The Demon may be back in the aging Dodge Challenger stable with the new 170 version that is more powerful than ever and sports many other improvements. But its predecessor remains a sought-after machine with enough grunt to make you dizzy whenever you abuse the right pedal.
Valued at a small fortune in today’s used car market, the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon was pretty much born for drag racing. It is a 9-second car down the quarter mile, with the Stellantis-owned brand quoting 9.65 seconds in perfect conditions with an exit speed of 140 mph or 225 kph.
Mind you, achieving that time takes lots of practice and some elbow grease because you will have to replace some components and fill the tank with E85 fuel. Only then the 6.2-liter supercharged V8 will pump out 840 horsepower and 770 pound-feet (1,042 Nm) of torque. The stock demon is about as fast as a Bugatti Chiron to 60 mph (97 kph), with the sprint time taking 2.3 seconds, according to the spec sheet.
The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon stayed in production for one year and left the assembly line for good in 2018. Only 3,300 units were made, and it’s unknown how many still exist. The used car market hosts numerous crashed examples in addition to those in top-notch condition. And if you know where to look, then you could land one with a jaw-dropping amount of power that makes the original Bugatti Veyron seem underpowered.
Although it’s not for sale, the one pictured in the gallery above has tapped into its hyper side. The social media post embedded below claims it has over 1,300 horsepower at the crank, which is roughly 500 hp more than the stock one. AL13 Wheels, which is responsible for giving it its 15 minutes of fame online, hasn’t said anything about the modifications, limiting the caption to the 20-inch alloys with wide lips and a custom finish. The vehicle is owned by a businessman with fine taste in fast and pricey rides, and it appears to breathe the same air as other high-end machines that are part of his collection.
Before rounding it off, we will remind you that you can still buy a new Challenger SRT Demon 170. Production of the latest and final Demon variant will also be capped at 3,300 copies, and it’s unknown how many are still available. The order books opened three months ago, and the muscle car carries a devilish MSRP of $96,666. Almost entirely new, the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine produces 1,025 and 945 lb-ft (1,281 Nm) on E85, allowing it to sprint to 60 mph (97 kph) in a neck-snapping 1.66 seconds, meaning that it can humiliate cars such as the Tesla Model S Plaid on a good day.
