Dodge Demon Concept

Screaming for Demon.
That's what we'll be doing if Dodge can stick to its brief of developing this 2-seat sports car with a sticker that starts at about $15,000. Powered by a 172-bhp 2.4-liter inline four mated to a 6-speed manual, the Demon is a svelte 2,600 lbs. and should provide the same kinds of thrills as the Mazda Miata for thousands less and have a more aggressive look thanks to the work of designer Jae Chung.
Taking his cue from the Dodge Viper, which he describes as “a dream car icon, but a dream that is not affordable to many”, he sees the Demon as a new performance icon, one that is within reach of just about everyone's checkbook.
“I wanted a simple, unified look to the car that was aggressive and had some Viper DNA in it. I guess you could call the Demon a little brother to the Viper,” he explained. Demon is diminutive by Viper standards, riding on a 95.6-in. wheelbase and measuring 156.5 in. overall with a width of 68.3 in. The target here is clearly the Mazda Miata as opposed to the Pontiac Solstice or Saturn Sky. And unlike the GM duo, the Demon has a real trunk that promises to hold golf bag sized luggage.
The front opening has the traditional Dodge cross-hair design and there is a cutline that runs from the back of the headlamps over the wheel opening to the door, which signals the use of a front-hinged clamshell hood. The headlamps themselves, rather than having bright bezels employs black chrome, which gives the satin ringed projector beam headlamps the look of menacing eyes. The sides have distinct character lines that sweep down the body side giving the flanks a coved appearance. The lines wrap around the rear brake duct inlet and then flow over the large rear wheel arches that give the back of the car a terrific stance, not dissimilar to that of the Porsche 911 Turbo.
There is a trapezoidal theme played out on the exhaust tips, the rear taillamps (which also feature recessed lenses), the side inlets and even the roll bar and headrests. Exposed carbon fiber is used on the windshield surround, leading edge of the roll bars and the seat shells. And the 19-in. wheels are five-spoke alloys slotted with the recurring trapezoid theme and finished in a low gloss brushed surface.
Inside, designer Dan Zimmermann took his cues from the sports cars of the '50s and '60s, such as Healeys, Sprites, Triumphs, MGs and the like. “These cars had a certain economy about them, they were simple with instrument panels that stretched from door to door,” Zimmermann said. Indeed, there is no traditional center stack in the Demon. The sound system is mounded in the center of the dash and simple knobs are positioned below it to control the air conditioning and heat. The parts bin approach to using existing radios and controls from other Dodge products is intentional to keep the price down.
The instruments themselves feature white lettering on a black background with brushed aluminum bezels. The dash, door uppers and steering wheel are clad in a technical grained vinyl with exposed stitching. “The stitching gives this material an upscale look and the vinyl has a nice tactile feel”, Zimmermann explains, adding that leather runs counter to the low cost approach to building the car. The cloth covered seats are less aggressively bolstered versions of the buckets used in the Viper and there are simple, brushed aluminum accents on the dash, center console and side map pockets. The cloth seats have contrasting inserts using a patterned material that gives the appearance of being mesh covered. The same material is used in the door inserts.
“We want to be cognizant of the fact that Europeans are very tactile, so we wanted the materials to look and feel right, especially since the car is being shown in Geneva,” Zimmermann said, adding that the expectations for the same high level of quality and feel to the interior is also becoming of great important in the U.S. market. “The idea of making it affordable means that we used a lot of gear from off the shelf,” Zimmermann added. “We really wanted to be able to do more with less.” Mission accomplished — now all Dodge has to do is build it and buyers will come.
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