As a part of the recent 2012 financial results from the Chrysler Group was a vague chart that outlines the future of those American-sold brands including Ram, Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat, SRT and the upcoming debut of Alfa Romeo. While this piece offered lots of hints as to what is coming in the future with no real facts about the vehicles set to debut between now and 2016 – there is a refreshed vehicle planned for the SRT brand in 2015. Considering that the Grand Cherokee has been refreshed for the 2014 model year and the Charger, Challenger and Chrysler 300C are set to be refreshed in the next two years, the Viper is the only vehicle left in the SRT lineup to be refreshed in 2015…but what will they do after just a few years since the introduction of the new Viper?
The 2013 SRT Viper was introduced in 2012 so we would surmise that a new or refreshed Viper introduced in 2015 would be a 2016 model year vehicle. The Viper will most likely be refreshed after only three years so that they can make any necessary changes to keep the mighty Mopar supercar even with the rest of the competition including advancements in suspension or braking technology and – hopefully – more power. However, this 2015 refresh debut of the SRT Viper could be more than just some minor cosmetic and performance tweaks.
As long as the Viper has existed (prior to the 2013 SRT Viper), the Dodge supercar has been offered as a convertible or roadster model as well as offering at least one high performance model that is geared more towards those SRT buyers who plan to spend more time at the track…or at least those buyers who can pay more for a car that will turn a few more heads than a “normal Viper”. It seems unlikely that SRT would wait until three years to introduce the SRT Viper Roadster or the rebirth of the Viper ACR (American Club Racer) but there is a possibility that the Chrysler Group will help emphasize the 2015 refresh of the Viper with the inclusion of either a topless model or an even higher performance model – similar in nature to the Viper ACR that currently holds the record at the Nürburgring for being the fastest normal production car to tackle the 12 mile course.
Finally, the SRT brand is planning to add a new model to the lineup in 2016 and there are a variety of possibilities for this new vehicle. There has long been speculation that SRT would once again build a high performance version of the Ram 1500 and there have been rumors for a few years now that the SRT brand would offer their own super high performance version of the Challenger named the SRT Cuda. This new model debuting in 2016 could be either of those new models, but it is more likely the planned arrival of the Dodge Dart SRT or the Viper convertible – provided that the topless Viper doesn’t arrive with the refresh in 2015.
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