Chrysler to resurrect the Viper

After 18 years of production, Chrysler stopped making the sports car in July. Now the automaker that merged with Fiat after emerging from bankruptcy in 2009 said it would have a a 2013 model Viper in production in the summer of 2012.

The partnership with Fiat has fueled speculation the car will be outfitted with a Ferrari engine. Not so, said Ralph Gilles, head of the Dodge brand, the Detroit News reported.

Gilles said Chrysler planned to go through the car from top to bottom and leave nothing "untouched." But the car, he said, was its own boss.

The 2013 Viper "is not based on anything else," he said.

"The Viper cabin is very rearward and the hood is very long. Few cars in the industry are designed with those proportions anymore," he said.

He said Fiat would help "to open the (Viper's) performance envelope."

"Fiat has an awesome ability to tune cars. I want the new Viper to be a more forgiving car to drive and accessible to more people. We've never had stability control on a high-performance car, which is about to happen on the new car," he said.

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