Chrysler factory in Detroit will make next SRT Viper

The "snake" is getting its pit back.

Chrysler Group announced today that it will reopen its Conner Avenue Assembly Plant in Detroit for the production of the next- generation SRT Viper.

With the plant's reopening, nearly 150 jobs, both hourly and salaried, will return to Detroit, Chrysler says. The Conner plant was idled when production of the Dodge Viper ended in July, 2010.

Note, as Jalopnik points out, that it is no longer being called a Dodge. The next Viper will be part of the hot little SRT, for Street Racing Team, brand. It used to be called the Dodge Viper SRT 10. The old one had 10 cylinders.

"The next generation Viper will make its return to the product lineup in late 2012 as a 2013 model," said Ralph Gilles, CEO of the SRT brand. "We're extremely excited that our ultimate American sports car will continue to live on and be produced exclusively here in the Motor City."

The initial jobs will go to current Chrysler Group hourly employees who previously worked at Conner. The rest will be filled by hourly employees volunteering to transfer to the Conner Avenue plant.

Conner Avenue will begin building the new Viper in late 2012, but employees began reporting for training and orientation this fall. Chrysler is yet to show what the next Viper will look like, but Drive On reported a year ago that a "person" who had seen it said it bore a remarkable similarity to an Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. That's the Alfa in the photo, above.

Viper production began in 1992 at the New Mack Assembly Plant, then moved to Conner Avenue in 1995. All Vipers that rolled off the line were hand-built in a low-volume, modular process. Over the course of 15 years, Conner Avenue employees completed about 12 vehicles a day for a total of 22,070 Vipers, Chrysler says.