Internal Battle Between Viper and Hellcats

Photo by: drivesrt.com

             Once again, American muscle has found its way to the top of the list – courtesy of Dodge. To get the bragging rights of being the world’s most powerful sedan, Dodge has placed the Hellcat V8 into the four-door sedan (Dodge Charger). Fantastic news for America and sedan loving people alike, but there’s troubling waters ahead for Dodge’s angry snake.

            A lot has been happening in the past few months. Just a quick recap – the company came out with the Challenger Hellcat, then decided to drop the SRT brand, bringing the Viper back to Dodge and then placed the Hellcat motor into the Charger. A lot of work for an American automaker.

          The original Hellcat – the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat – is an incredible vehicle. It is the quintessential American muscle car of today, there’s no arguing that. It’s fat, heavy (some would say muscular), rear-wheel drive, purposefully built for two and boasts nuclear-grade amounts of horsepower. Dodge ingeniously added the nuclear horsepower part to the four-door Charger. And whamo, the world’s most powerful sedan. However, automotive enthusiasts may recall another two-door supercar offered by Dodge – the Viper.

Photo by: autoblog.com

           Beginning in May 1992, Dodge started the distribution of the all-mighty snake. It featured a

massive 8.0-liter V-10 engine producing 400 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque – impressive numbers for the time. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the vehicle at the time was approximately $55,600, but demand was so high for the vehicle, dealerships marked up the price by $100,000.

Photo by: hemmings.com

           Fast forward to 2014 and the Viper isn’t doing as well. While the beast has gone to college and gotten a degree in drivability, usability and friendliness, it still isn’t selling as well as Dodge hoped. According to Freep.com, Dodge dealers sold 38 Vipers in the month of August, down 38 percent from the previous year. A grand total of 438 Vipers have been sold in the U.S. this year. The 438 lucky individuals brave enough to purchase the vehicle have a truly special and unique vehicle. But why is the Viper selling so poorly?

           It all comes down to the price. A 2014 Dodge Viper Coupe starts at $99,885. That’s a really pretty penny. And while everyone says, you can’t compare the Viper to the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, it would appear as if anyone interested in buying a two-door American sports car/supercar is doing exactly that.

Photo by: bobistheoilguy.com

          When you compare the base Corvette to a base Viper, there’s no comparison. Even comparing the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (which is set to have a starting price of $78,995) will yield Viper fans even unhappier. So it should come as no surprise then when automotive news is riddled with a lack of Viper sales. Dodge, or better yet SRT, has overpriced the Viper in an ever-competitive market. And now, sales are suffering more than ever.

         Until now.

           Dodge has just announced a $15,000 incentive on the Viper to draw more customers in and it appears to be working. But it may be a tad too late.

           Any way you cut it, the Hellcat twins are a better deal then the Viper. They have more power, more torque, better usability, better practicality, are better priced and now, due to Dodge’s recent Viper price cut, may be rarer.

Photo by: motortrend.com

           Over 700 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque in a car with a starting price of approximately $60,000 is the bargain of the century. Not to mention, it blows its competition out of the water on a power-to-price-ratio alone. And that’s the worst thing that could ever happen to the Viper right now.

          Dodge has just rectified the Viper situation by decreasing their price. But now, they’re just about to commence with the sales of a vehicle that even more people can afford and can use on a daily basis. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that people cross-shop the Viper to Corvettes because of the price difference and friendliness. And now, people with $60,000 in their pockets will cross-shop Dodge’s ultimate supercar to the more practical Hellcat twins right across the dealership.

           2015 will be a tough year for the Viper and that makes me sad. It’s a menacing vehicle, one that needs to be treated with the utmost of respect – even when looking at it. Ogle it the wrong way and it’ll bite you. But putting down money on one without driving the more ludicrous Hellcat-equipped models will bite your wallet even harder.

           The mixed reviews on the Viper also don’t help its cause. Some love it and others hate it. One thing’s for sure, its reliability is not on par with its rivals, which may be another reason for people to flock to the Hellcat models. To say the least, Dodge’s idea to stuff the Hellcat motor into its lower models is confusing. They’ve created supercar-killing vehicles with a luxury-car price tag, which is something the industry is missing. But at the same time, they’ve completely made their high-performance model insignificant.

           Sad and happy times lay ahead for Dodge. It’s the birth of a new breed and the potential death of a glorious, renowned animal.

Photo by: wot.motortrend.com