Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ production facility in Detroit, Michigan has been the production home of the Dodge Viper throughout the sports car’s 28-year existence. With the Viper headed to retirement, FCA is giving the Connor Avenue Assembly Plant a change of its own by turning it into a new site for the automaker’s 400-strong collection of historical models and concept vehicles. The new purpose also comes with a new name as the facility will now be called the Connor Center.
It’s actually cool that FCA found some use for the Connor Avenue Assembly Plant now that it’s not going to be used to build Dodge Vipers anymore. The 400,000-square-foot (37,161-square-meter) site has enough space to accommodate what FCA intends to put in there. According to the company, that includes converting 77,000 square feet (7,154 square meters) of the space and turning it into a display area for 85 of the vehicles that will now call the facility their home.
In addition, the plant’s administrative offices will also be repurposed as a meeting space for company functions. From the looks of it, the site still has some good use for FCA, and the company is doing a good job of still getting the most out of the former Viper production facility. It sure as heck beats letting it sit under the sun with no clear purpose behind it. With its new purpose, it effectively becomes the home of some of the automaker’s most important vehicles.
“We are proud of our history and have been working diligently in the daily care and restoration of these important vehicles," Brandt Rosenbusch, FCA US Manager of Historical Services, said in the announcement. "This move will allow us to house all of our collection under one roof and have the space to share that history with our employees.”
There’s no word yet on when the Connor Center will open, but the company has said that it plans to open the meeting space section of the center by the middle of the year. That said, don’t expect it to be immediately open to the public. For now, the site will only be used by FCA folks so don’t buy a ticket to Detroit yet in the hopes of going to the facility. It won’t be open to the public, at least for the time being.
It’s a little disappointing that we won’t get to see the cars FCA plans to put at the Connor Center. The good news is we can take out that feeling on an online sale and auction that FCA is running. The sale began March 21 and will run through April 13. Most of the items in the sale are memorabilia attached to the Dodge Viper and Plymouth Prowler, another model that used to call the production facility its home. Without spoiling the fun, the online sale includes posters and art; eight signed Viper hoods, and actual parts of the Connor Avenue plant. In lieu of a ticket to Detroit, spend your money on the online sale instead. At the very least, whatever you spend will go directly to the United Way of Southeastern Michigan.
References
Read our full review on the 2015 Dodge Viper.
Read more Dodge news.