1 of 1 2013 Viper - Someone needs to buy this!!

Mopar Boy

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Had an email story come through my inbox from the Viper auctioneer and I am astounded. Heck, I am surprised no one has offered to buy the damn thing from them considering the history and media coverage this car has behind it!

Anyways, figured I would share the story as it is likely unknown by most of the Viper community. Read this:

Copy paste….

One of A Kind Car With No Place to Go

This past May Sergio Machionne, President and CEO of Chrysler Corporation, donated a 2013 SRT Viper GTS to a philanthropic organization that was honoring him in Washington D.C. The car is rare, actually a one-off model specially designed by SRT CEO Ralph Gilles, for the Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF). It’s pearl white exterior will be the only one produced in that color this year, and it features specially made wheels, hood and leather interior accented in the Italian colors of red, white and green. The car is truly stunning, a tasteful tribute to Italian flare for beauty and fashion.

It also is the most powerful Italian American automobile ever made in the United States, with 640 horse power. Never to be replicated. One of a kind. Marchionne’s personal salute to his heritage and the vast Italian American community of an estimated 26 million.

Marchionne and Chrysler donated the car to the SIF, an established non-profit philanthropy that has given more than $127 million to medical research, international relief efforts, cultural preservation and veterans causes. The SIF is the philanthropic arm of the 108 year old Order Sons of Italy in America (OSIA ), a venerable organization that has been warmly embraced and touted by every U.S. President since Woodrow Wilson. The plan was to auction the car off with all proceeds being applied to the institution’s charitable interests. This past January, another one-off 2013 SRT Viper had sold at a Barrett Jackson auction in Los Angeles, CA, for $300,000, with proceeds going to the Austin-Hatcher Foundation in Chattanooga, TN.

Things were certainly looking promising for the many worthwhile charities supported by the SIF. The Gary Sinise Foundation, dedicated to rebuilding the lives of severely wounded U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, was anticipating a huge windfall from the SIF. As was the National Museum of the United States Army, championed by its chairman, actor Joe Mantegna. The Dough Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, which received $70,000 from the SIF this past August looked forward to 2014 donations, as did the Alzheimer’s Association ($80,000.00 in August), and the Cooleys Anemia Foundation ($110,000.00) in August).

Hopes soared at the beginning, with optimistic talk of a “One Million Dollar Car” , whose sale would help fund SIF campaigns against Alzheimer’s, Thalessemia, Autism, Cancer, deafness, and the wounds of war. Such an amount would represent the largest single donation ever to this storied philanthropic and patriotic organization during its 108 years.

“But that was then,” says SIF CEO Dr. Philip R. Piccigallo, “before we were able to grasp and understand the complexities and vagaries of the luxury automobile auction environment.” “Things are not always what they seem, and the last seven months have presented a myriad of obstacles and hoop-jumping that most non-profits are unaccustomed to,” he added.

Since the car’s donation in May, and with the assistance of Chrysler, Piccigallo has worked tirelessly to find an appropriate venue to auction the car. The car was shown at the Concourse at Pebble Beach this Summer. To considerable praise and raves. Nevertheless, the luxury automobile auction market, he soon found, is dominated by a few nationally known firms, who generally control the dates, locations and rules of engagement. It is not easy to navigate or transcend those formidable guideposts, Piccigallo has discovered. While many auto auction venues appear online, only a relative few handle high end items : among them, RM Auctions, Adesa, Gooding and Company. Undoubtedly, the dean of U.S. auto auctions is previously mentioned Barrett-Jackson, which conducts year round events in Palm Beach, FL, Reno, NV, Las Vegas, NV, and the most well known, in Scottsdale , AZ, in January.

To date, notwithstanding SIF’s energetic and accommodating efforts to gain entrance to one of these venues, all has failed. Barrett Jackson will handle the car, but only as a for profit dealer-based transaction, which would seriously devalue the car by negating the strong incentive of a large tax exemption for any buyer who paid beyond the Book Value of the car. IRS guidelines for auctions provide full tax deductibility for a charitable item above and beyond the established book value. A generous donor would therefore reap a significant tax exemption from the Viper’s purchase.

