Chrysler’s legendary super car has seen its final days on the production line, the death of the Viper is sad for car enthusiasts across the globe but the Viper never made business sense for Chrysler. There are numerous reasons why the Viper is dead, low sales volume, high cost to produce, and limited market appeal making it a fiscally irresponsible car to produce. However, the true reason for the Viper’s demise is the introduction of the Hellcat. Even a company like Chrysler can’t justify spending money on three halo cars that accomplish the same mission.




In the days before the introduction of a 707-horse power Hellcats, the Viper was the poster child for the fun extreme Dodge promised to consumers. The Viper was the crown jewel of the Dodge line up, fighting super cars worth substantially more using American engineering and a huge V-10.

The newer generation of Dodge Viper was no exception, destroying the lap times of much more valuable cars all while being powered by the largest engine to be fitted to a post war car. This generation Viper was more refined and tried to appeal to more sophisticated buyers with the ability to buy car worth over $100,000. Dodge knew the Viper would never be a profit center for the brand but it was important for them to offer excitement in their lineup. The Viper was the best way to get people in the door until the birth of the Hellcat.


When Dodge released the Challenger Hellcat it took the world by storm. The entire car community was in awe of the 707 horsepower brick from Detroit that adorned every Dodge ad. The Hellcat name soon became synonymous with huge horsepower at an affordable price. After the release of the Charger Hellcat, which claimed the title of fastest sedan on earth, Dodge solidified the Hellcat as an exciting brand with real performance credibility.


With the quick establishment of the Hellcat brand the Viper became superfluous. It was no longer featured in Dodge ads as the Halo Car from Detroit and it made even less sense to produce, as Dodge now had three loss leaders. Even Chrysler could see this was a bad idea. Some will blame the Viper itself for being too unrefined while others will blame Chrysler but the real executioner is the Hellcat. Not only is its name more exciting, these cars are attainable for more Dodge enthusiasts.



The Viper’s ability to embarrass super cars will always be remembered. No other super car was so quintessentially American. Its huge V-10 engine, unrefined driving experience, and vulgar nature will be missed. The Viper was a perfect car because it was imperfect, its drawbacks gave it character that more refined cars could never match.