DODGE VIPER THE VICTIM OF CHAPTER 11?
Viper and Jeep Wrangler to be sold ahead of Fiat merger
The Dodge Viper may become an unexpected victim of the proposed tie-up between failing US giant Chrysler and its ambitious suitor Fiat.
The Viper brand, along with the Jeep Wrangler, are not thought to be part of the proposed rescue package that will exclude as many as eight US manufacturing facilities, including the Dodge Viper plant at Conner in Detroit.
The factory, which employs 115 staff, may however be sold off to help fund the re-emergent Chrysler brand. Rumours of a sale of the Viper brand and production facility have been rife since the company applied for government aid, but after details of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy agreement emerged last week it became clear that both the Viper name and Jeep’s Wrangler may not escape the auditor’s cut backs.
Chrysler has since gone on record to confirm that the company is willing to listen to offers for the Viper name: ‘Chrysler LLC is evaluating strategic alternatives for the Viper business including the potential sale of the Viper nameplate,’ a company representative said.
Given that the Viper brand was reportedly the target of several interested investment groups late last year it is likely it will successfully break away from Chrysler. However, within the dossier of Chapter 11 papers the Jeep Wrangler brand was identified as an element of the company that would require significant investment ‘in the range of $550 million to $1 billion’, casting doubt on the 22 year-old Wrangler brand’s future under Chrysler ownership.