We love the Dodge Viper. Brutal, anachronistic, uncontrolled yet controllable with application of considerable skill, the Viper was the last pure sports/super car until its death this year. The next-generation Viper's fangs won't be so sharp.

That's the word from Dodge CEO Ralph Gilles according to Autocar. Gilles says the new Viper will be its own creation, but will leverage Fiat's "expertise to open the performance envelope in the Viper." Why are we so skeptical? Because it's being targeted as a much more "forgiving" and "accessible" car.

To us, those buzzwords do not equate to the Viper. Call us old fashioned, but it was nice having a refuge from the computerized mecha-mobiles of the modern era. Nissan GT-R fans won't mind, though they'll still likely regard the Viper as a dinosaur thanks to its long hood, rear-biased seating position and rear-wheel-drive layout, all features expected to stick around for the next generation.

Sad as it is to see the Viper join the electronic nanny state, things like stability control and traction control are now requisite for safety reasons. Let's just hope we'll be able to turn them completely off.

Read our previous coverage for more on what the next-gen Viper may become.

[Detroit News]