Wow. The end of the world as we know it, the muscle car world that is finally upon us. We had fun fried some tires, blew a lot of smoke. Dodge however shows they know how to do a last call before sending everyone home, with the 1025 horsepower Challenger SRT Demon 170.
This week the final installment of the “Last Call” series of high-performance gas V8 muscle from
Dodge was unveiled at a special event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It’s headliner is a super special build of the 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI V8 capable of 1,025-horsepower and 945 pound-feet of torque on E85 fuel.
That gets you from 0-60 in 1.66 seconds and across a quarter-mile in an NHRA-certified 8.91-seconds at 151.17 mph – acceleration that pushes you into the seat with 2 Gs. Yeah those numbers also get the SRT Demon 170 immediately banned by the NHRA for running a sub-nine-second quarter-mile without a safety cage or parachute. Big middle finger from Dodge to the world on the way out of the bar.
Unlike the lower class Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, there will be on black keys for the babysitter. Here you get only a red key for full power wall to wall, all of the time. The catch? Well the fuel you feed it dictates the output. If you give it only E10 low ethanol fuel, it puts out a respectable 900 horsepower and 810 pound-feet of torque. Just make sure to tell the babysitter what gas to use.
Making it all happen is a thoroughly reworked engine where we’re told only the camshaft is unchanged. Up top is a huge 3.0-liter supercharger with a 3-inch pulley giving a 40% increase in boost to 21.3 psi. It’s backed up with ultra high-flow fuel injectors that can flow 164 gallons of fuel per hour. Holy crap. Yeah, and a larger 105mm throttle body feeds it more air. Added also is the SRT Power Chiller that can cool intake temperature by 45 degrees.
To handle all of that power drive shafts and axles are beefed as is the axle housing we’re told some 53% stronger.
Wheels? Yep it’s got forged aluminum 17 x 11 at the rear with specially crafted Mickey Thompson P315/50R17 ET Streets. At the front, are not quite pizza cutters but smaller 18 x 8-inch wheels with Mickey Thompson 245/55R18 ETs.
Body mods include the removal of the front fender flares to save 17-pounds. You can option carbon fiber wheels from Lacks Enterprises to save an extra 64 pounds. Other weight saving measures include unique front brakes, hollow sway bars, a deleted passenger and rear seat. Trim and sound deadening has been yanked throughout. Minimal cloth seating trim, carpeting and sound system are given. Don’t worry though, you can add a lot of this stuff back in including leather seats all around and Harman Kardon audio if you want it.
Suspension gets the well proven adaptive-damping Bilstein shocks, here tuned for drag racing. Springs are changed up for better weight transfer and it gets an updated drag mode in its performance pages that work the shocks and other settings for maximum launch attitude.
Lastly since this is all about a last call Dodge is giving all customers a commemorative Demon serialized decanter set customized with the VIN number – complete with all the goodies to take the party home in style.
So you want one do you? Production of the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 happens this summer. 3,300 of them will be built. 3,000 for the U.S.A. and 300 for Canada. And yes it costs money, starting at $96,666 plus whatever the dealer wants to rape you for on top of that. Notably, Dodge says that MSRP customer orders will get priority scheduling. We’ll see what that actually looks like.
