First Drive Review
The springtime ritual of manufacturers letting us drive concept cars from past auto shows is in full swing, and one of our recent (and favorite) joy rides was in the driver's seat of the Dodge Demon.
This was a particularly tantalizing prospect as the Demon made its first appearance in Geneva and this was the first time those of us who couldn't make it to Switzerland in March could see it in the flesh. Besides, the Demon is just tantalizing, period. Everyone deserves a chance to take a closer look and savor its surprisingly intricate details. With this roadster, the devil truly is in the details.
Viper Lite
Just as some see the Saturn Sky as a Corvette convertible on a weight- and price-loss plan, so too could we regard the Demon as a "Viper Lite." Both the Sky and the Demon have only a fraction of the horsepower and torque of their corporate relatives, but as we've seen with the Sky, that doesn't mean they offer only a fraction of the fun.
The same can be said for style. The roots of the Demon's grille, snake-eye headlamps, and fabulously sculpted hood are easily traceable to its big brother, but the Demon is distinctly more geometric all around and certainly goes its own way at the rear end.
The most distinct-if a bit odd-aspect of the concept involves its rear fenders, which intersect (as opposed to integrate) with the sloping fuselage to encompass the lovely 8.0-by-19-inch rear wheels (same as up front) and feature functional air ducts that allegedly cool the rear brake discs.
In spite of its somewhat haphazard styling elements, the Demon's look works. But we weren't entirely convinced until we saw it glistening in the California sun and then again on the boulevards of Grosse Pointe, an upscale suburb of Detroit. On the road, the proportions seem correct, and the Bright Amber Pearl paint-a sort of nuclear beer color-highlights intricate surface intersections not apparent in pictures. Truly, we haven't seen surface development done this well by Chrysler since the Crossfire.