“The problem for non-profits,” explains Piccigallo, “is that each auction varies in its consignment requirements and inventory.” Some handle only Classic cars, others celebrity cars, others specially made models. All auction houses seek to limit the number of non-commissionable charity items to be auctioned, “because, and understandably so, they are in the business to make money and profits.” “There’s only so much ‘good will’ that a for profit enterprise will take on,” he acknowledges. The SIF has offered to pay the auction firm a commission on the sale, if that is what is required to auction the car.

Still, this leaves a non-profit foundation with a perplexing problem: What to do with an extremely rare – one of a kind, never to be replicated -- expensive (Book Value: $139,000) Super Powerful Car? One that might cost as much as $35,000 or more annually just to store and maintain properly. (Fortunately, Chrysler has generously covered these expenses to date for the SIF.).

Piccigallo worries that, ultimately, the car will not garner the high price it so richly deserves. He sometimes wonders if it will sell at all and, if so, where and when. “We are not talking about something easily transported or kept,” he admonishes. “We cannot park it in front of our SIF Headquarters building on Capitol Hill. We are a highly respected and well known philanthropic institution , not a car dealership.” He worries mostly, however, about the many worthy charitable causes that may not receive their annual largess from the SIF because funds to be given out next year were to derive from sale of the SRT Viper GTS.

Piccigallo attended a veterans event at Walter Read Medical Center this past June, where a customized Chrysler SUV was donated to a severely wounded veteran and his family. Noting the several additional multi-amputees that day, he vowed that, “when the Viper sells big, the SIF will get them all similar vehicles so they and their families can live more normal lives.” Now he has doubts.


Check out video of 2013 SRT Viper at Pebble Beach:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTNEt0yCSeM



Pictures of the car:

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TowDawg

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$35k/year to maintain and store it? Where in the hell are they keeping it? I'll put it in the garage, maintain it (battery tender, change the fluids yearly, was and cover it) and not touch it, for a mere $20k/year.
 
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Mopar Boy

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$35k/year to maintain and store it? Where in the hell are they keeping it? I'll put it in the garage, maintain it (battery tender, change the fluids yearly, was and cover it) and not touch it, for a mere $20k/year.

:rolaugh: I thought the same! This isn't a Ferrari!
 

denniskgb

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The problem with foundations is that a lot of money is wasted toward salaries of ceos and etc. Regarding the car storage that is just another preposterous statement that makes no common sense. Ok it is one of one but look interior is pumpkin poop color, it does not have 001 vin number, it's a purely tax write off car for Chrysler as well as for the foundation, so in this respect it does not make it a highly desirable vehicle. What else to say here, stop asking for a moonshot price and get real here, it was a free car afterall, just sell the damn thing and move on .....
 

denniskgb

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Oh they needed to play the tune from "God Father" at Pebble Beach presentation. :dunno:
 
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swexlin

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I personally love that interior color. Along with the white exterior, I wouldn't mind owning that car. But I wouldn't store it...I'd drive the s*&% out of it!
 

DMan

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Isn't making a 1 of 1 pretty easy with all the ocnfigs available, so what's the big deal?

Italian colors, sorry, I don't like that. Wheels are meh, I just don't like anything but the track pack/sidewinder setup. And white, really, with all the resources of paint they have & they pick white, not exactly a striking combo of variables on the that car to me, other than than the non-USA theme. There are guys here with white ones that look MUCH better than this, this one looks "soft" to me. If it was a color you couldn't buy, that would preserve the value while they figure this out .. like a pearl SSG, or something that's unique at least now.

At a car show I'd totally over look that for a "regular" TA or the ruby red crazy paint job GTS, or ...

But, you know, whatever, someone will be ga ga over it.

I wonder why all the difficulty with it. We've seen other donated cars, first run versions, sell for crazy prices on auction for charity. If it's a non-profit issue, can't Chrysler "take it back" then auction it like Ford did and others, and then give the $ to SIF, or something.

It is a shame it's sitting "on the lot" unsold and not helping people in need - oh, boy, you know there's a "vipers aren't selling & it's not the value they hoped" joke in there waiting to happen.

