"The Dodge Viper has had a great run, and 25 years after it was first introduced, it leaves the supercar world reaching for the records it continues to set," said Tim Kuniskis, Head of Passenger Cars, Dodge, SRT, Chrysler, and Fiat - FCA, North America.
Despite being less sophisticated than its Italian competitors, the car was as fast as anything on the road at the time.
Conceived as a modern-day Cobra, the development team even roped Carroll Shelby into the latter stages of the development process and the initial marketing.
Four limited-edition models shown here are (from left) Viper Snakeskin Edition GTC, Vooodoo II ACR, Viper GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACR and Viper 1:28 ACR. The fifth Dodge Dealer Edition Viper ACR, not shown, is available through select Dodge dealers.
What made the car so formidable was an aluminum block 8.4-litre V10 engine, courtesy of Lamborghini, which 25 years ago, was part of Chrysler.
When the Viper went on sale, despite a premium price tag and despite not having creature comforts such as door handles, a roof or side windows, no one seemed to care. The performance was incredible. Tom Cruise bought one, so did Slash. Even "Top Gear" star Jeremy Clarkson was so taken aback by its power that a Viper served as his wedding car.
To commemorate all of this and more Dodge has curated five different special editions: each one will have a very limited 2017 model year production run. And although each will offer a very individual exterior and interior, all will come with the same V10 and carbon ceramic brakes.
The Viper 1:28 Edition ACR is so called because the American Club Racer (ACR) version of the Viper holds the Laguna Seca lap record. It will get a contrasting black and red exterior finish.
The GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACR will sport the famous white exterior finish with twin blue racing strips plus one or two special interior details. Just 100 examples are destined for production.
The Viper VoooDoo II Edition ACR gets a black graphite exterior finish and silver accent stitching on the seats in reference to the original 2010 VooDoo model.
The Snakeskin Edition GTC will have a bright green exterior finish with a snakeskin stripe graphic against a black interior.
And last but not least the Dodge Dealer Edition ACR which will incorporate a single blue racing stripe and a red accent on to a white paint finish and will be exclusive to America's biggest Dodge Viper dealerships.
