---
title: "Dodge Challenger Demon Will Still Run a Sub-10 Second Quarter-Mile on Street Gas"
description: "You don't need 840 horsepower to get kicked off a drag strip for not having a cage."
date: "2017-06-02"
modified: "2017-06-02"
authors:
  - name: "Will Sabel Courtney"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/will-sabel-courtney"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/11088/dodge-challenger-demon-will-still-run-a-sub-10-second-quarter-mile-on-street-gas"
categories:
  - "Dodge News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "Challenger"
  - "Coupe"
  - "demon"
  - "dodge"
  - "Drag Race"
  - "Hellcat"
  - "Quarter Mile"
  - "sports car"
  - "SRT"
---

# Dodge Challenger Demon Will Still Run a Sub-10 Second Quarter-Mile on Street Gas

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/06/dodge-demon-challenger-srt-youtube.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Unlocking the Dodge Challenger Demon's ultimate performance potential requires a bit of work. Specifically, it takes [the Demon Crate](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/8329/dodge-challenger-srt-demon-crate-holds-tools-to-prep-for-the-track>): a $1 package of performance add-ons that includes such features as narrow-gauge drag wheels for the front axle and a powertrain control module that lets it make the full 840 horsepower and 770 pound-feet on 100-octane race gas. So equipped, the [Dodge Demon can blast through the quarter mile in 9.65 seconds](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/9218/the-dodge-challenger-demon-is-an-840-hp-street-legal-drag-car>)—fast enough that [the NHRA won't let you run it in competition without a roll cage](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/9225/the-dodge-demon-is-actually-banned-by-the-nhra-because-of-safety>).

But according to Dodge head Tim Kuniskis, the Challenger Demon can still break the 10-second barrier at the drag strip even outfitted with its foot-plus-wide drag radials on all four corners and a tank full of 91-octane gas.

[Kuniskis admitted as much during an interview with *The Detroit News*](<https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/chrysler/2017/06/02/payne-dodge-demon-challenger-srt/102411302/>), where he spilled the beans about many of the secrets behind the Demon's development. From the beginning, he said, the project was driven by the mantra "nines-with-light"—a cryptic reference to the goal of delivering the world's first muscle car capable of running the quarter-mile in less than 10 seconds in dead-stock form. That single-mindedness, he said, drove every choice the secretive project's managers had to make—for example, leading them to use the money allocated for interior upgrades on an [intake air chiller](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/8781/dodge-challenger-srt-demon-uses-the-ac-to-cool-the-engine>) and a transbrake, instead.

The interview landed on the same day Dodge released a bevy of fun facts and cool stats about the Demon. Among the highlights:

- The aforementioned air chiller cools the incoming air by up to 18 degrees Fahrenheit
- The radiators can process enough heat to boil a quart of water in 1.2 seconds
- During a full-throttle blast, the car's engine breathes enough air to fill the cabin in just 800 feet
- It sucks down 1.36 gallons of gas a minute while making full power
- 62 percent of the engine's components have been changed from the Hellcat motor, including the block, the crankshaft, the pistons, and the supercharger

Also, the whole *Detroit News* story is worth a read, so [click here to check it out for yourself](<https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/chrysler/2017/06/02/payne-dodge-demon-challenger-srt/102411302/>).

https://youtube.com/embed/3vD6A6NxySQ

## Author
Will is the former managing editor of *RIDES Magazine* and the former online editor for *0-60 Magazine*. He has worked for *Time Out New York* and *Rolling Stone*, and was the creator of *College Cars Online*, the first automotive blog specifically targeted at college students and young professionals.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/willsabelcourtney>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/willscourtney>)