With 2017 fast approaching, the death of the mighty Viper is imminent. But there is a way for the beast to live on, maybe not as a Viper but as something just as great.
What I propose is to have Alfa Romeo take over the production of the Viper. Regular consumers will never know that underneath their brand new Italian sports car beats an American V10 heart. Rebadging is commonplace throughout the industry with, Fiat Chrysler itself using it when it brought the Jeep Renegade to North America, so I ask why it cannot work the opposite way.
Alfa Romeo claims their vehicles are race inspired and with the Viper ACR holding a faster time than the Porsche 918 at Laguna Seca, it fits perfectly into their framework. Now I know a few of you are probably wondering how can the Viper fit in with an Italian premium brand to which I would respond, look at the 4C. Journalist praised the 4C as an enthusiast car which is exactly what the Viper is as well. Some may also question if the quality of the Viper is up to par with a premium brand to which I would say that Alfa Romeos are not necessarily known for their build quality.
The only change that would really be needed is to the sheet metal. With its current slow sales, this will need to be an "entirely" separate vehicle for people to consider buying it. Don't get me wrong, I believe the current Viper looks great but the buzz word Italian styling seems to draw in consumers. Between the designers at Alfa and Maserati, FCA would have no problem making the Viper fit into the classic Italian sports car stereotype. They could even call it the Vipera, although it might be too on the nose.
Something similar to the Alfieri Concept wouldn't hurt.
Now in the past, I would have said this would benefit the Dodge brand too. If it were 2015, I would have said that the cognitive dissonance of shopping at a dealership where a Dart could be parked next to a Viper is hurting the brand. But it's 2016, and both the Dart and the Viper will soon be leaving Dodge's lineup.
This simple solution allows for one of the most capable performance cars to live on and allows FCA to take advantage of an uneducated public, it is a win-win scenario. If VLF can do it with the Force 1, there is no reason FCA cannot do it themselves. As someone who has spent his university career studying accounting, I am more than qualified to provide advice to FCA on how to manage their brands. Sergio, if you're reading this, hit me up on LinkedIn.
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What I propose is to have Alfa Romeo take over the production of the Viper. Regular consumers will never know that underneath their brand new Italian sports car beats an American V10 heart. Rebadging is commonplace throughout the industry with, Fiat Chrysler itself using it when it brought the Jeep Renegade to North America, so I ask why it cannot work the opposite way.
Alfa Romeo claims their vehicles are race inspired and with the Viper ACR holding a faster time than the Porsche 918 at Laguna Seca, it fits perfectly into their framework. Now I know a few of you are probably wondering how can the Viper fit in with an Italian premium brand to which I would respond, look at the 4C. Journalist praised the 4C as an enthusiast car which is exactly what the Viper is as well. Some may also question if the quality of the Viper is up to par with a premium brand to which I would say that Alfa Romeos are not necessarily known for their build quality.
The only change that would really be needed is to the sheet metal. With its current slow sales, this will need to be an "entirely" separate vehicle for people to consider buying it. Don't get me wrong, I believe the current Viper looks great but the buzz word Italian styling seems to draw in consumers. Between the designers at Alfa and Maserati, FCA would have no problem making the Viper fit into the classic Italian sports car stereotype. They could even call it the Vipera, although it might be too on the nose.
Something similar to the Alfieri Concept wouldn't hurt.
Now in the past, I would have said this would benefit the Dodge brand too. If it were 2015, I would have said that the cognitive dissonance of shopping at a dealership where a Dart could be parked next to a Viper is hurting the brand. But it's 2016, and both the Dart and the Viper will soon be leaving Dodge's lineup.
This simple solution allows for one of the most capable performance cars to live on and allows FCA to take advantage of an uneducated public, it is a win-win scenario. If VLF can do it with the Force 1, there is no reason FCA cannot do it themselves. As someone who has spent his university career studying accounting, I am more than qualified to provide advice to FCA on how to manage their brands. Sergio, if you're reading this, hit me up on LinkedIn.
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