Hoping it all works out.
 

glhs110

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I was at the gala where Sergio was honored and got to see this car in person. The car is stunning and the sepia (not orange) interior looks Awesome! As for Sons of Italy, They are one of the world's largest nonprofit organizations. And their whole foundation is run by six people. (No big salaries here). That car was dubbed the million dollar car in the beginning of the year, Back when Barrett Jackson sold two preproduction Corvettes for over $1 million each! Now we all know the Corvette is definitely not a million-dollar car. The Viper is America's only production "Super car" and why shouldn't it be worth just as much? Viper's total production, since the first gen 1, is around 26,000! They make more Corvettes in one year then we have total Vipers ever! The question should be where is our Rick Hendrick? Why did the first production Gen five sell for 300,000 at Barrett Jackson? Because nobody went out and found a Rick Hendrick to make sure it brought $1 million! That first Viper sold for 300k on its own without any smoke and mirrors! And when you look at charity cars, that was one of the cheapest to ever be auctioned. I believe it's time for someone in the Viper nation to step up to the plate and show the world that Vipers Shouldn't have to take a backseat to inferior cars especially on the auction block! Of course that's just my opinion I could be wrong?
 

kdaviper

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If it was a color you couldn't buy, that would preserve the value while they figure this out .. like a pearl SSG, or something that's unique at least now.
You can't buy that color... it's not the white they put on the other Vipers. a much warmer, deeper, off-white than on the production models.
I swear, some people on this forum have no attention to detail.
 

DodgeViper01

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Although the car is special, it is not a half a million or million dollar car unless two people really want it and fight for it. The wheels are a different color and the exterior is painted in a Lambo balloon White color. Someone who really wanted to replicate, can at a significantly less cost. I would love to see this car in person though, the Youtube video looked good.
 

denniskgb

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And their whole foundation is run by six people. (No big salaries here).

ok so is purple heart where the CEO made $800,000.00 last year. Well so is Viper Club of America where $$$$ made everyone fight and undermine each other. Whatever, and the world we live in is sooo perfect.

but back to the subject. the viper is nothing special, i hope it comes with a quart of touch up paint just in case since it is so special. in south Philadelphia where a ton of American Italians live, you can spot any make and model that would fall in the same category: italian emblems, and what not. No disrespect, though.
 

DMan

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You can't buy that color... it's not the white they put on the other Vipers. a much warmer, deeper, off-white than on the production models.
I swear, some people on this forum have no attention to detail.

LoL, yes, I know that it's a shade of white, let me be more specific than referencing "color", if you want it to be truly striking and different, pick something you can tell is exotic from 30 ft away, the car looks white ... even the deep pearlescent whites are just white when you get 10 ft away. With all the capability they have at Prefix to do anything in the world for paint, they pick a shade of white. Sorry, but to me that's not making the most of it. I haven't heard people say, "I'd die to get that shade of white". SSG, carbon, a unique matte, a denim satin, even a multi-color combo, anything to make it remarkable ... they're talking "million dollar car" - it doesn't even hint at being different except for the Italian colors.
 

PDCjonny

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Balloon white is a striking pearly color as long as it's in the sun or under bright lighting.
When it's not it just looks like off white or even a light gray at dusk or evening.
 

kennyhemi

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Nice car, but having a issue with the Italian flag next to GTS...sorry but this car is all American. People outside the circle keep trying to make Chrysler Italian...well it's not. It like when Chrysler bought Lamborghini back in 1987 and owned it for over 10 years. Nobody was calling Lamborghini an American car company. To me a company founded, headquartered, designed, engineered and built their products from any country is from that country. don't matter where the the new owner or investor is from. My heritage is Italian and I consider myself 100 % American! Born and bread!
 

Gustfront

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Gustfront, I would like to hear your definition of a super car?

Hmm, cars like the Mclaren F1, Bugatti Veyron, SSC Ultimate Aero, Koenigsegg, etc, are super cars. Cars like the Viper, Aventador, DB9, ZR1 are exotic's. I own an 09 ACR. Favourite car I have ever owned, makes people do a double take when they see it, and is a beast on the track...definately not a "supercar". The people that insist on Viper's as "super cars" need to get out more.
 

glhs110

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Why do people insist on calling Viper's a "super-car"?. An American exotic yes, a super car no.

