Photo: carfrontswaps/instagram
If you've thrown a glance at this rendering and thought there must be something below the amusing surface, you were right. So, let's take a bit of time to discuss why anybody would gift a Viper with the face of a Dart, even in digital form.
To start with, the orange beast whose body you're looking at is the Viper TA. We're talking about a track attack goodie here, as the model can be considered the middle point between the "normal" Viper and the downforce beast that is the Viper ACR.
As for why the front end of the FWD sedan seems to at least partially match the rest of the vehicle, we have to keep in mind that both entered production in 2012, so at least they share the same design era.
Besides, Car Front Swaps, the digital label that brought us this mashup, has also left the Viper's vented hood behind, in favor of the Dart's more mundane unit, all in an effort to improve the integration.
While the Dart was discontinued in 2016, the Viper went to motoring heaven one year later. And while we have yet to come across an aficionado that mourns the latter, the V10 beast's fan base hasn't stopped longing for a revival.
In a way, both models were affected by the difficult financial decisions Fiat Chrysler has had to make: while injecting extra funding into the development of the sedan might've changed its fate, it seemed like retiring the Viper was an arm wrestling match between the bean counters and the engineers/designers, with the winner being obvious.
And that's a shame, considering that the V10 monster could give Italian exotics a hard time for only a fraction of the cost, as we discovered while reviewing the American supercar last decade (as mentioned in the article, even former Ferrari chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was impressed by the Viper).
Meanwhile in the real world, Dodge continues to improve its muscle game. And, as the recent 2021 range presentation has shown, the Mopar people are doing a great job, from engineering to marketing.
Now, since the Viper name enjoyed over two and a half decades of market presence, the business case for a revival that would land in the following years is certainly there.
As for why the front end of the FWD sedan seems to at least partially match the rest of the vehicle, we have to keep in mind that both entered production in 2012, so at least they share the same design era.
Besides, Car Front Swaps, the digital label that brought us this mashup, has also left the Viper's vented hood behind, in favor of the Dart's more mundane unit, all in an effort to improve the integration.
While the Dart was discontinued in 2016, the Viper went to motoring heaven one year later. And while we have yet to come across an aficionado that mourns the latter, the V10 beast's fan base hasn't stopped longing for a revival.
In a way, both models were affected by the difficult financial decisions Fiat Chrysler has had to make: while injecting extra funding into the development of the sedan might've changed its fate, it seemed like retiring the Viper was an arm wrestling match between the bean counters and the engineers/designers, with the winner being obvious.
And that's a shame, considering that the V10 monster could give Italian exotics a hard time for only a fraction of the cost, as we discovered while reviewing the American supercar last decade (as mentioned in the article, even former Ferrari chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was impressed by the Viper).
Meanwhile in the real world, Dodge continues to improve its muscle game. And, as the recent 2021 range presentation has shown, the Mopar people are doing a great job, from engineering to marketing.
Now, since the Viper name enjoyed over two and a half decades of market presence, the business case for a revival that would land in the following years is certainly there.
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