Gen 5 Dodge Viper

[Dennisch]

That will be roughly €250k in the Netherlands.

 

[ShobThaBob]

Hooooly crap that's expensive.

 

[Exorcet]

Good news for me, I'd much rather get a Viper than a Viper GTS. There is a price jump from last gen, but it's not enormous. At least for the base car. I'd take the old interior if it cut the cost any though. I wouldn't even mind paying that much for the old interior in the new car if the white faced gauges were changed to black.

 

[ShobThaBob]

Pretty sure it's nearly a 25% price increase. The old viper started at around 80k?

 

[Exorcet]

I think they started at $85,000 or more for the SRT-10 and around $100,000 for ACR.

Motortrend from 2008 says $87,000 base, ~$90,000 with options.

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/112_0709_2008_dodge_viper_srt_10/viewall.html

 

[LAMA]

My Viper GTS-R in Forza

 

[McLaren]

The price is in the right spot. We're talking about a 640Hp V10 that should be running mid 3 seconds to 60 & a QTR mile in the 11's @ 120+ (according to SRT). Now, if I recall correctly, there's another big bad American icon running similar figures out of a supercharged V8 & that machine starts at $112,600.

So, SRT has found a good price point that not only undercuts the ZR1 by $15,000 & offering similar performance, but is enticing owners that if they want the extra add-ons of the GTS option, it'll only cost them $8,000 more over the base ZR1, & $2,000 less than the ZR1 with it's optional 3ZR package.

Thus, judging by the success of the ZR1 being a supercar on a "budget", the Viper should follow suit very easily. And where as the ZR1 usually gets critique on its interior being so similar to regular Corvettes, the Viper should have none of that. Very excited to see how this car does over in Europe.

 

[TheCracker]

"Shelby Blue" is actually Royal Blue which is darker:

As said, thats Viper Blue being shown on the Viper.

I don't think there ever was a colour in period which you could class as 'Shelby Blue'.

Early Shelby team Cobras were 'Princess Blue' (an AC colour) which the Americans referred to as 'Viking Blue' it was a paler, silvery blue. Later cars were 'Guardsman Blue' which was the darker blue that you see on most replicas.[/pedant]

The Blue on the Vipers is much darker still 👍

 

[RocZX]

 

[Nish]

I thought that the Corvette and the GTR were the only other "supercar's" in this price bracket. Why are people saying this is very expensive when it undercuts most of the competition?

(Not a personal attack, I am having this discussion elsewhere as well)

 

[Ddrizle]

Car and Driver Tested - First Drive Review - 2013 SRT Viper -

 

[Slash]

"This car we have here is a reproduction, but this car gives an idea what it looks like....."



That just completely spoiled the review. Not even the real car. We know what the damn thing looks lik.

 

[RACECAR]

"This car we have here is a reproduction, but this car gives an idea what it looks like....."



That just completely spoiled the review. Not even the real car. We know what the damn thing looks lik.

Correction: He says "Pre-Production" Model.

 

[Slash]

Correction: He says "Pre-Production" Model.

Ah my bad. Bit tough to hear his actual word.

 

[RocZX]

An Autonews report back in July, quoted Ralph Gilles, CEO of the SRT brand, saying that around 15 to 20 percent (or roughly 340 to 460 showrooms) of Chrysler's more than 2,300 U.S. dealers will carry the V10-powered sports car, but according to USA Today,Gilles has now lowered that number even more to only about 100 to 150 shops or 4-6%.

While all Chrysler dealers can sell and service all other SRT models, those handpicked to sell the Viper, will have to pay the company a one-time fee of $20,000 and another $5,000 to buy a base agreement for tools, equipment, training and signs along with preferential ordering and additional allocation of special models like the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, Gilles told Automotive News.

There are two basic reasons why Chrysler is being fussy about the Viper. The first is that only about 2,000 examples of the 640-horsepower sports car will be built each year, therefore, there are not enough cars to supply each U.S. dealer with one.

The other reason is that the company wants to elevate the SRT brand in general. "The SRT cars are starting to pull in a very, very interesting demographic -- much higher income, much higher education levels. The customer is becoming more sophisticated," Gilles told the news site.

Peter Grady, Chrysler's vice president of network development and fleet, added that dealers opting into the SRT brand agreements must meet certain criteria and customer satisfaction requirements in order to qualify for the preferential ordering and extra allocation of cars.

"This is a different kind of a customer, a different approach, and it requires a different sort of commitment," he said.

