The reports of a Chrysler/General Motors merger have slowed a bit without going away, as have indications that the Dodge is searching for a partner willing to buy the rights to build one of America’s true supercars, the Viper. That Viper brand isn’t without value if recent reports can be believed, with Chrysler vice chairman Jim Press saying that the track-focused Viper SRT10 ACR is “essentially sold out.”
The Viper’s success is said to be due in part to a target audience that feels the ACR version of the car will be an excellent investment as the apogee of performance for the marque thus far. Sales of the sports car remain strong in large part because it’s buyer demographic—a high income cross section of the market that have been mostly insulated from the nation’s recent economic woes.
The $105,000 Viper ACR is also somewhat of a performance bargain, holding the unofficial lap record for factory stock, street legal cars at the Nürburgring—despite competing for that title with car’s selling for many multiples of its asking price.