At the end of this month, Chrysler will begin building the last 500 Dodge Vipers, the brand’s halo sports car that has been in production for nearly twenty years. A number of special package versions as well as 50 ACR models will be included in this last batch, according to the Detroit News.

The Viper was first introduced as a concept car during the 1989 car show season and was championed by none other than Bob Lutz, who was working at Chrysler at the time. Chrysler surprised the automotive world when it announced that the Viper would actually be produced for sale in 1992 and would include a V-10 engine that it developed with Lamborghini. From the beginning, the Viper’s hallmark was its brute force.

It is not certain if or when the Viper might come back. Dodge chief Ralph Gilles told reporters at the Chicago Auto Show that his team is working on a new version of the Viper but it is too soon to know whether it will see production. Given that Chrysler’s parent company, Fiat, also owns Ferrari and Maserati, a 21st Century version of the Viper could be an interesting exercise.

--M.D.