In “Confessions of an SRT^® Test Driver – Part One”, we met Jim Wilder, a person who parlayed his passion for fast cars into an illustrious career working for Chrysler for over two decades. Wilder has been assigned to some very cool projects during his tenure that has seen the company change hands many times but never lose their focus on building very fast cars. After supporting the development of the Neon SRT4, Wilder moved over to the new generation of V8 RWD cars that were launched in 2005. The Charger and Magnum SRT8 led the Dodge Rebellion while the Chrysler 300C SRT8 combined luxury with performance. Under their hoods was the all-new 6.1L HEMI^® engine that pushed out 425 horsepower. It was Wilder’s job to make sure this engine performed flawlessly. The new Challenger would be born three years later, but the things Wilder was working on for the SRT8 sedans would find their way into Dodge’s re-entry into the Pony Car wars. “The new 6.1L HEMI offered challenges regarding cooling performance so I and the team designed a new radiator for the LX platform that’s still used today in the current vehicles. We did much of our hot weather testing out west on the grueling Baker Grade in California. The grade starts out at 960 feet above sea level and climbs to over 4,000 feet. We would do our testing in the dead of summer with the car at max cargo weight while pulling a 3,800-lb. trailer. This was to make sure the cooling system would be up to the task of keeping the 6.1L HEMI temps in the normal operating range for all driving conditions. We also ran many laps at top speed on the four-mile oval at our Arizona Proving Grounds for thermal testing as well,” said Wilder.

As Dodge’s SRT product lineup was evolving, Wilder was placed on the Challenger SRT Platform in 2015. “When I got onto the Challenger program, my role was Syntheses/Development Manager – basically, I was responsible for the overall objectives of the car while ‘being the voice of the customer.’ I worked with the numerous component engineers so the car would perform as intended and exceed customer expectations,” noted Wilder. “Being the lead guy on the engineering side, we knew cooling would be an issue on the Challenger Hellcat. Therefore, I worked with the design studio team to make sure the front fascia and hood were designed to be ‘aero-friendly’ and provide enough airflow into the radiator, intercooler and airbox. It was a collaborative effort among the many teams working on the Hellcat program. Form follows function and with the engineering directive and input from the studio guys, it’s been a great relationship that we’ve been using on future products.”  

But Jim Wilder didn’t stop there. Being hyper-focused on keeping the SRT Hellcat’s 707 horsepower well fed with cool, outside fresh air, he once again channeled his love of vintage Super Stockers. “Since the Challenger’s inside headlights use an outer ring, I felt we could draw fresh air into the inner assembly by removing the plastic piece and routing it directly into the air box.” The inspiration for this feature that found its way in the Challenger SRT Demon, Redeye and Hellcat vehicles ironically came from a Ford product that was built when LBJ was president. “I remembered the 1964 Ford Thunderbolt Super Stockers came with the high-beam headlights removed and replaced with a screen and hoses that ducted fresh air directly into the air cleaner. I felt in theory would work very well on the Challenger due to the modern design of the inboard headlights and since the turn signal is on the lamp’s outer ring, this worked out perfectly.”

While Wilder and his team were knee-deep in the SRT Hellcat program, they were also working on something much more sinister that would change the performance automotive landscape – the Challenger SRT Demon. They were sworn to secrecy and knew this project would be a game-changer. “What’s interesting is the Demon concept was conceived before the Hellcat was even launched. We began having discussions around 2014-2015 on what the car should be. The goal for the team was to make a more straight-line-focused car. We created a storyboard that outlined what the Demon should be as a dedicated drag car. We looked at performance goals, horsepower numbers, weight and many other factors that would make the Challenger SRT Demon iconic for the Dodge//SRT brand,” said Wilder. Once the SRT Demon program was greenlighted, Wilder and the dedicated team went to work. 

Being a drag racer himself, Wilder’s influence was all over the Challenger SRT Demon when it was finally launched. “Because of the increased horsepower from the 6.2L supercharged HEMI, I insisted the car needed to come standard with drag radials. We knew traction would be an issue, especially since the car is pumping out over 800 horsepower. So, we wanted to mitigate tire spin as much as possible and with the drag radials and suspension tuning, we were able to set ET records in the nine-second zone, something unheard of from a stock production car,” noted Wilder. When it came time to set those quarter-mile records and get them validated by the NHRA, the SRT team needed a drag racer with legit creds who could hustle a high-horsepower car down the track and that’s when they turned to Wilder. His wealth of drag racing knowledge would be a huge asset to the team. “Back in the day, the Synthesis Engineer drove the test car to validate its performance, and we did that on the Demon. We first headed to Milan Dragway to develop the shock tuning that would optimize suspension travel, weight transfer and tire bite. Our mule car was a standard-body black Challenger Hellcat with the wheel wells sawed off to clear the massive Nitto drag radials. The front end had been crashed when we got the car, so the guys in the shop bolted a red front fascia from another wrecked Challenger and off we went. We nicknamed the test car ‘Rudolph’ for obvious reasons,” laughed Wilder.

