The Next Dodge Viper Will Be Electric
By Chuck Squatriglia
Categories: Electric Vehicles 
After 16 years as the iconic pinnacle of Chrysler's lineup, the Dodge Viper is being toppled by a car with a cord. A source inside the company has indicated that the 600-horsepower coupe could be replaced by the Tesla-like electric sports car Chrysler unveiled Tuesday.
"You saw the picture of the EV we announced," says the source, who spoke to Wired.com on condition of anonymity. "That's the direction Chrysler is going."
For all its performance, the Viper is an anachronism. It was borne of the idea that bigger is better, and that's been enough to keep the Viper going since its introduction in 1992. But it's an increasingly difficult idea to sell in an era of $4-a-gallon gasoline and global warming, and Chrysler says it's time to move on. Even if the company wasn't looking to sell the Viper line, the supercar's days were numbered.
"The definition of sports car is changing," our source says. "People are looking at things differently now. The Viper was a throwback to the golden era of sports cars. It was all about big horsepower and small chassis. It's time for that to change."
That's not to say Chrysler's going soft.
Post Comment | Comments (33) | Permalink
No comments:
Post a Comment