Dodge Viper SRT10 stays at Chrysler

The new management at Chrysler Group LLC has decided to keep building the iconic Dodge Viper SRT10, meaning the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit won't be shuttered in December, as had been planned.

The Viper was to slither into extinction, having failed to attract a buyer after more than a year of trying and eliciting bids of as little as $10 million for the division that makes a 600-horsepower rocket with an 8.4-liter V-10.

Chief executive Sergio Marchionne and his new management team have been conceiving a future product plan to better define the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Mopar brands.

The Viper's future was first on the agenda, and the new team decided the Dodge halo vehicle should stay, a spokesman said.