The Internal Codename For the Dodge Demon's Engine Was "Benny"
SRT usually names its big V8s after old fighter planes. Not the Demon's V8, however.
Khodrocar - SRT likes to name its highest-power V8s after historic fighter planes when they're in development: its naturally aspirated 392 was code-named "Apache" while the Hellcat's supercharged 6.2-liter unit was called, appropriately, "Hellcat." The small team developing the Challenger SRT Demon wanted to keep attention away from its work, however, so a more subtle internal name was needed. Allpar reports that the Demon's engine was called "Benny."
Apparently, SRT powertrain director Chris Cowland grew up watching the 1960s cartoon Top Cat, which featured a blue cat named Benny. The SRT team initially planned on painting the Demon's engine blue, but Dodge didn't have a paint that could meet heat and corrosion requirements. The Demon's engine ended up red, but the name "Benny" stuck.
SRT worked very hard to keep the Demon project under wraps to prevent any information on the car leaking out to the public. The team developing the engine actually had to wait until the weekends to use FCA's dynos, since the Demon's engine is so loud. SRT's engineers didn't want to raise suspicions when they were making a bunch of noise in the dyno room.
Even some of the engineers working on various Demon components didn't know exactly what car they were going to be used for. The guy in charge of developing the fuel system had no idea the Demon existed–he was just given a list of requirements.
Allpar has a great story on the Demon's development, so head over there for even more interesting tidbits. You really get the impression that this was a true skunkworks project.
Apparently, SRT powertrain director Chris Cowland grew up watching the 1960s cartoon Top Cat, which featured a blue cat named Benny. The SRT team initially planned on painting the Demon's engine blue, but Dodge didn't have a paint that could meet heat and corrosion requirements. The Demon's engine ended up red, but the name "Benny" stuck.
SRT worked very hard to keep the Demon project under wraps to prevent any information on the car leaking out to the public. The team developing the engine actually had to wait until the weekends to use FCA's dynos, since the Demon's engine is so loud. SRT's engineers didn't want to raise suspicions when they were making a bunch of noise in the dyno room.
Even some of the engineers working on various Demon components didn't know exactly what car they were going to be used for. The guy in charge of developing the fuel system had no idea the Demon existed–he was just given a list of requirements.
Allpar has a great story on the Demon's development, so head over there for even more interesting tidbits. You really get the impression that this was a true skunkworks project.
Source: roadandtrack.com
Latest News