Viper Curtain Call: Final Snake rolls off the line in Detroit

It's the end of the line for an icon. Clad in custom bronzed-gold paint, the final current-generation Dodge Viper rolled off the assembly line on Thursday at a Detroit factory.

The last one was tailored to the tastes of a loyal Viper owner, D'Ann Rauh, who with her husband, Wayne, owns more than 40 Vipers. The Texas couple is recognized as owning the largest personal collection of Vipers in the world.

This final Viper marks the end of production for the Dodge supercar, which launched in 1992 and was a pet project of then-Chrysler exec Bob Lutz. It's been a favorite or racers and car enthusiasts alike for two decades, and Dodge marked the end of the line this year with a number of special models, including a Vooodoo and the ACR-X.

The last Viper had a custom leather interior and dark graphite, five-spoke forged aluminum wheels. On top of all of this, significant Viper race tracks have been airbrushed into the custom-painted copper stripes.

More than 400 Viper owners and Dodge CEO Ralph Gilles were present at the Conner Avenue assembly plant, dubbed the “Snake Pit,” for the end.

Viper appeared to be done last year as the company spiraled toward bankruptcy and Chrysler tried to sell it. But under new guidance by Fiat, the supercar returned for an encore this year.

A new generation of Vipers is under investigation, a spokeswoman said.

By Greg Migliore