2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon
Specifications
Engine: HEMI Demon V8 engine
Displacement: 6.2L
Horsepower: 840hp at 6,300RPM
Torque: 770 ft-lbs at 6,500RPM
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Top speed: 168 mph
0-60 mph: 2.3 seconds
The Dodge Dart was not intended to be a muscle car when it was introduced in 1960. By 1970, when sales for muscle cars had skyrocketed, Dodge entered the market with the Dart “Swinger” GTS, and in 1971, the Dart Demon. Originally, Dodge utilized a version of Plymouth’s popular Valiant-based fastback Duster, dubbing the car the Beaver. However, soon after Chrysler’s marketing department learned that their name choice was CB slang for a part of the female anatomy, the vehicle was renamed the “Dart Demon.” Although the name was innocent enough – the historic reasoning behind the name was in correspondence with getting people to come in for a look at the car, as in “Come in for a Demon-stration” – many Christian groups objected to the Demon nameplate when it was attached to the car in 1971, and further objected to the smiling devil and pitchfork emblem that appeared on the vehicle.
The latest incarnation of the Demon is a mega-power drag-race special, the first street-legal production car that can lift its front wheels off the ground under hard acceleration. This car has the highest horsepower of any production car, highest g-force of any production car, and is the world’s fastest production car, able to accelerate from 0-60 mph in just 2.3 seconds, and able to cover a quarter mile in 11.7 seconds. In fact, the SRT Demon is so fast at the strip that it’s actually been banned by the National Hot Rod Association, which ironically also certified its record-setting performances. The car is so quick, it requires additional safety equipment to legally race at NHRA-governed facilities, including items like a roll cage and racing harness. Constructed with a wide air-grabber hood scoop that induces over 1,000 cubic-feet of air per minute, the engine is wider than the SRT Hellcat engine and modified by 97 new parts. The car is designed to run on 100+ unleaded high-octane fuel. The world is a little more progressive these days, so hopefully the name won’t offend anyone this time around.
