The very first prototype version of the 2013 SRT Viper was prowling the roads of Southeast Michigan on Monday with Ralph Gilles, president and CEO of the SRT Brand, behind the wheel.
““Oh my god, what a sensation driving that car on the freeway,” said Gilles who has championed the super sportscar’s revival. He spoke this morning at a breakfast hosted by the law firm Dawda Mann. “With the modern day cell phones everyone was almost crashing into me trying to take pictures.”
Chrysler discontinued the Viper in 2010 because of financial difficulties but decided bring it back after Fiat became the company’s controlling shareholder.
“The history of Viper runs deep. The private equity guys tried to snuff it out, but it’s like the weed that keeps growing back,” Gilles said.
While Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne ultimately approved the decision to bring the Viper back, Gilles said work began before that.
“It was done in the darkest hour you could imagine,” Gilles said. “I threw this project to the designers to keep them motivated.”
The original Dodge Viper was shown as a concept at the 1989 North American International Auto Show and was sold from 1992 to 2010. The new Viper joins Chrysler’s SRT, or Street and Racing Technology brand.
The 2013 SRT Viper will be equipped with an 8.4-liter V10 engine that generates 640 horsepower and nearly 600 pound-feet of torque. The high-performance sports car will reach dealer showrooms during the fourth quarter of this year.
Gilles said the company still has a lot of work to do on the manufacturing process for the Viper.
“We are really quality focused right now,” Gilles said. “It’s not so much about rushing into the market. It’s really making sure its right.”
The SRT Viper will be built at Chrysler’s Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit by about 150 hourly and salaried workers. The plant, idled in 2010, has been refurbished, Gilles said.
“It went from looking like a dungeon to a CVS pharmacy,” Gilles said.
Courtesy of Dodge Media
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