Dodge wowed us today with yet another tidbit about the 2018 Challenger SRT Demon: It'll wear 315-width drag radial tires at all four corners, straight from the factory. They're the widest front tires ever fitted to a production vehicle, and they're built for one purpose only—maximizing traction on dragstrip launches.

That tire package is making folks speculate that this could end up being the all-wheel-drive Challenger Hellcat of rumor and legend. I don't think that's the case. Here's why.

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Dodge has been slow-rolling us on Demon details. Starting way back on January 12th, Dodge released the first of what will be a 15-video series teasing some aspect of the car, before it makes its official debut at the New York International Auto Show in April. You can watch all of the videos and catch all of the info released so far right here.

The latest teaser video, titled "Body," pretty much proves the point. The whole thing is essentially one long burnout:

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And if you go to Dodge's pop-up Demon website, ifyouknowyouknow.com, you'll be treated to, among other things, an animated background image showing a spinning rear wheel, gleefully obliterating its tire in a stationary burnout that never ends.

There's more, though. Think back to our last bit of Demon news, where we found out that the ultra-Hellcat will be up to 200 lbs. lighter than the regular Challenger SRT Hellcat. Two things come to mind here.

First, it would be extremely difficult for Dodge to shave 200 lbs. from the rather hefty Challenger while simultaneously providing it with all-wheel drive. Indeed, in order to lose that couple hundred pounds, you'd have to check all the right Demon option boxes, eliminating basic equipment like the rear seat and spare tire. It's unlikely that Dodge would be able to add the weight and complexity of all-wheel drive to the Demon and still manage to come in lighter than a regular Challenger.

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Then there's the matter of power. We know, judging by the supercharger whine in the various Demon videos, that this puppy's got the Hellcat's 707-horsepower V8. That's the kind of power that finds, and exposes, the weakest link in any drivetrain, especially when it's going through the stickiest drag-racing-oriented tires you can put on a car and still be street legal. There's a reason why the only Challenger available with all-wheel drive is the 305-horsepower V6 model.

And yes, we've speculated in the past that Dodge might have the equipment to make an all-wheel drive Hellcat happen. We based that on the assumption that the Hellcat-powered Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, when it arrives, will be all-wheel drive.

But an all-wheel-drive system in a big-body SUV faces different stresses than a performance coupe sitting on drag radials. When we caught video of a Hellcat-sounding Jeep launching, it briefly broke all four tires loose. With Nitto NT05R meats at all four corners, the thing would grip—and likely spit out its driveshafts.

Besides, no all-wheel drive muscle car could lay smoke like this:

So we're laying our money down. When the Demon debuts, it'll be a rear-wheel-drive drag-racing screamer, with a spare set of tires conveniently mounted up front for when you've burned through the rears. If this wildcat Hellcat does end up being all-wheel drive? Well, we'll be happy to be proven wrong.

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