2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170: A 1,025-HP, 8-Second Goodbye to Gas Muscle Cars
The final ICE Dodge Challenger will outrun a Bugatti Chiron SS at the drag strip.
Well folks, this is it: The end of the line for Dodge's ICE muscle cars. After more than a decade in production and six "Last Call" special models, there's one last hurrah coming: the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170. It's an E85-swilling, supremely supercharged muscle car that's preemptively banned from NHRA drag racing because it can outrun a Bugatti Chiron SS down the quarter mile. And best of all, it does so starting at a price under $100,000.
The Demon 170 gets its name from what Dodge calls "a nearly brand-new engine" based on the meanest Hellephant crate engine, the C170. Before we dive into how it's been upgraded, let's just talk about what it'll do: Zero to 60 mph as quick as 1.66 seconds, pulling two Gs in the process, which Dodge claims is the most of any road-legal production car. It'll rocket down the standing quarter-mile in an NHRA-certified 8.91 seconds (two-tenths quicker than the Chiron SS) at more than 151 mph; enough to get the road-legal Demon 170 banned from drag racing despite its available harness bar and drag chute.
It achieves all this with a heavily upgraded 6.2-liter, supercharged V8 that further improves on the one used in the original SRT Demon (and best of all, doesn't explode). The headlight and hood intakes and air conditioning-cooled air-water intercooler are here again, but the 3.0-liter supercharger comes from the Hellephant and brings along upgrades to increase flow and generate 21 psi of boost. The Demon 170 matches this with high-flow injectors that can dump more fuel into the cylinders than the average U.S. shower head does water, and actively adjust the air-fuel ratio depending on your fuel's ethanol content.
The result on regular 91-octane pump gas (or E10) is 900 horsepower and 810 pound-feet of torque, or on E85, 1,025 hp and 945 lb-ft. They travel through the eight-speed, transmission brake-equipped automatic to a strengthened driveshaft and rear axle to 315-section Mickey Thompson ET Street R drag radials. They're wrapped around either forged aluminum wheels or, optionally, carbon fiber dishes.
Obviously, the suspension is tailored to drag takeoffs too, and Dodge found a way to cut up to 157 pounds as compared to the Hellcat Redeye Widebody. Being the most hardcore Challenger that Dodge will ever sell, it only comes with full-fat red keys—don't valet-park this one.
This final Challenger will be available in a palette of 14 colors, all of them equipped with unique Demon 170 badging and a serial number on the gauge cluster. Existing Demon owners will be able to match the VINs to those of their current cars, too.
Dodge plans to produce no more than 3,300 Demon 170s (3,000 for the U.S., 300 for Canada), and their numbers may be further limited based on production constraints. Pricing starts at $98,261 delivered, and orders open March 27. Dealers will allocations can be found through Dodge's Horsepower Locator on DodgeGarage.com. While dealers themselves are likely rubbing their palms together, Dodge has said that reservations at MSRP will get priority.
Deliveries are expected to start in the fall, closing out the age of the ICE Dodge muscle car by the end of the year. But it may not be the end—not if the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Banshee has anything to say about it.
Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com
