Chrysler's Viper seems to have some venom left in it.

Chrysler sparred with Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) yesterday over allegations that the automaker should have disclosed a $35 million offer to purchase the Viper brand in the company's bankruptcy filings.

In justifying why their company should be sold to a new entity run by Fiat, Chrysler executives said they failed to find other buyers willing to pay even $10 million for a valuable brand like the high-performance Viper.

But Issa produced a letter from a Michigan-based investor group that said it was willing to make an offer and was "working with our bankers to
conclude this purchase as quickly as possible."

Apparently, that was not fast enough. "Prior to the Chapter 11 filing, no offers meeting the Company's basic requirements for the sale of Viper assets were submitted," David Elshoff, a Chrysler spokesman, said in a statement.

Issa hinted at a possible motive: "As you know, the Fiat group includes Ferrari, a Viper competitor in the sports car market," he wrote.