FCA has begun shipping the first units of the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon to dealerships around the country.
Earlier today, the Dodge YouTube channel posted a video about the 2018 Challenger SRT Demon titled “Ready or Not”. In that video, we see the 840hp going through its upfitting processes and pulling into an enclosed trailer. When the video dropped earlier today, it may have been unclear to some what it meant, but with the 1pm announcement it is clear to all – the Demon is ready to hit the streets.
Demon Shipping Begins
Those folks who laid down $85k for a 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon have been patiently waiting since production began in early-September for their new Mopar muscle car. Today, that wait is nearly over for some, as November 10th officially marks the start of Demon deliveries to dealerships around the United States.
After leaving the assembly line, the first examples of the 2018 Challenger Demon were shipped to upfitters in Detroit for things like the badges, the drag radial tires and other trim pieces. From there, each car is shipped back to the factory in Canada, where they go through what has been described by insiders as the most rigorous quality control system of any Dodge vehicle ever. This combination of the upfitting process and the quality control system has led to a longer-than-usual wait time since the start of production, but with the first units shipping, there should be a steady flow of Demons to dealerships around the US and Canada over the next few weeks.
This means that if you ordered a 2018 Demon early on and you didn’t pick one of the “late availability colors”, your new Dodge drag racing monster may be on its way to your local dealership right now – or over the course of the next week or so.
Ready or Not
To announce the beginning of Demon deliveries, Dodge put together a cool video showing the 840 horsepower Challenger going through the upfitting process in Detroit. The cars get their wheels and tires, their fender badges, their black-painted body panels and the Air Grabber decal under the hood – all of which is featured in the video at the top of this piece.
Even if you didn’t order a new Demon, this video and news should get any Mopar-lovers blood pumping, as the quickest American production car of all time is about to hit the streets.
"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.
