Dodge's final ICE muscle car produces 1,025 hp, 945 lb-ft, and runs on E85 corn juice.
- Produces 1,025 horsepower and 945 lb-ft of torque on E85
- 0-60 mph in 1.66 seconds
- Quarter-mile of 8.91 seconds at 151.17 mph
- Already banned by the NHRA
- Dodge will produce up to 3,000 units for America
- Priced at $96,666
Here it is, folks: The 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170. It's Dodge's bittersweet farewell to the Hemi muscle car era and rewrites the rulebook on what we thought was possible with internal combustion in the sub $100,000 segment.
Actually, scratch that. At any price, the Demon 170 breaks the mold. Dodge claims a 0-60 mph time of 1.66 seconds, and, if true, it will beat the current fastest accelerating road-legal vehicle, which happens to be a 1,900 horsepower handmade EV that costs $2.2 million.
The Demon 170 is a muscle car in every sense of the definition. An appealing exterior, a stupidly powerful supercharged V8 bolted underneath the hood, a quick-shifting eight-speed automatic gearbox in the middle, and all of the power going to the rear wheels only. But, perhaps most important of all, it's attainable.
It all started during COVID, when 40 people held a socially-distanced meeting in a parking lot, coming up with an entirely new car and not merely a modded SRT Demon.
The MSRP is $99,666, and production will not be as limited as the six other Last Call models. Dodge says it will produce up to 3,300 units, with 3,000 earmarked for America and 300 going to Canada. Dealers selling the car at MSRP will receive priority scheduling, which is the smartest way of doing it we've heard of so far. Still, it won't stop flippers, but if you want one, you'll have to jump. The Chrysler 300C final edition sold out in less than 12 hours, and these will go faster. Thankfully, orders only open on 27 March, so you have a week to convince your significant other.
What we have here is the democratization of speed, which is what John DeLorean wanted when he came up with the concept of the muscle car. Here we have a car that retails for a fifth of the retail price of a Ferrari SF90 Stradale, yet it will sucker punch it in the nads in a straight line.
Even if you aren't a Dodge fan, you have to doff that John Deere cap and give the Demon 170 a bow as it roars past.
Allow us to expand on the figures at the top of the page. We cover the car's technical (nerdy) side in a different article, but here's what you need to know. It's the famous 6.2-liter V8 engine with a modified 3.0-liter supercharger bolted on top. Naturally, Dodge updated various driveline components to cope with the power increase, and that's where the secondary reason for its name comes from. It shares much of its DNA with the famous Hellephant crate engine, which has the codename C170.
Running on premium 91 octane, the supercharged V8 produces 900 horsepower and 810 lb-ft of torque. Fill it up with E85, which the car can detect, and you'll unleash the full 1,025 hp (6,500 rpm) and 945 lb-ft (4,200 rpm) of torque. We're talking 170-proof E85, the primary reason for the name. You can also claim to be environmentally friendly. Running on ethanol, it produces 45% less CO2 than when running on gasoline. Take that, EVs.
With over 1,000 horses unlocked, Dodge says the Demon 170 will blitz to 60 mph in 1.66 seconds, forcing the driver into the seat at 2.004 gs. That's roughly what an F1 driver experiences when accelerating from a standing start. Naturally, this is also a new record.
Instead of claiming a quarter-mile figure, Dodge already had the Demon 170 certified by the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). It's the first factory production car to complete the quarter-mile in under nine seconds, with a time of 8.91 at 151.17 mph.
Since it doesn't have a roll cage or a parachute, the NHRA subsequently banned the Demon 170 from its events. Well done on following in your grandpappy's footsteps, 170.
There is a critical difference between the 2018 Demon and the 2023 Demon 170 (apart from being much faster). Dodge banned black keys; the 170 will only be delivered with two red keys. Demon owners will know the significance of this choice. The 2018 Demon came with a black key, which limited the horsepower. The red key unleashed the full 840 hp. In the Demon 170, the power output will be determined by a sensor picking up the percentage of ethanol in the fuel.
“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 of 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.”
As the seventh and final “Last Call” model, the Demon 170 is surprisingly subtle. The easiest way to tell it apart is the staggered drag radials (another first) and fender flares. At the widebody rear, it comes with Mickey Thompson P315/50R17 ET Street R drag radials, while a set of 245/55R18 ET Street tires keep the weight and rolling resistance down at the front.
Dodge added rear widebody fender flares to hide the fat tires, while the standard Challenger fenders are wide enough to hide the front rubber.
Three features from the original Demon return on the 170. They are the Air-Grabber hood and the Air-Catcher headlamps. Instead of just losing a left inboard eye, the 170 loses both for maximum airflow. The SRT Power Chiller, which uses the air conditioning system to cool the temperature of the intake air, also makes a return.
Dodge updated the famous TransBrake, now accessible via a button on the center console. In simple terms, it allows the driver to set multiple launch profiles depending on the track surface. You can increase the RPM up to 2,350 to maximize a launch.
As before, several driver-assist features return. These include Line Lock (smoky burnouts), Launch Control (launching in a non-competitive environment), and Launch Assist for reducing wheel hop. And yes, the Demon 170 will pop a wheelie.
The Demon 170 ships standard with three driving modes: Custom, Auto, and Drag. In Drag Mode, drivers can control various features, including power, transmission, shift paddles, traction, suspension, and steering. Once again, the mechanical upgrades to the vehicle are pretty substantial, which is why we dedicated an entire article to them.
Dodge will make the 170 available in 14 exterior colors, including heritage hues like B5 Blue, Plum Crazy purple and Sublime green. All colors can be coupled with a Satin Black painted hood or a Satin Black painted hood, roof, and decklid.
A standard SRT badge is pasted to the grille, but the updated Demon badge gets a “170” neck tattoo and yellow eyes. As with every other 2023 Challenger and Charger model, the 170 gets an underhood commemorative plaque. The 170 also receives a unique Demon-themed supercharger badge.
You get a yellow and red Demon instrument panel badge with a four-digit VIN inside, and owners of the original Demon who secure an allocation of the 170 will be able to get a matching VIN. The digital instrument cluster also has model-specific graphics, and the Alcantara steering wheel has an LED “SRT” logo.
A houndstooth cloth interior is standard to reduce weight. Dodge will also remove the passenger seat, rear seats, trunk carpets, and sound insulation and equip the car with a two-speaker sound system.
If that's a bit too hardcore, you'd be better off with the premium interior, which adds Black Alcantara/Laguna leather seats that are heated and ventilated, a heated steering wheel, and an 18-speaker Harman Kardon sound system. Demonic Red Laguna leather seats are available as an option. All interior options have rear seat deletion available.
Dodge is launching the Demon 170 with several parts available via Direct Connection, which we delve into in another article.
Like the Demon, owners must save a waiver “acknowledging the unique characteristics of the Demon 170.” That's because the drag radials can't be used in the cold or the rain, despite being street-legal. Owners will also get a one-day SRT Experience class at Radford Racing School to prepare them for over 1,000 horses. Basically, it's just Dodge covering its ass because it won't be long before some idiot plants this car in a 500-foot palm tree in Florida.
Keyword: 1,025-HP Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 Sucker Punches Electric Hypercars For Under $100k