A couple weeks back Dodge published their second Challenger Demon teaser video giving us the impression that the new trim model would weigh over 200 lbs less than the Hellcat. What they didn’t really say was “how” or “what” would be affected in order to remove that weight. However, we now know exactly how much weight has been shaved off and how its been achieved.
Very recently, Dodge spilled the beans to a small group of journalists at a private event detailing everything we needed to know on this topic. The official weight reduction number on the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon will be 232 pounds and this is how the weight was saved:
- 2 lbs – Removal of the parking sensor system
- 4 lbs – Unique manual tilt/telescope steering column assembly versus a powered one
- 16 lbs – Brake rotors scaled down from 390mm to 360mm & calipers reduced from 6 piston to 4 piston
- 16 lbs – All new unique 18×11″ wheels
- 18 lbs – Removal of some sound insulation and other “NVH” components
- 19 lbs – Lightweight suspension
- 20 lbs – Removal of the spare tire and trunk materials
- 24 lbs – Scaled down audio system
- 55 lbs – Exclusion of rear seats, restraints and floor mats
- 58 lbs – Exclusion of passenger seat
We’d be lying if we said that we had anticipated the exclusion of the seats for the Challenger Demon as that is a pretty radical move on Dodge’s part but it should be noted that they can be optioned back into the Mopar muscle car. This does make sense on the other hand if they intend to market the SRT Demon more towards the “straight line” crowd. If that’s the case, we might just be looking at the next street legal Drag Pak.
This may or may not shock you but would you drive a one-seater Challenger? Do you think this was a smart way to reduce weight or not? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
