FCA announced early this morning that the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon will make its grand debut the week of the New York International Auto Show and when it does, it will raise the bar set by the Challenger SRT Hellcat.
“Most cars attempt to be everything to everybody. Then there are the rare few that revel in a single objective, rendering them totally irresistible to a subculture,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of Passenger Car Brands – Dodge, SRT, Chrysler and FIAT – FCA North America. “The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is conceived, designed and engineered for a subculture of enthusiasts who know that a tenth is a car and a half second is your reputation.”
Unfortunately, the name, the image above and this quote are really all that we got from today’s announcement in terms of information on the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, but anyone who knows drag racing can use Kuniskis’ comments to draw some conclusions. It is commonly known in the racing world that a tenth of a second at the end of the quarter mile is about a car length’s lead, so it seems to me that he is almost surely talking about drag racing.
Based on that, I have to wonder if the Demon isn’t the long rumored factory drag racing package, but your guess is as good as mine.
The good news is that along with the arrival of the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon name, FCA has rolled out the new website IfYouKnowYouKNow.com. In the coming weeks leading up to the debut, there will be new teaser videos posted to offer hints as to what to expect from the 2018 Challenger Demon.
"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.
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