Is The Viper Dead?

or is it long live the Viper?

the Dodge Viper is one of the few remaining American Supercars and sadly it may soon be removed from the auto market as Chrysler, now out of bankruptcy and in bed with Fiat, has announced that it has turned over all the Viper assets, including rights to the name, to the Italian auto giant, it’s now up to Fiat to decide whether it still wants to sell the Viper business or phase out altogether, reports Edmunds, phasing out the brand, as dreadful as it sounds, is a possibility that’s gaining credence as there are fears that the Viper range is a competitor for the Ferrari and Maserati brands,

the Viper is in my list of cars I would like to own, but back to the story, a ACR Viper broke the Corvette ZR-1's record at Nurburgring, the Viper ran the 12.9 mile course in 7:22, although the number time is not yet official, but how about this, the 600 horsepower V10 up and pounded out the record breaking lap time, the only modification that was made to the vehicle was the addition of a Racetech racing seat and a 6-point harness, although a few suspension tweaks were also made, the suspension is adjustable from the factory, I wonder what times a Ferrari and Maserati would do going round the same circuit straight from the box? I wonder if Fiat will be brave enough to try?