Source:CarScoop



I think that is somewhat dumb move that they are only making it available only at certain dealerships, I know that they said the Viper was going to be sold in dealers that have sold a few in the past. But then making them pay $25K just to have the right to sell the car is even dumber .
I don't ever understand why they would even reduce the number of dealership that can s ell them, if someone was interested in buying one and the closest dealer that sold one was over 100 miles if not more away that is quite a distance to travel just to get see the car and get a test drive.

 

[psntomaz]

How the Hell is it Dumb? Did you not Read its only making 2,000 Vipers a Year. why would they sell a car that limited to most of its 2,300 dealerships?

Tell me Wheres the Closest Bugatti, Mclaren, Shelby Super Cars, Lamborghini Dealership from cities like Washington D.C?

 

[Slash]

I know of a Shelby dealership in a town of 14,000

 

[McLaren]

I think that is somewhat dumb move that they are only making it available only at certain dealerships, I know that they said the Viper was going to be sold in dealers that have sold a few in the past. But then making them pay $25K just to have the right to sell the car is even dumber .
I don't ever understand why they would even reduce the number of dealership that can s ell them, if someone was interested in buying one and the closest dealer that sold one was over 100 miles if not more away that is quite a distance to travel just to get see the car and get a test drive.

For the same reason my workplace paid for the rights to the only McLaren/Bugatti dealership in Dallas; to ensure they are the sole supplier of the car.

That's what Dodge dealerships are going to be doing with that $25K; to make sure they are the only supplier of the Viper. They will be the ones who get the clients in the door to not only look at the Viper, but everything else Dodge offers. And it provides eye candy for those who want to see it; even though they can't afford it, they are still customers on the showroom who can be talked into looking at other vehicles.

People in the market for a Viper are more than likely not going to be affected that much by distance, either. If they are legitimately interested, they will either go to the dealership or call & have an appointment arranged to see the car. I'll tell you from personal experience that out-of-town clients are some of the most well taken care of shoppers.

 

[TVC]

I have to agree with McLaren on this. The Viper is a pretty expensive car and if someone really wants one 100 miles is not very far at all. Even flying to a dealership wouldn't be out of the question for someone buying a car in that price range, though it probably isn't very common.

100-150 dealerships seems fine to me. I haven't checked their sales numbers but I don't think very many Vipers sold in Wyoming compared to Southern California or Florida.

 

[Exorcet]

Source:CarScoop

OK, production is limited fine. The whole "elevate the brand" thing just has me shaking my head though. Adding some exclusivity or whatever is just pointless. Just make a good product and don't do stupid things that basically amount to making it harder to just go buy the thing.

 

[McLaren]

Nothing was said about the car being exclusive except to a couple dealers, which has no bearing on the car's actual production numbers itself.

Elevating the brand is what Cadillac did & it worked out well, so I can see Dodge wanting to follow suit with the SRT brand.

 

[YSSMAN]

Elevating the brand is what Cadillac did & it worked out well, so I can see Dodge wanting to follow suit with the SRT brand.

I'd consider it a smart move. I don't know if I'm in the minority or not, but I really like the way that Fiat has been dissecting and re-branding what was left of Chrysler. If they want to make SRT a thing, by all means, work to make it a legitimate thing. It was always weird seeing an SRT-10 parked alongside at Neon SE at a dealer. Make that experience special, and you'll bring in the clients that you want in the first place.

Up here in Grand Rapids, I can only think of one dealer that would opt for this kind of thing, and they're the only dealer that has the facilities that could separate SRT from the rest of the Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep vehicles on their lot. Thing is, they're dumping a ton of cash into a new Fiat dealer next door... We'll see what happens.

 

[RocZX]

How the Hell is it Dumb? Did you not Read its only making 2,000 Vipers a Year. why would they sell a car that limited to most of its 2,300 dealerships?

I never said that all dealerships should sell it, only ones that have sold them in the past.

Tell me Wheres the Closest Bugatti, Mclaren, Shelby Super Cars, Lamborghini Dealership from cities like Washington D.C?

But which of those companies have a sports car for less then $150K? Or have a dealership that does not sell a model (that is available) from company?

For the same reason my workplace paid for the rights to the only McLaren/Bugatti dealership in Dallas; to ensure they are the sole supplier of the car.

That's what Dodge dealerships are going to be doing with that $25K; to make sure they are the only supplier of the Viper. They will be the ones who get the clients in the door to not only look at the Viper, but everything else Dodge offers. And it provides eye candy for those who want to see it; even though they can't afford it, they are still customers on the showroom who can be talked into looking at other vehicles.

