The Dodge Viper demise was always in the wings since the fourth generation. Remember the Viper was a extremely rare car with only approximately 33000 units built from 1992-2017 in the 25 years of production. That is basically one year of Corvette production.
Also as a Viper owner, I can attest that car especially the earlier versions required a higher level driving skillset than most have, especially when pushing that car to the limits, as it had a knife edge personality. I enjoyed the car for that reason alone, as there is nothing like driving a car or motorcycle that will bite you back hard if you are not on top of it and is something I enjoyed. That is why the majority of all earlier generations have been written off.
As you may be aware, every single Viper was manual transmission. Most of the new generation of drivers are not capable or able to drive manual, as it evident by how many manual transmission sports cars are available/produced several years later.
(How can one go screaming through traffic with a cell phone in one hand and shift gears at the same time, it is just not practical
)
The actual nail in the coffin for the Viper line was the introduction of United States DOT FMVSS 226 safety regulation legislation the mandated that all passenger cars must have passenger anti-ejection air bags (side curtain) to prevent those who did not like wearing a seatbelt from being thrown out the window which could not be incorporated into the Generation 5 design. Fiat decided that was the end of the line for what I think is one of the most iconic cars ever built in America.
The Viper was not a practical car, even in the later generations, as I describe it as a car the tickles all the senses. Corvette owners would not be able to endure it, as my C8 is like a Cadillac when comparing it.
EYES - Sight lines where terrible
EARS - You would go deaf inside the car or good luck having a conversation with the passenger, but man did it sound cool!
TOUCH/FEEL - Talk about a car that produced a lot of heat, especially after running it for more than a hour in the summer. Exiting the car required a special approach not to burn your legs on the 225F side sills.