The Fastest Muscle Car Yet: Dodge’s 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 is a Beast on the Road and Track

Dodge is bidding farewell to their Hemi V8 muscle cars, but not without one last hurrah. Enter the 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170, a production car that can give the Tesla Model S Plaid a run for its money with a mind-boggling 0-60 mph time of just 1.66 seconds.

Under the bulging “Air-Grabber” hood lies an upgraded supercharger, throttle body, and pulley that increases boost pressure by a staggering 40 percent compared to the Challenger Hellcat Redeye Widebody. The Demon 170 is at its best when fueled by E85, generating an earth-shattering 1,025 hp and 945 lb-ft of torque.

On E10 fuel, it still manages to put out an impressive 900 hp and 810 lb-ft of torque.

But the upgrades don’t stop there. Dodge has reinforced the driveline with a stronger rear differential, prop shaft, and half shafts, while equipping the car with special street-legal drag tires.

The Demon 170 even uses cold air from the air conditioning system to cool the supercharger intercooler, resulting in maximum performance at the drag strip.

Dodge’s engineers also added tuned adaptive dampers to aid with weight transfer, and introduced TransBrake 2.0 technology that helps drivers dial in preset torque limits. All of these enhancements have led to some impressive drag strip times, with the Demon 170 clocking in an NHRA-certified quarter-mile time of 8.91 seconds at a speed of 151.17 mph.

“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’s CEO.

But don’t expect to see too many of these on the road. Dodge plans to produce just 3,300 Demon 170s, with 3,000 for the US and 300 for Canada. The starting price in the US is a steep $96,666, and buyers must sign a waiver acknowledging that they are purchasing a street-legal drag-racing car.

As the Hemi muscle-car era draws to a close, the Demon 170 is the ultimate tribute to the power and performance that defined an era. It’s a car that pushes the limits of what’s possible, and it’s sure to be a hit with muscle-car enthusiasts around the world.