Brent Snavely

Detroit Free Press

DETROIT -- Chrysler said Tuesday it will shut down its Viper plant in Detroit for more than two months because of weak demand for the supercar.

Ninety-one workers will be laid off because of the the temporary shutdown, the company said.

Production is scheduled to end the week of April 14 at Conner Avenue Assembly Plant and will resume the week of June 23.

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The decision to halt Viper production is the latest blow for the sports car, which is meant as a halo car for Chrysler's young SRT brand. Employees view the high-performance car as a symbol of the company's recovery since 2009.

Chrysler discontinued the Viper in 2010 because of financial difficulties, but revived it after Fiat took control. But sales fell to 591 in 2013 and just 91 through the first two months of 2014, according to Autodata. The automaker planned to sell at least 1,600 Vipers annually.

Chrysler cut production by 30% last fall partly because demand for sports cars is highest during the spring months.

The base price for the Viper is $99,395 and $122,995 for the GTS model.

The Viper has an all-aluminum, mid-front 8.4-liter V10 engine that delivers 640 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque.