1971 Dodge Demon 340 Comes Out of Storage, Shows Off Tiny Surprise Under the Hood

The latter also appeared on a concept car that broke cover at the 2007 Geneva Auto Show. A two-door roadster with a 172-horsepower four-cylinder engine, it previewed a sports car that was supposed to slot in under the Viper and compete with the Mazda MX-5 Miata. The project did not move into production. But I'm here to talk about a different Demon: the one that Dodge offered in the early 1970s.

The first-ever Demon arrived in 1971 as part of the Dodge Dart lineup. But unlike the modern Challenger Demon, the Dart Demon wasn't conceived as a high-performance model. It was applied to Dodge's version of the popular Plymouth Duster and it wasn't even supposed to be called the Demon at first. Dodge wanted the fastback to hit dealerships as the Dart Beaver, but it renamed it the Demon when the marketing department learned that "beaver" was Citizens Band (CB) radio slang for a part of the female anatomy.

But Dodge did eventually offer a higher-performance variant of the Demon, which replaced the 1970 Swinger 340. Fitted with the same 340-cubic-inch (5.6-liter) LA-block V8 rated at 275 horsepower, it also got optional hood scoops and a blacked-out hood for a sportier appearance. The Demon remained in production for 1972 but was replaced by the Dart Sport in 1973.

While not as popular as the Plymouth Duster, the Demon did move more than 100,000 units over two years. However, the more expensive Demon 340 package was selected by only 21,000 customers. Sure, it's not exactly rare when compared to other Mopar muscle cars from the golden era, but highly optioned-up examples are hard to find nowadays. The 1971 example in Butterscotch you see here is one of those cars.

Ordered with both the black hood and the scoops, it was also fitted with the A31 performance axle package with 3:91 gears. On top of that, it also has the cloth bench interior, which is highly desirable nowadays. And all these features turn this 1971 Demon into a rare gem. Most likely one of fewer than 50 made in this color.

The 340 V8 is obviously a numbers-matching unit still rocking most of its original parts, but that's not to say this Demon doesn't hide a surprise under the hood. It's not some sort of performance upgrade, however, but the signature of the legendary Don "Big Daddy" Garlits.

Considered the father of drag racing, Garlits pioneered the rear-engined Top Fuel dragster and was the first driver to officially surpass the 170, 200, 250, and 270 mph marks on the quarter-mile. That's 273, 322, 402, and 435 kph, respectively. Most of his innovative dragsters All these records were achieved in his innovative "Swamp Rat" dragsters.

Garlits also set important benchmarks in battery-powered dragsters. In 2014 at age 82, he ran 184 mph (296 kph) in a 2,000-horsepower EV. He beat his own record in 2019 by hitting 189 mph (304 kph) over the quarter mile. By 2004, he was inducted into every important automotive and drag racing hall of fame. Needless to say, having his signature on any classic muscle car is a cool thing to brag about.

Check out this awesome Demon in the video below, documented moments after it came out of winter storage.