DETROIT –
Dodge’s ultimate gas-powered muscle car won’t leave the road without some squeal, thunder, and lightning speed.
The 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 will deliver 1,025 horsepower from a 6.2-liter turbocharged V-8, and the automaker says it will be the fastest production car produced.
Stellantis, founded in 2021 by combining Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Peugeot, says it can accelerate from zero to 60 mph (97 km per hour) in a fearsome 1.66 seconds, making it faster than Tesla’s and Lucid’s electric supercars.
It’s what the performance brand from Stellantis calls the last of a series of rumbling cars that for decades have been a staple of American culture on Saturday night excursions. across the country.
Stellantis will discontinue production of petrol versions of the Dodge Challenger and Charger as well as the large Chrylser 300 sedan later this year, due to stricter government fuel economy regulations and a rapid transition to the vehicle. electricity to combat climate change.
The Canadian plant that makes all three cars will be retooled to produce electric versions of the larger vehicles starting next year. Stellantis hasn’t said if all three models will still exist, but it introduced an electric muscle car, the Charger Daytona SRT in August.
Tim Kuniskis, CEO of the Dodge brand and unofficial spokesman for the US gas-powered rubber car, says that, while he will miss the traditional muscle, he is very proud. interested in building electrically efficient vehicles.
“It’s the end of an era, for sure,” he said Monday. “Electric products, they’re fast. Muscle cars, one of the key components is to accelerate fast. So I automatically got the power. Now I just need to figure out how to bring it all back. among other things that make up the excitement of the driving experience.”
Since last summer, Dodge has been rolling out powerful special edition “Last Call” versions of its gas-powered muscle cars, culminating in a Monday night event to show off the Challenger Demon. 170 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The new Challenger Demon, a descendant of an automobile first sold in 1969, also produces 945 pound-feet of torque, or rotational force — so much power that the company had to beef up the all-wheel drive shafts. rear and differential made of aerospace-grade metal.
According to Stellantis, this car will be the first production vehicle to run a quarter-mile (0.40 km) in under nine seconds – 8.91 seconds to be exact. To do that, it reached speeds of more than 151 mph (243 km/h). Horsepower and speed depend on the amount of ethanol present in the fuel.
It only goes 13 miles per gallon in the city and 21 miles on the highway, but anyone who buys one will certainly care even as the world is dealing with climate change.
That’s a relatively small number of cars, Kuniskis says, and he says the ethanol they burn is cleaner than gasoline. Dodge will have produced 2 million muscle cars by the time production of the petrol versions ends on December 31, he said. Dodge followers deserve to be celebrated, he said.
“After all these years, we owe it to them as well as ourselves to celebrate this end and give them something that generates a lot of pride in the brand they love,” he said.
The Demon 170 is street-legal, though it comes with wide racing tires. To make it an everyday driver, the company is offering a smaller, more street-friendly package of wheels and tires.
At $96,666, the car comes standard with just the driver’s seat and basic radio. But it has air conditioning. Front and rear passengers are optional for US$1 each. You can also get better leather, sunroof and sound system.
Stellantis will only produce a maximum of 3,300 units, and Kuniskis is not sure if they will reach that number due to possible component shortages and limited production time.
If previous limited edition models are any indication, the Demon 170 will immediately become a collector’s classic, says Kuniskis.
“If you look at some of the cars we’ve owned before, it’s pretty easy to see which one people want to collect,” he said. “A lot of times, it’s lower (sales) volume, extreme for example, whether its extreme looks or extreme performance. Well, this one happens to have both.”
