Dodge Demon with Full Carbon Fiber Body Dazzles in Vegas

Twin turbo, 1400-horsepower behemoth is currently the world’s quickest, most powerful quarter-mile record holder.

There were a great many modern Dodge Challengers on display at last week’s SEMA Show in Las Vegas, but this 2018 Demon is easily the most impressive of the bunch. This car was built by Speedkore and Gearhead Fabrications, adding a full carbon fiber body and a custom twin turbocharger setup to create the lightest and most powerful new Demon in the world.

More importantly, the NHRA superstar and Hellcat Challenger owner Leah Pritchett at the wheel, this Challenger Demon, running an 8.77 at 161 miles per hour. That is the quickest elapsed time and the fastest trap speed turned in by the drag strip-ready muscle car, making this the quickest and fastest in the world.

Speedkore Demon Body

While this 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is more than just a dressed up muscle car, the main attraction with this Mopar monster is the complete carbon fiber body. Speedkore removed all of the metal body panels from front-to-back and top-to-bottom, replacing them all with lightweight carbon fiber. The panels have been left unpainted to showcase the carbon fiber work, making this one badass muscle car, but it isn’t all about appearance.

While looking cool, the Speedkore carbon fiber body cuts somewhere in the area of 300 to 400 pounds from the Demon, dropping its already-low curb weight while allowing it to make better use of all of that Hemi power.

Gearheard Twin Turbo

Speaking of power, in addition to replacing the stock, metal body with an array of carbon fiber panels, the factory IHI supercharger has been removed and in its place is a custom intake manifold, also made by Speedkore. That manifold is connected to a custom twin turbo setup from Gearheard Fabrications, featuring front-facing headers and a pair of Precision 6875 billet turbos that have been mounted behind unique vents in the front fascia. This allows for the best possible air flow, but like the carbon fiber body, the turbo location adds a whole lot of “wow factor.”

Although the rest of the engine is stock and unopened, the addition of the new intake manifold, the turbo setup and a fuel system upgrade increased the output of this Demon from to 1,203 horsepower and 1,057 lb-ft of torque at the rear wheels. Using a fairly conservative drivetrain loss factor of 15 percent, this Challenger is making over 1,400 horsepower at the crankshaft without any other supporting modifications.

The result of the carbon fiber body and the custom twin turbo setup is the quickest, fastest, lightest and most powerful new Demon in the world, making this one incredible showstopper at SEMA 2018.

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Patrick Rall

"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.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com

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