Such a Tease: Fiat Chrysler's At It Again

Remember the ridiculously long lead-up to the release of Dodge’s Challenger SRT Demon? That never-ending trail of breadcrumbs leading to the hottest LX-platform car to date? Yeah, that one.

The teasing grew tiresome after a while. Many buyers and writers (circles that rarely cross) were about to get up and leave the bar, until FCA finally debuted the limited-run, 840-horsepower drag beast.

Well, it looks like FCA’s on the make again.

FCA design boss Ralph Gilles kicked things off by selling a used car. Not just any used car, but his 2018 Demon — a barely-driven vehicle bearing 1,302 miles on the odometer, according to the Detroit-area listing. The asking price is just south of $140k, which isn’t unexpected given the model’s scarcity and connection to FCA royalty. Gilles headed up the automaker’s SRT division before donning his design hat.

The listing came to everyone’s attention via an Instagram post from the seller himself, and contained within was a tease of something looming just over the horizon.

Claiming that he only put 1,200 miles on the thing, Gilles said the vehicle’s history contains zero trips to the drag strip, which sounds like the experience of most other Demons thus far. He also added the reason he’s letting it go.

Drumroll, please.

“Sadly it’s time to move on as I need to make room for another equally devilish project…,” Gilles wrote, sending the rumor mill into a high boil.

A post shared by @ralphgilles on Dec 5, 2019 at 3:09pm PST

Is speculation about a possible return of the Viper more credible than we’re led to believe, or is there somehow a hotter Challenger variant on the way? Given the company’s finances and attitude, the latter scenario is more likely. Gilles wouldn’t elaborate beyond that one comment.

Expect this to be the first of many teases of whatever this thing is. FCA loves milking the buildup to new releases, and the Challenger’s healthy sales and secured near-term future means there’s still space left on this palette on which to paint.

[Image: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]