Ferrari chairman said to be "speechless" about the 2013 SRT Viper

With Chrysler and Ferrari both being owned and operated in part by Fiat, you could be mistaken for thinking that Ferrari played some role in the development of the brand new 2013 SRT Viper. However, as far as we know, the SRT subdivision created the Viper completely by itself but that hasn’t stopped Ferrari showing some interest in the car.

After all, the SRT Viper does appeal to a similar audience as Ferrari’s recently launched F12 Berlinetta as both can perform marvelously on the local race track and very well on the road also, with both cars having the technology to turn them into true GT cars.

As a result, it definitely comes as a surprise when one head-honcho at the competing company complements the competition, but that’s exactly what happened recently when Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo claimed he was “speechless” after seeing the new Viper for the very first time.

Chrysler chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne said the following while being interviewed on Detroit radio station WJR-AM, "I had the chairman of Ferrari down here for the board meeting last week and he had a chance to look at the car, and he was speechless. I mean, for Ferrari to admit that the car is a unique vehicle is a hell of a compliment to the work that’s gone on here. So I’m delighted. I mean, so far, knock on wood, we’re doing well."

When one takes a quick look at the SRT Viper’s spec sheet, it’s easy to understand why di Montezemolo was so impressed as its 8.4-liter V10 engine delivers 640HP at 6,150 rpm and 600 lb-ft at 4,950 rpm making it one of the most powerful V10’s in the world.