After a range of video teasers, the most powerful series production American muscle vehicle in history is ready to show up.
The 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is so powerful that it is basically a collection of automobile superlatives with a large, Nitto street-legal drag radial tyre at every corner. It boasts a 6.2-litre Hemi V8 with a huge supercharger bolted to it. This lifts increase pressure to 14.5 psi, and while doing so, sends out an enormous 840hp and 770 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels. These figures are enough to make it the most powerful production V8 presently on the market.
And that’s just the start. That engine propel the Demon from 0-60mph in a record-breaking 2.3 seconds. Hits 30mph in a single second and has been independently accredited by the National Hot Rod Association as the fastest-ever production car over the quarter mile– 9.65 seconds and a 140mph top speed at the same time.
“With Demon, our objective was to build a car that would tattoo the Dodge logo into the subconscious of the basic market, beyond even our loyal enthusiasts,” stated Tim Kuniskis, Head of Dodge, SRT, Chrysler and Fiat, FCA North America. “To do so, we had to set records that have never been set before, do more than has ever been done before, surpass even the legendary Hellcat.”
And that’s not embellishment. During advancement, it set a Guinness World Record as the first production vehicle to pull a 2.92 feet wheelie on take-off. And to avoid a mechanical crisis, the Demon likewise uses a liquid-to-air intercooler to stop the engine and supercharger from getting too hot.
Ir’s also the very first production car with a secondary cooling system that starts when the car has stopped, bringing the parts in the supercharger and obstruct down to safe functional temperatures in time for the next run.
Maintaining all this performance in check is a transmission brake. Rather than melt the disc brakes attempting to hold revs prior to a race, the car can build up power in the engine while locking the transmission output shaft. So the power provided by the engine doesn’t go to the rear wheels.
But all this efficiency comes at an expense– to comfort at least.
Dodge has had to reject all passenger seats, the soundproofing, carpeting, the stereo and speaker system to name a few things, to cut the vehicle’s weight by 200lbs.
Exactly what’s more, though it will still impress on basic pump gas, to obtain the best from the car’s engine, it will have to be sustained by 100+ unleaded high-octane fuel, which can be difficult to come by.
Still, knowing that Dodge understands some purchasers will want to use the vehicle beyond the track, every seat can be re-installed.
The 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is a single production year vehicle and only 6000 examples are planned– 3000 for the US and an additional 3000 for Canada. First deliveries will start in the fall.
