With the Mopar people almost ready to unleash the inner Demon, the most hardcore incarnation of the Challenger to date has now been spotted performing high-altitude testing in Colorado.
A prototype of the number plates-wearing drag strip toy showed up in the Rocky Mountains, sporting a familiar configuration that involves riveted-on fat wheel arches and a five-double-spoke wheel design. And we'll thank the crew over at TFL Car for the sighting.
All we can do for now is drool over the wide stance of the muscle beast, with its devilishly wide tires serving as a visual appetizer for all the tech goodies this sprinting monster packs.
The idea behind the Demon is simple and it has helped automakers stir up the crowds for decades, as the thing makes use of racing-proven technology on the street.
For instance, as announced via the once-per-week teasers dropped by the Demon's maker, the Dodge will pack a trans brake, just like many of the racecars adorning drag strips across the country.
Another example comes from the torque reserve feature. Unlike the similarly named feature present on Rolls-Royce tachometers, this toy allows the car to shut down the supercharger bypass, while playing with the fuel and timing parameters. In a production car first, the fire-breathing V8 will only rev to the optimal launch rpm, while the blower will be kept at the maximum boost value. Speaking of which, the supercharged heart of the vehicle is expected to churn out 900 ponies.
You won't even need the drag strip info to tell you how well you've played the speeding game and that's because the infotainment system of the animal will display 1/8- and 1/4-mile data, complete with all the numbers you'll ever need.
As far as the driveline is concerned, the Dodge Demon will mix elements such as the now-usual Line Lock (happy burnouts, everybody!), reinforced components (driveshaft, gears, diff and half-shafts) and a Launch Assist feature that can instantly limit engine output to keep wheel hop under control.
So far, Dodge has portrayed the Demon as a single-seater, but we're expecting the carmaker to offer passenger accommodation one way or another.
With the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon set to land at next month's New York Auto Show, we'll get to bring the heavyweight sprinter under the spotlights soon.
In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist. Full profile
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