Yahoo Autos What's Up With This Dodge Charger Test Mule's Wide Tires?
Next week, the highly-anticipated Dodge Challenger SRT Demon will make its debut. We know the Demon will have ultra-wide fender flares to accommodate giant 315/40R18 drag radials at all four corners, but why is this new Charger wearing wide tires? These pictures were just sent to us by reader Chris White after we first spotted them on Instagram.
It's difficult to make out here, but we're fairly certain this Charger is wearing a Michigan manufacturer license plate, with the distinct blue "M" in the middle. You can see similar plates on other Fiat Chrysler prototypes, like the Grand Cherokee SRT Trackhawk prototype spied last week.
The obvious conclusion to jump to here is that Dodge is testing a Charger SRT Demon, but there are too many unknowns to say that definitively. Even if it were a Charger Demon test mule, it doesn't necessarily mean Dodge has plans to put it into production.
Still, like the Challenger SRT 392 and Hellcat, the Charger is pretty traction limited with its 275-section tires, so fitting bigger rubber could improve the car dramatically. It's also worth noting that Dodge reportedly plans on keeping the current-generation Challenger and Charger in production until at least 2020, so there's big incentive for the automaker to make new model variants in the meantime.
For what it's worth, White said that this mule was "considerably louder" than a standard Hellcat.
In any case, this is an intriguing sight. It might not turn into a production model or Dodge could make a Demon out of its four-door. That would be fun to see.
This post was updated at 5:40 p.m. ET to add a new photo and comment from the photographer.
You Might Also Like
