Meet the 1,025-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170
Final special edition Dodge Challenger packs 1,025 horsepower and runs 8s.
On the evening of Monday, March 20, 2023, the Dodge brand hosted the first Roadkill Nights in Las Vegas and an evening of great drag racing was capped off by the introduction of the ultimate Mopar muscle car – the 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 Last Call special edition model. While this car looks similar to the 2018 SRT Demon in some ways, this new Challenger features a long list of engine and drivetrain features that allow it to be the most powerful American production car and the quickest production road car in the world.
“To celebrate the end of the HEMI muscle-car era, we pulled off all the governors to reach a new level, a new benchmark of ‘factory-crazy’ production car performance,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge brand chief executive officer – Stellantis. “In 2015, Dodge shocked the world with the 707 horsepower Hellcat. Then in 2018 we did it with the 840 horsepower Demon, and now we are doing it again with the 1,025 horsepower Demon 170, the world’s first sustainable-energy, eight-second factory-production, street-legal muscle car.”
To make sure that the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 debut was just as impressive as the 1,025-horsepower muscle car itself, the brand had it flown in and set down on the drag strip, followed by a wheels-up quarter mile exhibition pass by engineer Jim Wilder. It was a debut like no other for a car like no other and today, we bring you all of the key details of the world’s quickest production road car.
This Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 ran an NHRA-certified 8.91 at 151.17 miles per hour and did so with a 1.29 60-foot time, 2.004 Gs of launch force and a 0-60 time of just 1.66 seconds. Those acceleration numbers are all markedly better than the all-wheel-drive Tesla Model S Plaid, which was the previous record-holder for the world’s quickest production car in terms of acceleration.
An Almost All-New 6.2
The most important feature of the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 is the supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi that provides all of that power. While it has the same displacement as the rest of the supercharged Dodge cars, this is not simply the same engine with a bigger supercharged and a fuel system designed to work with ethanol blends. In fact, the camshaft is the only component of the Demon 170 engine that is shared with the 2018 Demon and current Redeye engines.
The engine block of the Demon 170 features billet main caps and unique machining for stronger fasteners, leading to 44% more clamping power than the Redeye and 2018 Demon block. When running at peak boost on E85, the Demon 170 creates over 2,500 pounds of cylinder pressure, up 32% from the 2018 Demon, so the extra clamping force is needed. The team then filled that block with new pistons, rods, crankshaft, bushings and bearings that are stronger than what has been used in the past, making the bottom end of the engine more durable with the added internal loads when making 1,025 horsepower and 945 lb-ft of torque.
On the top end of the engine, the 3.0-liter IHI supercharger from the Hellephant crate engine series is the star of the show, sporting a 3.02-inch pulley. This leads to a 40% increase in boost pressure over the Redeye, with 21.3 pounds of boost leading to peak power in the Demon 170. A 105 millimeter throttle body provides the air flow and a set of massive fuel injectors work with a fast-response ethanol sensor to feed the hungry Hemi. The Demon 170 makes peak power on E85, but it will run on anything between E10/93-octane premium gasoline to E85. When the system senses an alcohol content of at least 65%, full power us unlocked, but when running on lower ethanol levels, this Challenger still delivers 900 horsepower and 810 lb-ft of torque.
Between that big blower and the stronger engine block is a set of cylinder heads that feature a unique fastening system, nitride-coated intake valves and upgraded valve guide and seat material that is better suited for use with ethanol blends. The fastener system has steel inserts in the aluminum heads where the near head studs are located, allowing the load of the head studs to contact the steel inserts rather than directly contacting the aluminum head material.
The Strongest Drivetrain
The engineering team knew that everything downstream of the 1,025-horsepower Hemi would need to be much stronger, so all of the drivetrain components of the 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 are new or significantly upgraded.
The Demon 170 uses the same ZF 8HP90 transmission as the other supercharged Dodge Challengers, but the TransBrake system has been revised for easier use and the output flange has been upgraded to accept a larger drivetrain. That larger driveshaft is larger in diameter and has thicker tube walls, along with larger CV joints, making it 30% stronger than the 2018 Demon driveshaft.
Out back, the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 has a new differential housing that is made by Hot Isostatic Pressing, which removes the weak points that come with cast metal, featuring a new geometry, larger rear-cover mounts and increased case depth, all working together to be 53% stronger than the 2018 Demon differential. Inside that case is a 240-millimeter ring-and-pinion gear, 43-spline half shafts that are stronger than the other axles used in factory Dodge products.
Finally, putting the power to the ground is a set of 18×11-inch aluminum wheels wrapped in Mickey Thompson ET Street Rs measuring 315/50/17, but more importantly, buyers can opt for a new carbon fiber wheel package that cuts almost 12 pounds out back and more than 20 pounds up front. These wheels use an aluminum center section held to a carbon fiber barrel with titanium fasteners, helping to reduce unsprung weight by a significant amount.
A Lighter Muscle Car
The 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 is 157 pounds lighter than a similarly-equipped Challenger SRT Redeye Widebody. In addition to the lightweight carbon fiber wheels, the Demon 170 also has lightweight brakes, hollow sway bars, a single-seat interior, lightweight interior carpeting, less sound insulation, a two-speaker audio system and no front flares. Aside from the wheels and lack of front flares, the other difference between the 2018 Demon and the 2023 Demon 170 is the badging and the “Alcohol Injected” font on the hood scoop insert. Oh, and since it goes over 150 in the quarter mile, the NHRA requires a parachute, which is offered by Direct Connection, along with a harness bar and a carbon fiber rear seat delete panel.
Dodge plans to build 3,300 examples of the 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170, with 3,000 for the United States and 300 for Canada. The MSRP in the United States (without Gas Guzzler Tax and Destination Fee) is $96,666. There is no other production road car sold in the world with over 1,000 horsepower or anywhere near $100,000, with most four-figure-power cars starting around a million dollars.
The 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 officially went on sale on Monday, March 27, but if you didn’t have an allocation secured already, the odds are good that you won’t find one. If you do find one available at this point, be prepared to spend way over MSRP, with some dealers asking $200,000 over MSRP or more.
