So why is Chrysler shit-canning the Viper in 2009, then?
Because they suddenly realised that it really is a Shelby Cobra with a Pick-Up engine and not a real Ford 427 Cobra.
Good old Carroll Shelby for having foresight. When he closed up shop and worked for FORD he also registered about 50 Cobra 427 Chassis and engines with the Federal whatever and when he finally retired (Ho Ho) he began building REAL 1968
427 Cobras and selling them for about $1,000,000 a piece.Boy what a pension fund + that from FORD + that from Chrysler (Mercedes)
On the other hand - the Viper looks and is a pile of shit.
Hugh
To be fair though, the 'pickup engine' line is an oft-repeated untruth, much like the one about the Corvette having cart springs.
I autocrossed a Viper once. It was an impressively brutal machine and a lot of fun. Not that I'd want one, there are far more satisfying cars out there and not all of them BMWs...
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