The city of New York and its suburbs are said to be possessed by a demonic force. And that happens to be the sinister Challenger SRT Demon unleashed by Dodge.
When Dodge launched the sinister 707-horsepower Challenger and Charger Hellcats, little did we realize there is scope for a more powerful and crazier version. That's also why we weren't expecting a whole lot from the multitude of teasers and hints Dodge dropped since the beginning of the year. Boy, were we wrong!
Digest these numbers - 840 whopping horsepower, ridiculous 1044 Nm of torque, acceleration from 0 to 60 mph in a 'blink-and-you-miss' 2.1 seconds (on a regulation drag strip) and a quarter mile run in a crazy 9.65 seconds at 140 mph.
If your mind isn't numb looking at those, here are some more to chew on. With competent hands behind the wheel, this car can pull a wheelie from a dead stop. The Demo holds a Guinness World Record for pulling off the longest wheelie for a production car at 2.92 feet. That's 35 inches with the front wheels off the ground!
Responsible for these astounding numbers is the supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V8 from the Hellcat that's been significantly tweaked. There is a larger 2.7-liter supercharger that turns the boost up to 14.5 psi, a Power Chiller system has been designed that uses the car's air conditioning to cool the air coming in through the 'Air Grabber' (said to be the largest functional hood scoop ever on a production car) and an after-run cooler is used to bring the supercharger's temperature down once the engine is shut off. The pistons and connecting rods have been strengthened and dual fuel pumps are employed to feed the engine.
That's not all. The rest of the mechanicals have gone through changes too. The driveline has been fully upgraded employing a high-strength steel propshaft that can handle 15 percent more torque, a rear differential that can handle upto 30 percent more and high-strength steel halfshafts that can handle upto 20 percent more. The Demon gets a Trans Brake system that locks the transmission output shaft in order to hold the car for best possible launches. Then, there are the grippy 315 section tires on all four wheels for best possible traction from the word go.
For true drag strip outings, Dodge offers a crate of goodies containing skinny front wheels and tires, jack, wrench, tire pressure gauge and an air compressor. The best part is the crate is designed to fit in the car's trunk. Talk about attention to detail.
Hot rods don't get hotter than this. This car is factory-built to race on drag strips but the American National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) seem to disagree. Why, you wonder? Well, the car is just too fast (quarter mile time under 10 seconds and exit speed of 140 mph) and doesn't come with a roll cage. It's ironic that the Demon is banned from doing exactly what it was built to do.
Dodge has taken light-weighting to an altogether different level as the Demon is stripped off literally everything that's not needed to move the car. Yes, the car is devoid of even the passenger seat and the rear bench. Both are $1 options and so are a 19-speaker Harmon Kardon stereo system, floor mats and trunk carpets.
Think of an American muscle car and your mind processes vivid images of an automobile that looks menacing and sexy. The Challenger, even in it's regular form, meets that perception to the tee and the SRT Demon is no different. The car looks absolutely smashing.
Unlike some supercars that are restricted to race tracks, the Challenger SRT Demon is completely street-legal and can be bought with a 3-year vehicle and a 5-year powertrain warranty. When it goes on sale later this year, prices are expected to hover less than $100,000, a fraction of what supercars with similar levels of performance retail for.
Only 3,300 of these would be built with 3,000 allocated for the United States of America and 300 for Canada.
If grabbing headlines is what Dodge and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) intended to do with the Demon, they have succeeded big time. Let's now see if this helps them sell more of their regular cars.
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