The new Dodge Demon sounds absolutely nuts: listen to it here

Those pesky folks at Dodge have spent the last few months teasing us about its upcoming car, the Dodge Challenger SRT ‘Demon’. Set to sit above the far-from-sane 707bhp rear-wheel-drive Hellcat, judging by the latest teaser video, this widebody drag special is going to be a whole new level of crazy. Seriously, just hit play and listen to the Demon sing. It is absolutely nuts.

You may have noticed a unique parpy launch control burble before the cacophony of highly-strung V8 layered with the shrill of a seriously angry supercharger. It's a new torque reserve launch system active whenever the car is in launch mode, and you have more than 1,000rpm on the clock.

It works by increasing supercharger revs without torque overwhelming the brakes and spinning the rears. Basically, it creates more energy that can be released more efficiently for a what-the-hell-was-that type quarter mile time.

What happens is that the bypass valve on the supercharger closes (known as prefilling the supercharger), while the fuel flow to the cylinders and spark timing changes. Then, to manage torque, the system briefly cuts fuel flow to selected cylinders – creating the change in the exhaust note.

It’s a trick used in professional drag racing circles, though the Demon will be the first car to have it in a production road car. Just one more innovative trick that has us intrigued - and quite excited - about the Demon's unveiling at next month’s New York Auto Show.

Other neat firsts we’re set to see on the car include a unique mechanical/electronic drag-race-specific suspension tune, the largest ever functional hood scoop, significantly larger air box than the one in the Hellcat, not one but two Air Catcher headlights and super sticky street-legal drag radials with a 15 percent larger contact patch than the Hellcat. We can’t wait to see the final spec sheet. 

In the meantime, can you work out that cryptic numberplate on the back of the car? Explain your working in the comments section below.