While Dodge has not officially discontinued the Viper, many think that we are seeing this famous muscle car’s final moments.
The 2016 Dodge Viper ACR is quintessential Viper: massive 8.4-liter engine, 10 cylinders, manual transmission, a huge wing out back, and nothing luxurious about it. The Viper is a track car, a muscle car—the most expensive car in America to insure, according to Insure.com.
Why? Because people only buy this car to go really fast.
If you remember when the Viper first came out in 1992, it was the beginning of something special. But when its second version came out in 1996, it was a revelation. The front swooped and curved, carving out massive slices behind the front wheels. It was clear that this was no mere homage to the 1970s. Instead, this was Dodge actually making the best muscle car they possibly could.
The 2016 Viper is just like that second generation: it has the brassy reptilian looks that clearly aren’t looking to economize fuel the way a Toyota will. An 8.4-liter engine is a ridiculous thing, a pure monstrosity that is more suited to powering a tractor-trailer semi, not a two-seater. Despite its lack of necessity, however, we think the world will be poorer for its demise.
As Digital Trends pointed out, “…its successor will likely share a modular platform with numerous other models, use a smaller, more efficient turbocharged engine, and offer a paddle-shifted automatic gearbox. And it will probably sell in much higher numbers than the current car, while boasting higher profit margins.”
That’s only too easy to envision because it happens all the time in the auto industry. And if it does, we’re sure that it will have some advantages over the outgoing Viper. However, it will also have lost the elements that made it a unique vehicle, and for that, we mourn.
Here’s hoping that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles lets the Viper be the Viper.