► New Dodge Challenger SRT Demon
► It’s a Hellcat in a Challenger body
► ‘New 0-60mph production car record’
Dodge has come up with a great way to corner the world’s attention at the 2017 New York International Auto Show – with what’s claimed to be the fastest production car on the planet.
The new 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon has set records tumbling left, right and centre, thanks to its 6.2-litre Hemi V8 developing a supercharged 840bhp and 770lb ft. And, yes, that power output is a V8 production car record…
Our full guide to the 2017 New York auto show
So how fast is the Dodge Demon?
Quick enough that the National Hot Rod Association has banned it from competing; parent company FCA claims it’s the world’s fastest quarter-mile sprinter on sale today.
These are the raw figures:
- 0-62mph 2.3 seconds
- Quarter mile 9.65sec
- Closing speed 140mph
- 0-30mph 1.0sec
Wow… That’s supercar-beating!
Indeed. It’s so fast, that Dodge freely admits it’ll pull a 2.92ft wheelie under a full-bore standing start. Rather than seeing this as a design flaw, it is indeed trumpeting this with a Guinness World Record.
This photo below shows the wheelie in progress (note the thin, dragster-style front rims attached for this publicity stunt).
The V8 is upgraded from duty in the Hellcat, with a larger supercharger running a higher 14.5psi boost, a liquid-to-air intercooler and the redline is raised to 6500rpm. The ignition is designed to run on 100+ high-octane unleaded.
Yes, but will it handle?
We’ll have to wait for our first drive to check, but Dodge is quoting a steep 1.8g acceleration force from a standing start (another production car record).
In case you couldn’t tell, the new Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is something of an animal. Which might explain why it’s the only production car sold by a mainstream brand with a front passenger seat delete box on the order form.
‘With Demon, our goal was to build a car that would tattoo the Dodge logo into the subconscious of the general market, beyond even our loyal enthusiasts,’ said Dodge US chief Tim Kuniskis. ‘To do so, we had to set records that have never been set before, do more than has ever been done before, go beyond even the legendary Hellcat. The result: an 840-horsepower, 9-second muscle car unlike anything that has ever come before it.’
Just 3300 limited-edition Demons will be sold: 10% will be sold in Canada, the rest in the US. Every one of them will qualify for a day’s tuition at a performance driving centre – presumably to make sure they don’t accidentally wheelie off into the distance once they tear off the shopping mall.
More from the 2017 New York motor show