Chrysler: Dodge Viper ACR 'sold out'

Even as Chrysler considers selling the Viper brand and carries on serious talks with General Motors concerning a possible merger, the Dodge Viper is Chrysler's new superstar despite being its most expensive model, with the hardcore track-focused Viper ACR essentially sold out, according to Chrysler vice chairman Jim Press.

The Viper has never been targeted for volume sales, with its serious mix of raw power and minimal driver interference. The Viper ACR is even more focused in its target audience, but the car is selling better than ever due to a perceived investment value among high-income buyers largely insulated from the poor economy, reports Edmunds.

Overall sales totals are of course no threat to Chrysler's mainstream models, with only about 100 examples selling monthly, but Viper sales are continuing unabated as Chrysler and the market dive by about 32%. With a retail price in the neighborhood of $85,000 for the base viper and $105,000 for the raw ACR, which currently holds the unofficial factory-stock street legal record lap time at the Nurburgring's tortuous Nordschleife with a time of 7:22.4.

Just this week Chrysler announced it had ended talks with Renault-Nissan over a possible merger or acquisition, but an agreement with General Motors may take time since the U.S. Treasury ended its talks to aid the transaction. New aid from the U.S. Congress, if it materializes, could help move the deal forward, however.