An American snake in… Munich? The SRT Viper might be bound for Europe after all

By Nick Jaynes May 23, 2013

SRT Viper — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Chrysler has said it won’t be sending the new Viper to Europe. Instead, it says, it’ll be focusing it attention on ensuring the Viper receives a warm welcome in its home country, America.

In spite of this, “Munich-based importer GeigerCars says it will import a small number of models to Germany,” according to Autocar. Price is around $181,000, which is around double what the Viper will cost here in the States.

Additionally, Chrysler sited unfavorable exchange rates and a less-than-stellar European economy as reasons to keep the Viper from crossing the pond. This got us thinking.

We wonder if there’s not a bigger reason for the Viper’s European exclusion. Chrysler, as I am sure you know by now, was purchased by Fiat not so long ago and Fiat owns Ferrari, amongst other high-end performance brands.

Could it be that Fiat doesn’t want the American powerhouse Viper competing with its own offerings on its home turf? We think there’s a good chance. If the economy is good enough for Ferrari, it surely is good enough for SRT.

Regardless, if there are truly Europeans out there who’d pay double for the Viper then we might leave the journalism game and get into the automotive import/export biz.

If Chrylser wants to deny one of the wealthiest continents on the planet, then we’d have no qualms with picking up the slack and making a 100-percent profit.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Nick Jaynes is the Automotive Editor for Digital Trends. He developed a passion for writing about cars working his way…

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