cars news 10: Spied! Is This the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon?

Dodge’s slow trickle of info on its upcoming Challenger SRT Demon has been like Chinese water torture. But we may not have to wait until April to see the new drag-racing-focused coupe. Spy shooters have captured a couple wide-body Dodge Challengers that could be test mules for the Demon.

First, we should point out there are a few curious things going on with these cars. All of them clearly wear Pirelli tires, not the 315/40R18 Nitto NT05R drag radials we know the Demon is getting. One prototype does where a Nitto window decal, however. In one set of photos, we see two wide-body Challengers decorated with stickers advertising aftermarket performance brands. The car in the daytime photos also has hood pins, which are absent in all of the Demon teaser images we’ve seen so far but could be available from Mopar later on.

These test mules, with their bolt-on fender flares, look a lot like the Challenger we saw in the first trailer for the eighth Fast and the Furious movie. They could be related to the film, but then again the Demon itself might have a tie-in with the next movie, The Fate of the Furious. As we previously reported, a behind-the-scenes video shot after production had wrapped appeared to show a Challenger wearing a Demon badge, wide-body kit, and large hood scoop. Another clue that the Demon will star in The Fate of the Furious could be in the movie’s April 14 release date, which is just one day after the New York auto show press days end.

Some elements on these testers, perhaps the fender flares, hood, and front valance, may be from the Demon, but we’re definitely not seeing the whole enchilada here. It’s unclear if these cars were built for the movie or for testing purposes, but you can at least expect to see a different set of tires when the Demon debuts in New York.

Photo Source: KGP Photography