Chrysler has been taking a beating lately, what with rumors of a GM take over, but you have to give their designers credit for not giving up. The people who brought you lots of cool cars in the last decade of designers gone wild, have come up with another looker, the Dodge Demon, to be unveiled at the 2007 Geneva International Motor Show.
Some people can say that the bean counters don't know what they're doing at Chrysler, but no one can say that about the design team.
If numbers say anything, the Demon's does. The Demon will have a front engine, rear-wheel-drive setup with 172-hp in a 2.4L I-4 engine. It'll match up to a 6-speed manual transmission which Dodge designers say will generate peak torque of 165 lb.-ft. (224 Nm) at 4,400 rpm to spin those 19 inch wheels wild. And then there's those looks that could kill (for more pics, click here).
If it put this concept car into production, estimates are that the Demon would sell for somewhere just north of $18,000 stripped down. In a market populated with new ’07 Miata cars that sticker for $21,030, that's plenty competitive. Even the Pontiac Solstice – which stole Miata’s U.S. sales crown in 2006 – starts at $21,995, leaving plenty of room to pack a few options onto the Dodge Demon and still compete on price.
The Dodge Demon is a concept that excites and that's what Detroit needs more of nowadays. With great concept cars like these, how come they don't start building 'em?