The Challenger SRT Demon will go on the market with 840 horsepower and 770 pound-feet of torque, the ultimate halo car that car buffs across the country have been awaiting for months from Dodge.
“This is a car unlike anything we’ve ever done,” Tim Kuniskis, head of passenger car brands for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, said as he reveled the car before about 500 fans and members of the media ahead of the New York International Auto Show. “This car, for the people who race it, who build it and develop it will share that pride across more than a track. Demon is another halo that will transcend a core group of enthusiasts.”
The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is an 840 horsepower, 770 pound-feet of torque street racing machine that hits 60 mph in 2.3 seconds and the quarter mile in 9.65 seconds. It is the fastest production car in the world. Only 3,300 will be built and sold in North America. Dodge said the Demon is the world’s fastest 0-60 production car: It can get there in 2.3 seconds. And from 0-30 m.p.h: 1 second.
Olivier Francois, Fiat Chrysler’s chief marketing officer, talked about Dodge’s partnership with its cars that have appeared in the “Fast and Furious” movies and then brought rapper Wiz Khalifa to the stage. Then, after the Demon screamed across giant stage in a demonstration of its drag-racing prowess, actor Vin Diesel, star of those movies, walked onto the stage.
“As you know, I have been related to the Dodge family for some time now,” Diesel said. “Cars like Demon are why I’m proud to be the new ambassador of Dodge.”
The car is barely street legal. In fact, it’s basically designed to be driven – rather than hauled – to the local drag strip. To save weight, Dodge removed the front passenger seat and the rear seat. Customers can still buy them as options – for $1 each. It also consumes premium gasoline and won’t run so well on regular gas. Fuel-economy figures were not provided. Among the unique options: “Front-runner” wheels for use at drag strips, a foam case for those wheels and track tools to help the owner change the wheels.
Production of the limited-edition, single-model-year Challenger SRT Demon is to begin this summer, with 3,000 planned for the U.S. and 300 for Canada. Deliveries to Dodge/SRT dealers will begin this fall.
The Dodge Demon will appeal to only a small number of buyers but will be of interest to car enthusiasts everywhere. It fits squarely into the strategic direction of the Dodge brand, which is to epitomize an “American performance brand.”
