Dodge has been teasing the 2018 Challenger SRT Demon for weeks, but as previously speculated, it will not be All Wheel Drive. Instead, it will be rear-wheel drive, as clearly indicated by Dodge’s latest teaser video. In a series of information leaks, this is the latest one, and most recently, it was learned that it would have only one seat.
In the new video, we can see a helmeted figure unlatching a huge crate and pulling out what appears to be an aluminum floor jack, a cordless impact driver, a torque wrench and standing over a disorganized array of all three, along with the presence of a tire gauge, the removable handle of the jack and the really key bits, tires and a pair of skinny wheels.
It was earlier confirmed by Dodge that the car would be delivered on four mega wide Nitto drag radials. That fact along with the speculation on the meaning of a cryptic license plate shown in the photo, made people think that it was AWD.
However, the latest clip indicates that the Nittos on the front could simply be spared for the rear axle once the pair shown in the video has been roasted to oblivion. Moreover, the skinny tires used by most owners, known in the drag racing world as ‘runners,’ might not exactly be DOT approved. As a result, an additional pair of drag radials could be attached to allow the car to be driven legally on the public roads.
As soon as the owner reaches a drag strip, they can break open the Demon-branded toolbox and replace those front seats. Now it is another question as to how one takes the sizable box to the drag strip. The rear portion of the crate cannot be seen, and the skinny wheels could be trailer wheels while the crate could be a mini trailer.
All of it sounds quite doubtful. However, we are forced to guess that both tools have a dedicated spot located in the car somewhere or some organizer/tool bag will be sold by Mopar. Also, owners could probably stack the runners in the spare-tire as well.
Besides the clip, Dodge also released a photo of the badge which seems to be affixed on top of the box. The plate reads, “Built for Tom Coddington.” He was a member of the company’s Ramchargers drag racing team, which rose to popularity back in the 1960s. It also includes the serial number 0757 along with a VIN which indicates the letters “VIN,” followed by “001121”.
Is it possible that these are quarter mile figures? If they Demon clocks 11.21 seconds, it would be too slow and on the other hand, 7.57 seconds is downright ridiculous. There is a possibility that they can be output figures. 757 could refer to the car’s horsepower, but a simple 50-HP increase seems quite below the specialness that is Dodge. It is more possible that this indicates the car’s torque figures in Lb-ft.
At the same time, it is not likely of Dodge to tease output numbers this early in the process. As a result, what these numbers point to is currently a mystery. The video doesn’t give us any more insight into the Demon itself, and we can only see the large toolbox sitting in the drag strip’s staging area.
According to the clip description from YouTube, the crate is full of Direct Connection Mods. The accessories catalog of Mopar used to advertise bolt-on performance parts long back, but now they go by the Mopar Performance name.