But then any Dodge/Chrysler dealership should have the right to pay the $25k and sell the Viper, not only the ones picked by SRT.

People in the market for a Viper are more than likely not going to be affected that much by distance, either. If they are legitimately interested, they will either go to the dealership or call & have an appointment arranged to see the car. I'll tell you from personal experience that out-of-town clients are some of the most well taken care of shoppers.

I know that some people would not be affected by the distance by they reduced the number of dealers that would have the Viper available and having other sports cars (GT-R and ZR1) in the same price range available at all their dealerships, in away could hurt sells in the long run.

 

[Keef]

I know that some people would not be affected by the distance by they reduced the number of dealers that would have the Viper available and having other sports cars (GT-R and ZR1) in the same price range available at all their dealerships, in away could hurt sells in the long run.

Dealerships selling the GT-R were required to pay for at least one technician to be sent out for a special GT-R-specific training program, and that technician had to be fully qualified in all ASE categories beforehand. The dealerships also had to pay to make any modifications to their service areas and equipment necessary to meet Nissan's standards. They also had to meet specific customer satisfaction and service quality standards. To be certified to sell the GT-R was expensive, time-consuming, and a lot of dealerships opted out of the program. Not all of them are able to sell and service the car.

I have no idea what GM's standards for the ZR1 were but I imagine they weren't any different than the Z06 they'd been selling for years. I do know the average Chevrolet dealership experience, at least what I've dealt with in the past, leaves something to be desired unless you've got a friend who works there.

I think what SRT is doing with the Viper's sales scheme is great. Clients who are willing to spend big for a rare car deserve the care they'll get when buying a Porsche or AMG car.

 

[Exorcet]

Nothing was said about the car being exclusive except to a couple dealers, which has no bearing on the car's actual production numbers itself.

Elevating the brand is what Cadillac did & it worked out well, so I can see Dodge wanting to follow suit with the SRT brand.

Elevating the brand by focusing on quality and whatnot, fine, that's why I'm OK with the limited production. But then being super tight with where you can get one just seems annoying. Of course, it's going to go hand in hand with limited production runs, but I think this might be a bit overboard.

Beyond that I am concerned a little bit that they might actually try to make the car more exclusive and perhaps pricey, but there isn't anything pointing to this right now, so it's just something I'm hoping doesn't happen.

Really if a brand needs elevating though, it's Chrysler. Change the Dodge badge, charge slightly more money and call it a luxury car.

 

[psntomaz]

Why Chrysler? You dont see GM doing that wit Buick?? and they do Charge Chrysler Cars more than Dodge. You cant get a V8 300 for less than $29,995 like the Charger. better yet. a Base 300 Starts at $28k while the Charger starts at $25k

 

[McLaren]

But then any Dodge/Chrysler dealership should have the right to pay the $25k and sell the Viper, not only the ones picked by SRT.

f SRT decides the dealer doesn't have enough of a market to sell the Viper, then that's a wise move on their part.

But seriously, if a dealer wants to sell the Viper bad enough, I'm sure they can buy their way into the program as well.

I know that some people would not be affected by the distance by they reduced the number of dealers that would have the Viper available and having other sports cars (GT-R and ZR1) in the same price range available at all their dealerships, in away could hurt sells in the long run.

I doubt it. Every major city will have a Viper-authorized dealership (probably more than that) & anyone interested in cross shopping will still more than likely make the effort to see one.

 

[Exorcet]

Why Chrysler? You dont see GM doing that wit Buick?? and they do Charge Chrysler Cars more than Dodge. You cant get a V8 300 for less than $29,995 like the Charger. better yet. a Base 300 Starts at $28k while the Charger starts at $25k

GM isn't an excuse, besides, Buick is in a sales slump isn't it? The 300/Charger might be an OK overlap, though they could probably be differentiated a bit more. The 300 should be Chrysler's lowest end car, bar a proper RWD 200C configured to be 3 series like. At least that's what I would do.

 

[McLaren]

Buick isn't in a sales dump, at least not the company. In the US, sales seem to be slow & steady, but it is the top auto maker in China & given the population of China, the company is going to remain with a bright future.

 

[psntomaz]

Chrysler ISNT the Luxury Car company of Chrysler. the 300 Will be the Flagship of Chrysler. Chrysler Isnt Competition for Cadillac, BMW, or Mercedez thats whats Alfa and Maserati is for. Its sole competitor is Buick, Acura, Linclon and or ther "Premium Mainstream" Companies