engine. It makes a heady 450kW (612hp) and can run from 0 – 100km/h in less than 4 seconds!
Viper began its life as a concept car at the 1989 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Since then it’s won over many admirers and has sold over 25 000 units. There was even a TV series in the early 1990s named after and featuring the Viper.
Because the sale of left-hand-drive cars is illegal in South Africa, Chrysler South Africa does not import the Viper at all. However, that is not to say there aren’t any of these running around with owners who imported “grey” examples through neighbours like Botswana and Swaziland.
