A few weeks back, Dodge announced that the 2018 Challenger SRT Demon would weigh more than 200lbs less than the Challenger SRT Hellcat and today at a small media event in Detroit, we learned exactly how much weight was shed and how the engineers removed that weight.
Before today, we only knew that the Demon would be at least 200lbs lighter than the Hellcat and the only real detail was that the new 18 inch wheels at all four corners cut 4 pounds per wheel.
Today, we learned that the weight reduction efforts made to the Challenger SRT Demon cut 232 pounds and the wheels are just one of ten areas in which the design team shaved weight.
The most significant weight cuts came on the inside, where the team removed the passenger’s side front seat (58lbs), the rear seat (55lbs), the majority of the speaker system (24lbs) and a bunch of sound insulation (18lbs). There is also a new manual adjustment steering column that trims 4lbs from the curb weight, so in total, the unique interior layout of the Challenger Demon cuts 159 pounds.
As mentioned above, the new 18 inch wheels work together to cut 16lbs of rotating mass from the Demon and behind those new wheels are smaller front brakes. Rather than the Hellcat’s 6-piston calipers and 390mm rotors, the Demon will have a set of Brembo 4-piston rotors over 360mm rotors, cutting 16 more pounds. That is a total of 32 pounds of rotational mass cut from the Hellcat to create the Demon.
Out back, the Demon has a bare trunk, which cuts 20 lbs., and the removal of the parking assist system cuts 2 pounds for a total of 22 more pounds.
Finally, new front and rear sway bars are 19 pounds lighter than the Hellcat sway bars.
When you add that all up, you get a total of 232 lbs. cut from the Hellcat.
Of course, in addition to the weight reduction, we know that the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon will have unique Nitto NT05R drag radial tires that are tucked under package-specific wheel flares. So the Demon will be lighter and have better grip — now we just have to wait for the next teaser to find out what Dodge has in store for us this week.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
