2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon: 1,025 HP And 0-60 In 1.66 Seconds

Apparently a Dodge Challenger that can wheel (and wheelie) through the quarter mile in 9.65 seconds wasn’t enough for Dodge brand CEO Tim Kuniskis. As the mastermind behind the previous Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, Kuniskis brought to market the most extreme, fire-breathing muscle car to ever land in a dealer showroom. The Demon was the first production car with a drag car transbrake. The first production car with a special tune to run on 100+ octane fuel. The first production car to use its air conditioning to cool the engine. The first production car to do 0-60 in 2.3 seconds. And the first production car to run the ¼-mile in under 10 seconds after pulling the aforementioned wheelie off the starting line.

But apparently it wasn’t enough.

So now comes the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170, a 1025-horsepower, ethanol-burning, parachute-deploying dragster capable of 0-60 in 1.66 seconds and quarter miles runs in an NHRA-certified 8.91 seconds. And despite those record-breaking numbers, this one still wears a license plate and will be sold through your local Dodge dealership.

This latest (and last, for real this time) Demon features the same 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V8 found under the hood of the previous hellspawn, but every aspect of the engine (except the camshaft) has been altered to deal with the Demon 170’s additional 185 horsepower and 171 pound feet of torque. The supercharger size has been increased from 2.7 liters to 3.0 liters, the fuel rail and injectors are improved for higher flow, and the head studs are stronger. The main bearings, rod bearings and connecting rods have all been upgraded, while the rear differential housing is 53 percent stronger and the 8-speed automatic’s prop shaft is 30 percent larger.

While nearly every aspect of the driveline has been enhanced, several items from the previous Demon return. These include the Power Chiller, which is Dodge’s name for the air conditioning system that can be set to cool the engine instead of passengers (a production car first). Other Demon 1.0 features making a return appearance include the transbrake (another production car first), though this TransBrake 2.0 has an improved interface, making it far easier to use when the Demon 170 is lined up and staged at the dragstrip. The Demon’s staggered wheel stance, with thinner wheels up front and wider wheels in back, also returns, but with a twist…

The new Demon 170 features optional carbon-fiber wheels, lowering unsprung and rotating weight by over 30 pounds. These wheels feature yet another production car first, a high-tech design using forged aluminum centers merged with carbon fiber spokes and outer barrels. Beyond improving the Demon 170’s acceleration they look quite exotic. The new, 11-inch wide rear wheels wear Mickey Thompson 315/50R17 drag slicks. The front wheels are narrower and wear 245/55R18 tires. And yes, the new Demon can still lift the front wheels off the ground during its 2 g starting line launch.

All of these engineering feats, done in the name of sub-9-second quarter mile runs, are impressive. But the Demon 170’s most impressive piece of engineering is its ability to leverage corn-alcohol based fuel to increase horsepower. The supercharged V8 makes an impressive 880 horsepower on 91 octane pump gas, then bumps that number to 900 hp and 810 pound feet of torque on E10, or 10 percent ethanol (common at many gas station pumps). But feed the Demon E85 race fuel, featuring 85 percent ethanol, and the numbers jump to 1,025 hp and 941 lb-ft of torque. And if you’re wondering where the 170 comes from in the new Demon’s name, it’s the “proof” of 85 percent ethanol fuel (85 x 2).

The Demon 170’s advanced fuel system constantly analyzes the fuel in the car’s tank and recalibrates the engine tune for maximum power. No need to manually test the ethanol percentage and retune the engine (a common procedure for many performance cars running flex-fuel ethanol systems). This means the Demon will always be making maximum power based on what is flowing through the fuel system at any moment.

Dodge says it intends to produce 3,000 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170s for the U.S. market and 300 for Canada, the same production numbers for the 2018 Demon. The new version will be available in 14 exterior colors, including fan favorites like B5 blue, Plum Crazy purple and Sublime green. It will have a choice of standard cloth or upgraded leather upholstery, including Demonic red leather, as with the last car. And Dodge’s Direct Connection performance division will offer numerous race options, such as a carbon fiber partition between the cabin and trunk area and the previously-referenced parachute (required by NHRA for sub-9-second drag cars).

Starting price for the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 is $96,666, with production set for June and deliveries beginning in July.