I’m all for free market and capitalism, but I’d hate to see an American icon go to some crap hole company like Tata. Just keep it Chrysler. Viper won’t make or break your company. It’s the only good product that’s holding your reputation together.

Yeah let’s sell our icon …

Buy low, sell high. This would be a bad move on Chrysler’s product. Chrysler isn’t planning for the future.

Chrysler’s been neglecting Viper so let’s hope the car lands in better hands.

So does anyone know who the possible buyers are? Also Im shocked that if this is a foreign buyer that our Govt will allow/want something to go overseas… I mean wouldnt that create more job losses?

I don’t get it. If sales are up one would have to assume it’s currently a profit center of which I’m sure it’s safe to say is one of the few, if any, that Chrysler can boast about. On the other hand that’s probably why there are 3 suitors.

Just ask GM how much fun they’re having trying to unload their 3 losing amigos: Saturn, Saab and Hummer.

Selling the Viper is a show of “no confidence” in themselves. Even to just shelf the VIPER for a few years, or go forward with something like the FIREPOWER, to maximize profitability of the platform would be a major improvement over selling the one of the best things CHRYSLER has EVER done.

The Viper is still a car for the very well heeled that still have money to part with over a sports car. Luxury and sports vehicles are really the then big money makers for any automakers and American Auto makers know how to wring every penny from them.

The FIREPOWER (I STILL hate that name but love the car), would be a solid first step toward remaking the company into the often dubiously received notion of becoming “America’s Mercedes-Benz”. It will take investment and gall. Selling the VIPER would shot that in the foot.

Imagine taking the QT (Quad Turbo) 7.0+L V12 from the ME412 and putting that in the Firepower (Gotta find a better name)… Instant CHRYSLER “SLR”.

Howsmydriving,

I got to kinda’ disagree on neglecting the VIPER itself. They have been neglecting the VIPER racing program but not the car itself. I mean the VIPER ACR aced the GT-R35 and the C6 ZR-1 by a pretty good margin. The car still have some strong legs. I just would like to see it win some races.

If anyone buys the VIPER, I would hope for an AMERICAN sports car maker like SSC, Shelby, SMS, or a bunch of car guys with butt-loads of money looking for a good long term investment. But most likely it will be a European or Chinese buyer.

could you imagine if toyota bought the viper, changed some stuff, and called it THE SUPRA?!?!??!?
It makes sense for them to sell it, Chrysler knows they are deep in the crapper, so why not sell their only great car to a foreign company and screw ford and chevy even more. F U CHRYSLER!!!!

they probably sold them because they actually have employee pricing for the viper too.
keep the viper, you need to use it to your advantage, just like nissan puts the GT-R in their magazine ads for the Rogue.

This is f-ed up……

They had 3 offers, they didn’t say they were GOOD offers. Make it 4 offers, I’ll give them $200 for it all.

@A4: I totally, agree. The GT-R was never made to be a big selling product in the US, but more of a selling point for other Nissan products. It would probably benefit Chrysler to do the same thing as Nissan’s done and just put a picture of a viper above every other car in the ads. Look what we can build!! If we can build this, it must mean everything else we make is amazing too!! Thats the mindset Nissan employs, if it can work for them, it can work for us.

I can see the ad now….

Picture a viper on the top half of the page and a caliber on the bottom half…. The caption reads “We infuse the DNA from our legendary Viper into all the cars we make. Both cars are Red!

The caliber below must have had some kind of gene mutation….but like Ragu–Its in there!

Please be Ford, Please be Ford, Please be Ford, Please be Ford….

God, I’m practically vibrating over the prospect of Ford buying the Viper and folding it into its SVT group and letting Shelby get their hands on it and appropriately name it the Cobra. There is a reason Ford yanked the Cobra name off of the Mustang, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t a long term plan to produce a Viper-esque car. Now they can get the real thing!

If FORD got it, an this is NOT a bad thing, the first thing FORD would do is make a V8 version. Think of it starting around $50K rather than over $90K.

But somehow I just don’t think FORD is going to put up the money to Buy the VIPER off CHRYSLER, not that it is a bad buy. It would be monumental. But FORD would have a deuce of a time trying to justify such an acquisition in the face of still slumping sales.

But If they do, They would finally have a perennial sports car to put against the CORVETTE, a place to put that sweet 6.5L V10 they developed for their Cobra Concept a couple of years back, and a domestic factory to dedicate to more super sports car efforts. GR-1 at last, anyone?

@… Blakkarr, but Shelby might….

Yea,h I said as much in an earlier comment, but somehow I would doubt it. SHELBY is a Big name but not a big player. But one condition of the “sale” of the VIPER, may be that CHRYSLER retain production duties while a third party sells the car as their own.

In that, SHELBY could do it but only if they can or, at least, offering pay. If what I’ve outlined is the arrangement to sale the VIPER would cost a lot less.

I want to be optimistic in this but as they say, “Just when you think it can’t get any worse…”, and with CHYRYSLER, it almost always feels like, “…it will”.

I will just lament only the second car I have ever fallen in “car love” with going away for good. The first was the LOTUS Esprit. Since then no other car has gotten even a wink from me.

I don’t know, “Ford Viper” just doesn’t sound right, and neither does “Shelby Viper.” “SVT Viper” sounds okay, but still, I’m definitely going to miss the sound of “Dodge Viper.” Wait, “Shelby Cobra Viper…” “Shelby Viper Cobra…” hmm… …maybe…

If Shelby did buy it, though, they may do something like they did with the old Cobras and the Series 1, with very high exclusivity. I believe Shelby still has their “factory” here in Las Vegas, right next to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I remember doing a show there a few years ago, and at the time, they had a deal where if you bought a Series 1, you would get a Titan Motorcycle with the same serial number and paint scheme. Not only that, but they would build the car for your height and weight, and adjust the suspension specifically for you, and then they’d give you a driving course to teach you how to handle the car. THAT’s exclusivity, and that would be cool to see happen with the Viper.

But Ford does need a Corvette fighter, so…

Beatus, do they really? The GT 500 is shortly soon to be up to the level of the previous KR so where does the KR end up? You just know they’re working on it. Granted the physics of a Mustang chassis are never going to equal the likes of a Viper or a Vette but if they can push the envelope to 650 or 700hp who’s going to give a sh*t. And let’s not forget Ford is in the best shape of the Detroit lot. They can afford to blow a few bucks to make this happen.

Ha yeah Viper sales were up in January b/c people know Chrysler will probably be shutting its doors soon.