Wednesday 12th April 2017

840hp Dodge Challenger SRT Demon revealed

Built to be king of the strip!

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For weeks Dodge had been teasing snippets of info about the Challenger Demon. Now at a time when America's President wants to make the country great again, the chaps at Dodge seem to have made the Challenger that much greater. 707hp isn't that special anymore, especially when you can get it in a Jeep Grand Cherokee, so the Demon's 6.2-litre supercharged Hemi has had 25 components uprated allowing for 840hp and 770lb ft.

Down at the drag strip, numbers rules and the Demon has all the best numbers: 0-60mph in 2.3 seconds, a 9.65-second quarter-mile at 140mph and a longitudinal 1.8g - the highest g-force ever recorded at launch in a production car. The car also boasts a list of industry firsts, but aren't to do with safety or efficiency or anything remotely worthy: it's the first production car to lift its front wheels on launch (by 2.92 feet) and it has been banned by the National Hot Rod Association for being too fast for the drag strip...

Drag racing isn't all about massive power figures though, as weight also comes into it - and the engineers have stripped just over 90kg from the car by removing the front and rear passenger seats, the sound system, the carpets and a lot of the sound deadening. Parking sensors have been eliminated too (who wants to reverse a drag car?) and switching to all-aluminium four-piston calipers and lightweight wheels has removed precious further kilos. Or pounds, rather. There is option to buy back the seats and boot carpet for $1 each.

Those power figures are useless if they can't be transferred to the tarmac though, so Dodge has installed Drag Mode launch assist to avoiding wheel hop; furthermore the suspension has been calibrated to push as much weight to the rear tyres for maximum traction, while also allowing for a soft rebound at the front when the wheels leave the ground. 315-section Nitto road legal radial drag tyres have been added as standard, with optional skinny 'front runner' wheels as part of the Demon Crate are available to lower the weight up front. Ahead of phasing the car, Dodge has included a 'TransBrake' that locks the output shaft allowing the driver to increase revs ahead of the launch.

After those incredible drag runs, the SRT Power Chiller helps redirect refrigerant from the air conditioning unit to cool the charge air cooler and as soon as the engine is turned off, the After-Run Chiller will keep the cooling fan and the low-temperature circuit coolant pump running.

The styling of the Demon is wilder than the Hellcat with the largest bonnet scoop of any production car and wider - much wider - arches to fit the tyres. The Demon Crate is said to fully unleash the potential of the car by calibrating the engine for high-octane fuel (100+), adding a conical air filter and those special skinny tyres, as well as a host of Demon-branded track tools with a foam storage bag.

3,300 Demons will be produced with only 300 heading to Canada and the rest staying in the US; best get friendly with your importers if you want to get your hands on one!

[Gandahar]

I am seeing more and more Teslas around Sevenoaks, Kent

I's rather see more and more of these around Sevenoaks, Kent.

I fear they are too busy doing middle aged Swingers parties though.



PS Can you buy electronic rat poison for electric cars from Homebase?