Dodge Puts an End to the Viper Era — The Legendary Sports Car Will Not Return

Dodge Viper fans will have to come to terms with some disappointing news. Tim Kuniskis, head of the SRT division and CEO of Dodge, stated that the iconic sports car will not return to the brand's lineup.

According to Kuniskis, the Viper has reached the end of its life cycle, and there are no prospects for the model's revival.

Nearly Ten Years After Production Ended

Dodge ceased production of the Viper after the 2017 model year. The car became one of the most notable American sports models of recent decades but could not meet new safety requirements.

During an appearance on The DriveCast podcast, Kuniskis acknowledged that a modern version of the Viper would likely struggle to retain one of its key features — the manual transmission.

In his opinion, in today's reality, the car would probably need to be equipped with an automatic transmission or a dual-clutch gearbox.

Challenges with New Safety Standards

One of the reasons the Viper has definitively remained in the past is the modern requirements for passive safety.

Kuniskis explained that the model could not comply with new passenger protection regulations during accidents. To meet the standards, the design would have to be significantly altered, which would contradict the Viper's concept.

One of the Most Iconic Dodges in History

Despite the final decision, the head of SRT highly praised the last generation of the Viper.

He called the design of the fifth generation one of the best in automotive history and noted the model's exceptional capabilities on the racetrack. According to him, the car could compete with virtually any supercar of its time.

At the same time, he acknowledged that the Viper was never an ideal car and required significantly more skill from the driver than most modern sports models.

Copperhead to Replace Viper

Although the return of the Viper is not planned, Dodge is already working on a new flagship model. This is a project called Copperhead. According to Kuniskis, it will not be a sports car, but rather a so-called