Dodge Viper does a Lazarus

Not unlike John Farnham's farewell tour, the Dodge Viper's passing has been delayed due to popular demand. For a little while at least – as long as it takes to build 31 of them.

Last month (June 2016), the announcement was made that the Dodge Viper would be axed on its 25th anniversary, and several special editions would be created to mark its demise.

The initial batch of last-gasp Vipers sold out in less than a week, so now – paradoxically – the company is building more to celebrate the fact it's never going to build any more.

The Dodge Viper, or SRT Viper as it was later called, has been one of the most recognisable American muscle cars of the last quarter century, its long bonnet hiding a massive truck-derived V10 engine.

Sometimes viewed as a low-tech bruiser, the Viper's 8.4-litre V10 engine nonetheless pumps out a whopping 480kW at 6200rpm and around 810Nm at 5000rpmWhichever way you slice it, that's a lot of mumbo.

The two-seat all-American supercar rockets from 0-100km/h in less than 4.0sec and has a top speed of more than 330km/h.

The initial batch of five different limited edition models sold out in record time, as car collectors and fans jumped at the chance. All 28 of the Viper 1:28 Edition ACR vehicles, which were named after the car's Laguna Seca lap record, were snapped up in just 40 minutes!

And the rest went pretty quick too… According to Dodge, here's the sell out times of all five ‘final’ variants:

Dodge Viper 1:28 Edition ACR (28 units) – sold out in 40 mins
Dodge Viper VooDoo II Edition ACR (31 units) – sold out in 2 hours
Dodge Viper Snakeskin Edition GTC (25 units) – sold out in 2 days
Dodge Viper GTS-R Commemorative Edition ACR (100 units) – sold out in 2 days
Dodge Viper Dodge Dealer Edition ACR (33 units) – sold out in 5 days

As a result of the mad scramble for Dodge Vipers, the company is clearly keen to meet demand (the initial lack of which caused the car's demise in the first place!) and will now sell 31 new Dodge Viper Snakeskin Edition ACR vehicles.

These vehicles take the Snakeskin Edition GTC cars and add more gear, and US readers will be pleased to know the order books open in mid-July.

Should we expect similar last-hurrah shenanigans for Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon vehicles soon? And if so, what special last-gasp, ultra-collectible special editions would you like to see them create?