Dodge Viper production to end in 2017

After 25 years in production, the Dodge Viper is coming to an end in 2017. Dodge once terminated Viper production in 2010, but then re-entered the market with an all-new SRT Viper in 2012. In a world of ever-stricter emissions regulations, the car with the biggest production motor, an 8.4-litre V10, was bound to be put down, but not without a bang. Dodge has announced 5 special variants of the Viper before pulling the plug on it.

The 5 editions of the last Viper will be available for booking from June 24th 2016 in the States. The special editions include:

• 28 examples of Viper 1:28 Edition ACR, which pays tribute to the current production car single lap record of 1:28.65 at the historic Laguna Seca Raceway 2015
• 100 Viper GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACRs which is designed to pay tribute to the most iconic Viper colour scheme, the white and blue combination of the 1998 Viper GTS-R GT2 Championship Edition
• 31 Viper VoooDoo II Edition ACRs designed after the 2010 Viper VooDoo with a black paint scheme adorned by a graphite metallic ACR driver’s stripe
• 25 Viper Snakeskin Edition GTCs with a Snakeskin Green exterior with a custom snakeskin-patterned SRT stripe.
• Dodge Dealer Edition ACR which is only available through the Viper dealers that produces the highest sales, Tomball Dodge of Tomball, Texas and Roanoke Dodge of Roanoke in States.

If these don’t entice you, Dodge will continue to offer the “1 of 1” customisation program for 2017, which is also available in the UAE and other GCC countries.

The announcement was not a surprise considering the poor performance of the car in all markets. Sales dropped to 3-digit figures in each of the last two years. Even the US$ 15,000 price drop in late 2014 couldn’t save it. In the UAE, the Viper was only offered in GTS trim initially, with a whopping Dhs 600,000 asking price, but nowadays you can pick up a new one for Dhs 400,000. The lack of an automatic-gearbox option and the general impracticality of the car were factors in its demise as well. A brief rebranding as a standalone “SRT Viper” model didn’t help either.

The Viper always gave pricier supercars a run for their money, even at the track in ACR trim. After 25 years, the most involving supercar you can buy will no longer be around.

Here’s our quick road test of the Dodge Viper SRT.

For UAE prices and GCC specs, visit the Dodge buyer guide.