Dodge Demon revealed...

I wonder what it's 1/8 time is and what the cutoffs are for safety gear. Regardless there will be driveshaft loops and cages amd what not available for the car before any are delivered.

The NHRA already sent a letter to FCA saying it was outlawed from their events unless proper safety mods were made.

It's pretty awesome that this thing exists, but there are some things that make no sense to me too. Why does it come with 315's in the front? They're just slowing it down, and with the softer front suspension, it's clearly not intended to take corners at speed. They just put them there for looks.

Having a car this fast with no cage seems like an inconvenience for the owners at best, and an insurance nightmare at worst.

If factory drag cars are your thing, Chevy and Ford will both sell you faster cars than this, for not a lot more than this thing will probably cost.

This car can't legally race as-is, and it's can't really be good at being a street car either. Seems like it's built just to be a cars and coffee queen, or stoplight warrior. That's fine, but it makes it kind of a poser-mobile. Should be a sales success then.

Cars and Coffee exits are going to be interesting this year.

pushrod36 wrote: I am curious to read about how competition use may effect the warranty. Some of the claims are curious to me too. I wonder how many of their numbers were achieved on prepped drag strips versus good pavement. Didn't the ford lightning use the a/c to cool the inter cooler? Was it somehow different from what dodge is doing so they can claim first. Anyway, I am glad this car exists.

It's a purpose-built drag car. Of course the times were set on a drag strip. I'm not sure I see what you're getting at.

Cool car, not my type, but most powerful production V8? I think Koenigsegg would like to have a word with them...

z31maniac wrote:

pushrod36 wrote: I am curious to read about how competition use may effect the warranty. Some of the claims are curious to me too. I wonder how many of their numbers were achieved on prepped drag strips versus good pavement. Didn't the ford lightning use the a/c to cool the inter cooler? Was it somehow different from what dodge is doing so they can claim first. Anyway, I am glad this car exists.

It's a purpose-built drag car. Of course the times were set on a drag strip. I'm not sure I see what you're getting at.

My point is that I wonder how many other production cars have been similarly tested on a VHT treated surface to substantiate the claim.

It has a trunk kit that includes skinny front wheels and tires and a jack.

I like that it exists and it is an amazing thing. Not something that I would consider buying however. It seems like a bit of a desperate hail Mary type play by Dodge. How many years will they soldier on with the same platform? One that they had handed to them by the Germans at that. Do they have what it takes to design and build a competitive car for normal folks on their own? The Dart of the 200 do not cut it. The 300, Charger & Challenger seem like antiques at this point. People still buy them, so I guess its working for them, but they seem like a one trick pony and I worry for their future.

The article said there is even an interior delete option that takes away the passanger and rear seat.

What I see is the valuable collector will keep it w/o the NHRA bits and therefore the seller will feture that it has "never been raced".
25 years from now, someone will have a pristine garage queen that still has the factory wrappers on it.

This will be a "cool car to have" but would be a "hard car to drive" or live with.

Manufacturers post Ring times as a selling point with no expectation that owners will ever track the cars which isn't a whole lot different than posting the 1/4 times for this.
As to handling, I think (correct me if I'm wrong) that the shock adjustments are done by the car itself (mag ride stuff?) so the car should still be reasonable to drive on the street. From a drivers safety standpoint I'd think the wide sticky front tires are a good idea. A car that accelerates like this will benefit from the ability to slow down. I don't think the brakes are going to be great for multiple stops, but they should haul you down from triple digits well enough to keep you from plowing into a bus full of children which is kind of important.

I haven't read anywhere what kind of production numbers they are looking at. Is it limited or will they build however many are ordered? I have zero criticism about this car, it's wonderful that a manufacturer is willing to do a bonkers project now and again. I hope they sell every one and keep coming up with these wild projects.

loosecannon wrote: I haven't read anywhere what kind of production numbers they are looking at. Is it limited or will they build however many are ordered? I have zero criticism about this car, it's wonderful that a manufacturer is willing to do a bonkers project now and again. I hope they sell every one and keep coming up with these wild projects.

3000 for US, 300 for Canada. That's it.

Hands tied to the steering wheel is ridiculous. Could do more damage than not. Arm restraints like sprint cars would work.

Ever watch an in Nascar video during a crash ? The driver gets his hands off the wheel to avoid broken wrists or a dislocated thumb.

Knurled wrote:

dropstep wrote: 840hp and runs nines, it must still be heavy as hell.

Probably not so much compared to other modern Chryslers. On street tires, we figure a thousand HP is mid-low tens for a 3800lb car. Less power and lower ET means it's got to be lighter and the chassis hooks harder... and those tires have got to be pretty gummy.

Well, Dodge has said it will weigh 217lbs less than the current Hellcat, which weighs 4448 lbs according to THIS.

So by my math, it will still weigh over 4200lbs. Or about 400lbs more than my 78 C10.

EDIT: So... think about that for a second. 400lbs more than a truck with a full frame (steel), solid axle(more steel), all steel body panels, steel bumpers and a hood that weighs as much as many compact cars. How the hell is that even possible? Are they pouring lead into the body seams or something? I mean, hell... out 19+' long crew cab GMC with all the modern crap still only weighs 5100lbs empty.

Since skinny wheels/tires come in the trunk, the front 315s seem to be an extra set of rears. And it probably makes the car a bit safer to drive off the track.

FCA has issues, but kudos to them for having the intestinal fortitude to develop and release something like this. Unprecedented, really. Factories have developed and sold race cars before, but they're not normally street legal, pass emissions and safety laws, and have warranties.

iceracer wrote: Hands tied to the steering wheel is ridiculous. Could do more damage than not. Arm restraints like sprint cars would work. Ever watch an in Nascar video during a crash ? The driver gets his hands off the wheel to avoid broken wrists or a dislocated thumb.

I really doubt that's what they want. How would you get out of the car if it caught fire? I suspect what they mean is wrist restraints, so that your arms don't flop out the window when you start tumbling.

I'm also in the WTF camp. In fact, it's kind of insulting. Are the Fiat guys thinking that we're a bunch of rednecks who only understand trucks, SUVs and muscle cars? Or do they understand that the reason that cars like the Dart sell poorly is because it's one of the most disliked cars made - as per polls of actual owners of the car:

http://www.consumerreports.org/car-reliability-owner-satisfaction/7-cars-owners-regret-buying/

4 of the seven are Fiat/Dodge products!

I want to autocross one! Can you imagine the SCCA when one of these wheelies at a ProSolo after launching off the trans brake?!?

In reply to Kreb:

Whaaaaaattttttt??????? Inconceivable!

In reply to T.J.:

How long did Chrysler milk the K-car platform? It can, and has worked for them.

Cool that someone made a factory car with 840 HP for under a 100K. Zero interest in even seeing one in the wild. It's just an old chassis with a lot of horsepower. At least when they did the Viper it was more than a one trick pony. Actually I have more interest in seeing a new Giulia.

Javelin wrote: I want to autocross one! Can you imagine the SCCA when one of these wheelies at a ProSolo after launching off the trans brake?!?

There is a Hellcat in our region that is far from competitive. After your 1 second of wheely fame you could drive it off the course and let people ooh and aah over it.

Javelin wrote: I want to autocross one! Can you imagine the SCCA when one of these wheelies at a ProSolo after launching off the trans brake?!?

Annnnnnnd.....now I have a new life goal.

I like that their answer to the Challenger being a fat pig that can't go around corners (nearly as well as the current Mustang or Camaro) is to just keep making it even more absurdly powerful.

I say this without a trace of sarcasm.

Well, now there's definitely one more new muscle car.