Viper’s 25th edition offers choices galore

After 25 years, the Dodge Viper bids its fans au revoir.

“The Dodge Viper has had a great run, and 25 years after it was first introduced, it leaves the supercar world reaching for the records it continues to set,” said Tim Kuniskis, head of passenger cars, Dodge, SRT, Chrysler, and Fiat – FCA, North America.

“With more track records than any production car in the world, the Dodge Viper ACR will live on as the fastest street-legal Viper track car ever, the car that has set the benchmark for all that follows in its tracks.”

But Viper devotees can celebrate the passing of the “Snake” by making off with one of five special, limited editions.

Also available is the “1 for 1” customization program, which lets buyers build their own Snake from the ground up with a palette of 16,000 exterior colours, 24,000 custom stripe colours, 11 wheel options and 16 interior trims.

And if that’s not enough, the automaker says each Viper features a personalized instrument panel badge with the customer’s name to commemorate their exclusive design. No two customers can order the same configuration, including color, in the same model year.

Powerful though it may have been, sales were not its strength.

FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne told the Detroit Free Press in January that “Every economic analysis that we’ve carried out about keeping alive that vehicle in its current architectural state don’t add up.”

But he said that the automaker could turn to Alfa Romeo or Maserati, FCA-owned brands, for successors just as dynamic.

A Chrysler Canada rep refused to disclose how many Vipers would be for sale in Canada, nor the details of the dealer distribution strategy.