The fifth generation of Dodge (formerly SRT) Viper was doomed from the start, a car that should never exist in the first place, trying to fill a void that never really existed. Had the car been re-engineered from the ground up and, setting itself apart through not just plenty of performance but uniqueness as well, then maybe it would have a chance.
Unfortunately +Chrysler execs chose to rely on already proven fully incompetent +Ralph Giles to come up with the car that was supposedly to crown the artificially created SRT brand and allow this guy to call himself a CEO.
What Giles delivered was nothing short of embarrassment, a fourth generation drivetrain and chassis clad in rehashed second generation hatchback only body, spiced up by gimmicky interior and electronic gismos like traction control, magnetic ride and cheesy instrument cluster video arcade.
To further compound the birth of the new car, after extorting 25 grand from any interested Chrysler dealers willing to hang up SRT sign on their dealership, the new Viper was allowed to become an object of profiteering scams, with dealers counting on anxious buyers literally pouring into their dealerships, willing to pay whatever price was slapped on the newest and greatest Viper.
After a true disaster during a test conducted by automotive press, things never got better for Viper, even though Giles was finally removed from his job, along with shutting down the SRT brand altogether.
During the next couple of years, the new Viper limped along, mainly sitting on the dealers floors, unsold, with 2013 examples still unsold until today. Lack of distinction and pathetic 5 hp horsepower gain were no help, just like the TA version of the car, a confusing designation for a car that was too uncomfortable for the street and not fully capable of hardcore track duty.
Right now, it is 2015 and in spite of hefty discounts, the Vipers still not sell, even though the car is back to being a Dodge, a brand favored by the backwoods redneck crowds. For 2016, there is a "new" Viper ACR, another pathetic rehash of the previous generations, basically a direct replica of the previous generation or at least its concept, with the big wing in the rear and suspension changes but still, nothing to attract anybody but select few.
Interestingly enough, a convertible version of the car never came to fruition, unless someone counts the obscenely expensive (about 50 grand over the hatchback) drop top conversion offered by a single Viper dealer.
Needless to say, the car that has been kept on artificial life support from its inception is a terminal affair and finally, it seems like it may be euthanized, thankfully:
http://blog.caranddriver.com/snake-binned-dodge-viper-could-bow-out-in-2017/
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