The Viper wasn’t just an audacious American sports car. It was a daring declaration by then-vice-chairman Bob Lutz that Chrysler was back.
has always been a fearsome machine. It’s the only mass-produced two-seat sports car to use a front-mounted V10 engine, and it was exclusively available with a six-speed manual transmission. The first-generation Viper RT/10 roadster had no air conditioning, no glass side windows, and no exterior door handles.
Lutz was Vice Chairman of Chrysler when the Viper project was launched; his full career includes executive positions at BMW, Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors. Now 92 years old and mostly retired, Lutz is still one of the most quotable, straight-talking executives in the auto industry.
The Viper concept car was displayed at the 1989 Detroit Auto Show. As Lutz describes it, the response was fervently positive. Letters came pouring into Chrysler, from all sorts of people across America, all of them desperate to own this striking new sports car. Even executives from competing automakers congratulated Lutz and his team for making such a splash—though rumors swirled that the top brass at Ford was sour about the Viper drawing inspiration from their own back catalog.
Lutz and the rest of the Viper crew knew they couldn’t build a car like the Viper through the traditional Chrysler path—slow-moving committees, endless research, and dense corporate hierarchy. “We needed a small, agile, highly motivated cadre of commando-type car buffs,” as Lutz puts it.So Lutz, Gale, and Castaing called a meeting and asked for volunteers interested in working on Viper.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Nearly 1.2 million Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler vehicles recalled to fix software glitchStellantis is recalling nearly 1.2 million vehicles in the U.S. and Canada to fix a software glitch that can disable the rearview cameras.
Read more »
1.6 Million Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, And Ram Models Recalled For Reverse Camera FailsIt's the latest in a long-line of recalls from the Stellantis camp, with the notice regarding faulty rear-view cameras
Read more »
Jeep, Dodge, Ram, and Chrysler plotting 'death of chrome' because it's toxicThe days of chrome at Jeep, Dodge, Ram, and Chrysler are numbered due to health reasons.
Read more »
Stellantis recalling nearly 1.2 million vehicles to fix software glitch that disables rear cameraMultiple models are affected, including vehicles from Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge.
Read more »
Unusual New Species of Venomous Viper Discovered in ChinaScience, Space and Technology News 2024
Read more »
Supercharged, Viper V10-Powered Plymouth GTX Takes SRT Back To The ’60sEngine-swapped classic Mopar muscle car was originally equipped with a 440 cu-in, 7.2-liter V8
Read more »