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SRT just unveiled a new version of its floundering halo car at the 2014 New York Auto Show.

Salesman might have better luck with selling actual snake venom as a chilled beverage than the Viper.

So far this year, sales are limping along at a blush-worthy pace. Through March, SRT sent 158 new Vipers to loving homes according to data from Automotive News, and that doesn’t bode well for the product’s future. After all, Chevrolet is less than a year from launching its red-hot Z06 Corvette and it will probably eat the Viper for breakfast.

Of course that has yet to be seen, but Chrysler is going to need to pull one helluva rabbit out of its hat if things are ever going to improve. It’s latest trick: an “Anodized Carbon” special edition of the car. Only 50 will be built and the final 10 of that production run will be a combination of carbon colored paint and the hardcore Time Attack package.

“We’ve received an overwhelming response to the unique Metallic Matte exterior color since first showing the Anodized Carbon Special Edition Viper late last year,” SRT CEO Ralph Gilles said.

The metallic matte black paint is striking in person to say the very least. An upholstered interior with orange stitching looks equally attractive from a window-shopper’s perspective. Gun metal bezels add to the all-out badass look. With such a sinister appearance, it’s a real shame that the car doesn’t seem to stand much of a chance at selling. SRT hasn’t specified a price, but it won’t be cheap. Then again, Gilles insisted in the past that part of SRT’s sales woes were directly tied to customers with upturned noses at the idea of buying a dealer-stocked sports car that starts over $100,000. If what he said today is true, there just might be a chance for SRT to move the metal.

GALLERY: SRT Viper Anodized Carbon Edition

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