Chapter 3: The Final Fight.

It has all come down to this. With the Viper ending production this month (August) on the 31st, a group of brave and very passionate Viper Enthusiasts decided to head out to the ‘Ring and give the Viper and its family tree one last send off. Because this isn’t just the end of the Viper. But the end of a species. I know we’ve all heard that cliched species before but I’m not using the term lightly.

Above is a self-made family tree. The Viper’s family tree to be exact. I made this to illustrate what I’ve been saying this entire article. After the Viper goes there won’t be another car to pick up where the Viper left off. The Viper’s the true last of its kind. After so many years of racing and winning over the hearts of people for decades (some more than others), the Viper is fighting a noble fight. Not one that’s likely to be fought again in the very real (and probably near) future. The future is hybridized powertrains and automatics that are faster than the blink of the human eye (which they already are). Cars with electronic aids with more wiring than a country mile and are more advanced than Sky Net. The age of big engines in small sports/super cars is ending. The Viper is (and will be) the last car of its kind to fight for what it believes in, even if everyone has moved on from said belief.

If the Viper ever did return. It wouldn’t return as we currently know it. Not to sound like a purist, but it would kinda make a mockery of the family “name” (even though the names have varied). It’s OK for such a car to exist, but for such a car that carries not only name equity, but almost an idea. The idea that newer doesn’t necessarily mean better. That being raw is just as important as being complex. Advancement doesn’t mean more fun. That being pure and untainted can be just as important and as relevant as being modern and “safe.”

The new car would be A Viper. Not The Viper. It’s an important and distinct difference that may seem small to some, is a big difference to those who know. No car today could copy or replicate the Viper except the Viper itself in its current form. All the Viper’s ancestors are the family it so fiercely fights for. But what’s brilliant is that every car in the family is its own “person.” Its own entity, while they share common blood, they don’t allow that to make them carbon copies of each other. They’re unique in their own right. Over the course of this article, I’ve finally found those cars I’d remembered but didn’t know enough about to really find them again (that being the Cunningham line of cars). It started with a PDF I’d have to spend a week to find but there was definitely a Cunningham car in there along with the Cobra (the section centered around the Viper’s fathers and forefathers). Now that I’ve found them, I can finally reunite the family in a way I’d never attempted before (through the family tree above).

There are tons of factors that you could contribute to the death of the Viper’s ancestors (none of which I’ll get into here). However, this is the noble fight the Viper is fighting. The Nurburgring howls with the sound of Viper V10 goodness, an angry V10 shouting.

Shouting for glory, glory that some of its ancestors achieved. Shouting that the idea its held since birth can still make sense. This is the final countdown. The Viper not only fights for its family but for itself. After having touched the hearts and minds of many (including me), it doesn’t want to be cast aside lightly. It wants hearts to be wrenched from the pain of losing an icon. To be truly missed as being the last of a family that no longer exists outside itself.

After all that the Viper has done in its life. This is the final chapter for itself in this current form. If the Viper name ever did return in the near future, it wouldn’t be the same. Like a sequel to a movie that; while not bad, isn’t what the original was. The Viper family saga ends here. That angry V10 of a car will rest peacefully once the new time is set, yet also when production sadly ends. This is the Viper’s final parting gift, “you’ll miss me when I’m gone” it howls around the ‘Ring.

I believe this is the most important ‘Ring event of the last 5 years because this is the “What Was” fighting with the “What Is.”

It’s the last time a fight like this will happen….. At least the Viper was the last car to send off such a wonderful chapter in automotive history. From 1989 till 2017. It’s been a very wild ride with one of the wildest cars there is.

I (and many others) salute you Viper. For giving us one last unadulterated thrill ride to cherish before the world changes again. The Future will be different. But it’s better for it because you were around to give us one last parting gift from cars that ended far sooner than they should’ve.

You not only gave them a worthy send off. But became a legend in your own right. A legend never to be forgotten, a legend that fought the world….. and came out a worthy champion. Enjoy your new life, we’ll keep your story alive.

R.I.P 1989-2017: 25 Years from concept to record setting supercar.