SRT Design Boss Is Selling His Very Rare 2018 Dodge Demon

Ralph Gilles’ Challenger Demon is No. 0004, has just a little more than 1,000 miles on the odometer.

The 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is one of the most unique vehicles ever sold by an American automaker. These cars came from the factory with drag radials and the ability to lift the front wheels off of the ground on a hard launch. They could also be ordered with the Demon Crate, including things like an engine computer tuned to run 100-octane race gas, lightweight skinny wheels for the front, branded tools and more. When you put it all together, the 2018 Demon is the quickest production car in the world, capable of mid 9-second quarter-mile times in stock form.

The down side to the Demon was that with production limited to just 3,300 units, ordering one wasn’t easy. Many dealerships applied markups that drove the price well over the $100,000-mark, but as we near 2020, more and more Demons are showing up in the used car market. In fact, 2018 Demon #0004 is available for sale right now, and it is special beyond its low sequence number. This Challenger was ordered and driven by FCA’s design boss Ralph Gilles, until it was handed over to Platinum Motorcars Detroit. Gilles is arguably one of the best-known members of the FCA’s management team while also being one of the most popular automotive designers in the American car industry.

Ralph Gilles’ Dodge Demon

The Platinum Motorcars website does not mention the fact that Ralph Gilles owns the Octane Red 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon on the website. However, it is widely known that Gilles owned Demon number 0004 and he posted on December 5 on Instagram that he was selling his car via Platinum Motorcars. Frankly, the Mopar world is shocked that he has selling is Demon, but as you can see in the Instagram post below, he is making room for another “equally devilish project”.

Some social media users took that as a hint to a hotter production car, but we have heard that whatever Gilles is referencing it not a new production car.

Features of 2018 Challenger Demon number 0004 include a cloth driver’s seat and passenger seat, a rear seat delete kit, Cloth Seat Comfort Audio Group and the Demon Vehicle Storage Package. Also, Gilles’ Demon has a unique wheel setup. At first glance, it may appear to be riding on the stock five-spoke wheels, but upon closer inspection, you will notice that this car rides on 20-inch Pirelli tires. The Demon came from the factory with 18-inch wheels wrapped in Nitto drag radials, so Gilles has some variety of custom wheels wrapped in tires that are better for daily driving.

Crate Information

There is no mention of the Demon crate, but in one of the pictures on the Platinum Motorcars website, one of the boxes that comes with the crate is shown in the trunk. It should be noted that the passenger’s side HVAC vent does not appear to have his name. It also looks like the race gas button panel is not installed in the sale photos. We don’t know if the crate is included, but serious buyers should contact the dealership to ask about that.

If the Demon crate is included, it will have the car’s VIN number and in most cases, it has the buyer’s name. Buyers could get their name or something else, and some people got color things rather than their names. It would certainly be cool to have a crate and an HVAC vent that says that the car was built for a famous member of the FCA team, but we don’t know for sure if the crate is included with the sale. If it is included, we don’t know what name appears on the crate and the vent trim.

In other words, you could own Ralph Gilles’ 2018 Dodge Demon number 0004, but that privilege won’t come cheap. The car is listed for $139,995 and it has 1,032 miles on the odometer. If you shop around a bit, you can find Demons for less, but those cars weren’t ordered by Ralph Gilles and most of them don’t have such low mileage.

If you have been looking for a low-mileage Demon and you don’t mind paying top dollar for a car with a truly unique history, Ralph Gilles’ number 0004 is a remarkable collector’s item.

Vehicle Photos: Platinum Motorcars Detroit

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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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