A really cool influence Wilder had on the production Challenger SRT Demon was the design of the hood. While the 2015 SRT Hellcat hood was adequate for the power levels of the 707-horsepower engine, the SRT Demon would be a whole new monster. More fresh air was needed to feed the SRT Demon’s hungry HEMI engine. With the increased displacement of the supercharger, the engineers and design team scratched their heads until Wilder, again being the avid drag racer who competed in NMCA Nostalgia Super Stock class, had an idea. “I sent the design team a picture of the hood scoop used on 1968 Super Stock HEMI Darts. I told the team the Demon’s hood scoop should sort of resemble this style,” said Wilder. 

As the development of the Challenger SRT Demon was progressing, Tim Kuniskis, Dodge Brand Chief Executive Officer – Stellantis, moved the goalposts on the performance parameters of the car and challenged the team. To get the ETs down to the nines consistently, the team changed the gear ratio from 2.62 to 3.09. They also went with a looser torque converter to increase the stall by another 400-500 rpm. The TransBrake was added to help the SRT Demon launch harder on a well-prepped track. Kuniskis didn’t just want the SRT Demon to nudge into the forbidden nine-second ET zone, he wanted to kick the door down with the NHRA tech department screaming and kicking all the way and ultimately banning the SRT Demon from officially sanctioned drag strips as any run under 9.99-seconds mandated a host of additional aftermarket safety equipment. “I remember Tim telling us that if the Demon didn’t get into the nines, he’d cancel the program,” remarked Wilder.

So, off the SRT team went, led by Jim Wilder, and the dedicated team loaded up the SRT Demon development car and headed east to Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, AKA “Englishtown” or more affectionately known as “E-Town” among the thousands of racers that frequented this track for over five decades before its closure just a couple of years ago. “It was the fall of 2016, and we were at Englishtown testing. During those early sessions, we broke many parts, including an eight-speed automatic transmission. But that’s part of what testing is all about, to see what works and what needs to be improved for durability,” said Wilder. Later that year, the team headed south to Gainesville Raceway, home of the legendary NHRA Gatornationals. Known as a fast track, and the fact it was late in the year, the weather conditions would be conducive for consistent nine-second runs. With the Dodge brass in attendance, Wilder and the SRT team went to work preparing the SRT Demon for its hero run.

With professional driver Leah Pruett handling some of the driving chores with Wilder, the two flipped a coin to see who’d make the first run down the track. “Leah won the coin toss and went low 9.60s. After she made her runs, then it was my turn. The track was on kill, but Leah only had me by .01 of a second. Despite being heavier than her (Leah), I was able to run a 9.66, just a tick behind Leah’s best pass,” noted Wilder. “Throughout the Gainesville test session, we made multiple runs throughout the day and learned a lot about the Demon. It kept going faster and we knew the team accomplished our goals!”

It wasn’t just horsepower and performance that Wilder had input on. Remember, part of his job as the Synthesis Engineer is to be the voice of the customer. The original plans called for a “spartan interior” devoid of creature comforts in an effort to keep the overall vehicle weight down. But there was one interior component that Wilder insisted should be made of premium materials and have the right feel to it. “The one thing every customer touches when they get into a car is the steering wheel. I wanted the steering wheel to have the feel of a racecar and the Alcantara wheel had the right look and touch. I had this discussion with management over the steering wheel until Tim (Kuniskis) finally agreed and said, ‘If you get the Demon into the nines, I’ll name the steering wheel after you.’ Thus, it became known as the Wild Wheel,” remarked Wilder.

So, the Challenger SRT Demon was born. It ran solid nines and even yanked the front wheels. But Wilder and the team of SRT engineers weren’t done quite yet. They were already working on something more sinister, evil and earth-shattering. We’ll get into that in Confessions of an SRT Test Driver – Part Three!