There was a moment during Fiat‘s takeover of Chrysler and Dodge assets when the Italian auto giant thought of jettison the Viper badge from future product line altogether. Fortunately, they didn’t and after a two year hiatus, the Viper is back.

Now under Chrysler’s new performance brand SRT, the 2013 SRT Viper further exemplify the renewal interest in American hot rods. Powered by a 8.4-liter V-10 with an output of 640 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque, a 40 horsepower increase to the previous Viper model. Engineers reworked the 2010 chassis by adding aluminum and carbon fiber to reduce the overall weight. In fact, when comparing horsepower to weight ratio, Viper is the third highest in all of the cars currently in production when c, only behind the Bugatti Veyron and Ferrari F12.

While not particularly spacious, a throughly modern interior, with USB ports and stowaway compartment for Apple iPad, greets driver and passenger. Gone is the outdated knobs and gauges that cheapen the original Viper’s super car status. Instead, a large LCD panel at the center console triples as infotainment system, navigation, and performance readouts. Best of all, produced 100% in Detroit, the 2013 SRT Viper might just mark the return of Motor City, USA.