Dodge has officially unveiled all the details on the
2018 Challenger Demon drag car. The car has 840 hp and 770
lb-ft of torque from its supercharged 6.2L HEMI V8 engine.
Dodge says this is
the highest horsepower V8 production car engine ever made. Dodge also says that
this is the first production car ever able to lift its front tires 2.92-feet
into the air at launch and is certified by the Guinness World Records folks.
Compared to the Hellcat’s engine, the Demon uses a
2.7-litre supercharger rather than 2.4-litre one, has a higher rev limit of
6500 rpm, has two dual-stage fuel pumps instead of one, has increased boost
pressure (up from 11.6psi to 14.5psi), and is capable of running on both 91-
and 100-octane fuel.
The car can run the quarter mile in 9.65 seconds at
140 mph stock and is certified by the NHRA. The Demon’s engine also has a
larger induction air box sucking in air from the Air-Grabber bonnet scoop, the
Air-Catcher headlight on the driver’s side, and an unnamed inlet near the wheel
liner.
There’s also the Power Chiller, which diverts
air-conditioning refrigerant to a chiller unit for coolant heading to the
supercharger’s heat exchangers. The After-Run Chiller keeps the coolant pump
and engine cooling fan running even after the car has been turned off, and can
inform the driver of when the supercharger is back to its optimum temperature.
Drive is delivered to the rear wheels via an
upgraded eight-speed automatic transmission. The new TransBrake system aims to
aid the driver with standing starts by locking the transmission shaft, allowing
the engine to hit 2350 rpm without overwhelming the brakes.
The car can run on 100+ octane race fuel or normal
fuel. It also has a production car first TransBrake for launches. The car can
run 0-60 mph in 2.3 seconds and has a 1.8g acceleration force. It’s hard to believe
that sort of performance can come from a car with a factory 3/36k bumper to
bumper warranty and a 5/60k powertrain warranty.
The Demon rides on Bilstein Adaptive Damping shocks
and 18-inch wheels with 315/40 Nitto NT05R street-legal drag racing tyres. The
suspension setup include softer springs, and lighter, hollow sway bays.
Dodge has stripped over 90 kg from the Hellcat to
create the Demon. Items junked include the front passenger’s seat, rear seats,
audio system, boot trim, parking sensors, and electronic steering adjustment.
Buyers can opt to reinstate the front passenger’s
seat, rear seats, and boot carpets for a dollar each. Other options include a
900W 19-speaker Harmon Kardon sound system, sunroof, heated and ventilated
leather front seats, and a satin black bonnet, roof and boot lid.
All of these upgrades are good enough to send the
coupe from 0-60 mph in 2.3 seconds, which Dodge claims makes it the
world’s fastest production by that metric.
Demon owners have three driving modes — Street, Drag
and Custom — to select from, and these settings can alter the amount of power
and torque available, transmission calibration, suspension tune, paddle shifter
usage, stability control setup, and the availability of certain features,
including the Power Chiller and TransBrake.
The Uconnect infotainment system can also be setup
to display pages of performance and vehicle information, including power and
torque graphs, instantaneous and peak g-force figures, various temperature and
pressure gauges, current boost pressure, and 0-60 mph, 0-100 mph, quarter mile
and vehicle timings.
The Demon will be produced only for the 2018 model
year, with output limited to 3000 cars for the USA, and 300 for Canada.
Deliveries of the Challenger SRT Demon begin in the third quarter of 2017.