2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon Review: Photo Gallery
CARS.COM — If only we’d heard something about this Dodge Demon thingy in advance of its official unveiling tonight in New York, we might have some idea of what to expect … JK, obvi! Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has been teasing its Hellcat-trumping drag-strip darling, the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, for months with an appetite-whetting promotional campaign that included weekly releases of 13 teaser videos — plus a bonus vid — each dropping hints about the monster now being unleashed ahead of the 2017 New York International Auto Show.
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The Demon’s press release reads like one of those “Faces of Death” ad campaigns from the late ’70s claiming the film had been “Banned in 46 Countries!”
“Challenger SRT Demon is too fast for the drag strip — officially banned by NHRA,” FCA boasts amid a litany of “first-ever,” “world’s fastest,” “highest” and “most-powerful” claims.
While all the build-up threatened to create unattainable expectations, the reveal is hardly disappointing. The Demon retains the overall look of the throwback-styled Challenger of recent years, but with track cues that none-too-subtly betray the devil inside. FCA says it’s the widest Challenger ever, and the first-ever factory production muscle car with wide-body fender flares, designed not just for muscle-bound intimidation but to make room for wider drag-racing radials.
The expansive Air Grabber hood scoop, at 45.2 inches, purportedly is the largest of any production car. (Of course it is.) And in case anyone around you is still unaware of what you’re driving, horned demon-head logos are positioned just behind the front fenders — that is assuming you’re passing them slowly enough for it to matter. The sports coupe will be available in 14 cool-sounding exterior colors, such as Destroyer Grey, Maximum Steel, Octane Red and White Knuckle — with an optional hood, roof and deck lid painted, hmmm, could it be … Satan? Er, that is, Satin Black.
Seating is available in varying combos of premium cloth and Laguna leather with Alcantara suede, in addition to an Alcantara-wrapped flat-bottom SRT Performance steering wheel, SRT white-face gauges including a 200-mph speedometer and 7-inch thin-film transistor cluster display. Moreover, a custom carbon-fiber instrument panel badge with “Demon” script is located on the outboard vent, signifying the build sequence number.
It comes with a 60,000-mile limited powertrain warranty, which sounds like a lot, prospective Demon buyers, but at 200 mph that’s only 300 hours of driving — so enjoy the hell out of it while you can.
We’ll tell you all there is to know about the Demon as we learn more from the floor of the New York auto show. In the meantime, check out the photo gallery above.
