Fiat declares 93 Vipers must be crushed, they aren't street legal, and donated to schools for educational programs (never heard of a race car being given to a school before!)

those hoods are roughly a 18 thousand dollar part. Carbon fiber... true fact



Automotive professors and students at South Puget Sound Community College were in shock Tuesday after being notified their $250,000 pre-production Dodge Viper SRT must be destroyed within two weeks.

Steven Glasco, vehicle donations coordinator at Chrysler, confirmed that the complete collection of the educational donation Vipers nationwide must be crushed. He would not comment further on the numbers of vehicles or why the decision was made.

Chapman said he was told by a company official that the destruction of 93 vehicles is the result of two educational Vipers that “got loose” and were involved in accidents, costing parent company Fiat millions of dollars.

Car companies regularly donate damaged, non-street-legal, or unsellable vehicles to high schools, colleges and tech schools to be used for training students. SPSCC has about 20 donated vehicles in its auto shop.

Part of the contract with the donated Viper reads that it will be destroyed if the company orders it to be.

The 1992 Dodge Viper is the fourth produced by the company.

Chapman admits the Viper has limited educational value — few mechanics will ever have to work on such a specialized vehicle. But it is a prized promotional tool for the auto program, which displays the car at high schools and auto shows around the state.

“Everybody wants their picture taken with the Viper,” professor Bob Riggin said. He said visiting teachers and dignitaries often get to actually drive the car when it’s strapped down to the shop’s dynamometer. “This car belongs in a museum, not in a crusher,” he said, adding that Jay Leno had unsuccessfully tried to purchase the Viper for his personal collection.

Scot Keller, chief curator at LeMay-America’s Car Museum in Tacoma, said he would love to have a prototype Viper at the museum “These are magnificent cars,” he said. “Who wouldn’t want a Viper?”

But, having been a GM executive himself for many years, Keller said he knows that trying to rescue this one would almost certainly be pointless.

“I’m an enthusiast but also a realist,” he said. “In this case, I feel somewhat obligated to protect the industry. It’s easy to say, ‘Those doggone people in the industry.’ But having sat in a number of meetings on issues like this, I see the other side.

“It’s heartbreaking if you love cars,” Keller said, “but it’s the only thing companies can do to keep the cars from getting out there and people potentially being harmed in them because they are not up to standards.”

Found on http://www.theolympian.com/2014/03/04/3016193/rare-sports-car-at-spscc-must.html thanks to Dave!