Earlier this month, Mopar Insiders said it got wind of a special edition Dodge Challenger that would help celebrate the end of the muscle car’s extraordinary production run. Said to have flex-fuel capability that could quaff E85, all MI could glean at the time was that the new Challenger would make more than the Dodge Demon. The Demon, remember, rolled out with 808 horsepower on pump gas but could set fire to a drag strip when filled with 100 octane race gas, which boosted output to 840 hp. When MI rang up “a reliable source” for Stellantis matters on the horn, the outlet asked how much power an eager audience might expect. Given one guess, MI offered “909?” and was apparently right on the first try.
The rationale for guess of 909 horsepower was that the original Hellcats hit the market with 707 hp in 2015, followed by 808 hp in the Demon in 2018.
The output is likely a matter of protecting other Dodge property. The automaker released its Challenger Jailbreak with 807 hp, a conspicuous one horse below the Demon’s stock output on pump gas. A 909-hp figure for the coming special, if that does end up being the number, provides a healthy cushion between it and the 1,000-hp Hellephant crate engine.
Assuming the moonshine jug on Dodge’s Never Lift calendar refers to the ethanol-powered Hellbeast, we’re in for three surprises over the next month. And that doesn’t include the Dodge Hornet PHEV compact hatchback that execs are trying to line up for an August reveal, or the battery-electric muscle car concept that brand chief Tim Kuniskis said he wants to show before the Hornet.
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Source: www.autoblog.com