640 hp, 600lbs torque, hand built of mostly carbon fiber, largest footprint on the market, and less than 26,000 cars built over 20+ years! Sounds pretty super to me! And being able to run with any other supercar makes me proud to drive my viper...
 

Bruce H.

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From Wiki...

"A supercar is a very expensive and fast sports car. Supercars are marketed by automakers as unusual and include limited production specials from an "elite" automaker, standard-looking cars modified for power and performance, as well as models that appeal to enthusiasts from smaller manufacturers"

and "During the late 20th century, the term supercar was used to describe "a very expensive, fast or powerful car with a centrally located engine", and stated in more general terms: "it must be very fast, with sporting handling to match", "it should be sleek and eye-catching" and its price should be "one in a rarefied atmosphere of its own"

and from this source which goes on to discuss exotics in great detail...http://www.examiner.com/article/exotic-cars-101-what-is-an-exotic-car-by-definition

"Applied as a term used to both describe and classify cars (as in "exotic cars"), the stipulative definition has been used to describe vehicles that are so rare and unusual, it's not likely the mass population will ever see one in person . 99% of the public will seldom be fortunate enough to get near one as a driver or passenger. Furthermore, chances are the average layperson won't even know what the cars are (by brand or feature definitions and specs) if they do happen to see one at a car show or on the road."

The Viper is a text book example of a supercar, and the ACRs and the T/A are also text book exotics...it doesn't get any clearer than that.

Bruce
 

SnakeBitten

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Oh boy. Hope the other resident "supercar" **** doesn't see this thread lol.

The Viper is a supercar by modern definition. The Veyron, Zonda, 918 etc are now hyper exotics or hypercars by what seems to be their modern definition. The G4 ACR destroyed everything in its generation on the Ring including hyper exotics like Enzo, Bugatti, Carrera GT etc. also it wasn't cheap enough for themajority of the masses to afford it brand new. If that's not a supercar then I don't know what is.
 

kennyhemi

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Hmm, cars like the Mclaren F1, Bugatti Veyron, SSC Ultimate Aero, Koenigsegg, etc, are super cars. Cars like the Viper, Aventador, DB9, ZR1 are exotic's. I own an 09 ACR. Favourite car I have ever owned, makes people do a double take when they see it, and is a beast on the track...definately not a "supercar". The people that insist on Viper's as "super cars" need to get out more.

See Gustfront,
I didn't need to say anything about what makes a car super or exotic. The popular definition has already been stated here by fellow Viper owners. But!!...by your own statement you sounds very contradicting.
a) "makes people do a double take when they see it" ...................Sounds like an excotic comment to me!
b) "it's a beast on the track" ...........Sounds like a super car comment to me!
c) "definitley not a super car" ......makes me say ***? after reading your explanation.
That said, I don't have an issue what you believe what constiute a exotic/super car, it's just that you sound that your so right and we're so wrong, that's what bother me about your statement. The Viper may not be the most exotic or the most super but it's a little of both, and best yet is the one I can afford and makes me feel good about owning one....wait, make that two!:drive:
 

ACR steve

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If owning the Ring record did not qualify your car being a super car I am not sure what would . You have the fastest production car around a race track ever built up until this year
and its not a super car????

If you paid $500,000 I bet you would be calling it a Super Car
 

Gustfront

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If owning the Ring record did not qualify your car being a super car I am not sure what would . You have the fastest production car around a race track ever built up until this year
and its not a super car????

If you paid $500,000 I bet you would be calling it a Super Car

Exotic yes, super car no. Only Viper that costs $500,000 is the new Gt3-R....but it's still not a super car, it's a race car.
 

DodgeViper01

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Until roughly 2010, I used to always think that Super Cars were the likes of Enzos, F50s, F40s, Veyrons, Carrera GTs, GT1s, CCXs, Rs, etc., but now being that those are called Hyper Cars, I honestly have no idea what a Super Car is anymore. I think term Super Car has been replaced by Hyper Car, because you hardly hear the terms Super Car anymore; but that is just my two cents.
 
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