In August 2022, Stellantis announced that production of the Challenger, Charger, and Chrysler 300 would be ending after the 2023 model year. In order to recognize the end of the era for the Challenger, a series of “Last Call” editions were subsequently launched in limited production volumes.
Speed Demon – Literally
One of those cars was the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170. Dodge’s website says, “Zero BS. With next-level engineering, the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 features the first-ever 1,025-horsepower production HEMI engine, making it the fastest vehicle ever produced in the brand’s 100-year history.”
The spec sheet for this machine is eye-opening. Here are some of the car’s performance credentials:
- 1,025 Total Horsepower at 6,500 RPM
- 945 LB-FT of Torque at 4,200 RPM
- Worlds Quickest 0-60 Production Car at 1.66 Seconds
- Highest G-Force Acceleration of any Production Car at 2.004 Gs
- History’s First-Ever Eight-Second Factory Muscle Car. 8.91-Seconds ET at 151.17 mph
Just 1.6 seconds to 60 miles per hour. Hold on to your hats!
Challenger History
The Challenger has a lengthy history of performance in the Dodge family. It was first launched on the Chrysler E platform in 1970 using architecture that was shared in part with the Plymouth Barracuda.
The current generation dates back to 2008. Of course, the car went through its fair share of year-over-year updates and facelifts, but the general platform carried through. Among the biggest advancements over the Challenger’s 15-year-run was the introduction of the SRT (Street & Racing Technology) Hellcat series, which took handling, acceleration, and braking to ever-increasing levels of performance.
Barrett-Jackson Featured Challenger
On display – and up for sale – at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction in January 2024 was Lot Number 803.1, a 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170. In the video below Luke Lamendola and I highlighted the car just prior to its sale. Luke is a prior owner of a high-performance Challenger, having owned a Scat Pack previously. “There is so much of a fun-factor when you drive those cars,” he said.
The featured car was finished in an aptly-named “Destroyer Gray” over “Demonic Red.” Needless to say, this car did appear to have evil tendencies, which was understandable with a 1,000-plus-horsepower powertrain. It showed just 18 miles on the odometer and came well-equipped with features including Line Lock, Launch Assist, and the SRT Power Chiller which diverts air-conditioned air to the supercharger for optimized performance. Creature comforts were not overlooked, since the car also came with ventilated front seats, a suede headliner, and a Harmon/Kardon 18-speaker audio system.
The best soundtrack of all came from the car’s 6.2-liter supercharged HEMI V8 with a 3.0-liter supercharger. Of course, the challenge with an excess of power like this was channeling it all to the ground. With that in mind, the engineering team added an aerospace-grade differential, adaptive-damping shock absorbers for stability, and sticky Mickey Thompson drag radials.
As Luke and I discussed in the video, this Challenger SRT has “Future Collector” written all over it. What do you think of the $220,000 price it brought? As the old saying goes, good luck finding another one!
Source: www.classiccars.com