Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne said in a Detroit radio interview that Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo became speechless by the sight of the all new SRT Viper. Even though Marchionne didn’t mention the Ferrari chairman by name, he said that the Ferrari boss was full of praise for the new American car once he saw the vehicle. Both Ferrari and SRT are part of Fiat-Chrysler Corporation and there is hardly any reference to the Ferrari boss’s comment over SRT Viper. The Viper is the first car from the newly created SRT brand, which was unveiled at the month at the 2012 New York Motor Show last month. The production of this brand new vehicle is expected to begin this fiscal year probably at Chrysler’s Connor Avenue assembly plant in Detroit. The new car is the fifth-generation Viper, which is more efficient and seems to have taken huge steps forward compared to the previous model which stopped production in 2010 in almost all areas.

“The car is a superb machine. 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,” said Marchionne, the chairman and CEO of the Chrysler Group.

The new Viper is unique indeed, but shares some resemblance with its Italian cousins — Ferrari and Maserati, which provides it with an appreciably more modern and refined look. Powered by an 8.4-litre V10 engine, the new SRT Viper generates 477kW of power and 814Nm of torque and the vehicle sprints from 0-100km/h in just 3.4 seconds with a top speed of 325km/h.