Autoblog’s Reese Counts heads to Martin, Michigan, to get behind the steering wheel of the 840 horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. The Demon shows its true powers on the drag strip. For more coverage of the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, Check out Autoblog’s coverage, here:
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[CAR REVS]
REESE COUNTS: [LAUGHS]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[VOCALIZING]
Hi, everybody. Reese Counts from Autoblog here. Today, we are at US-131 Motorsports Park in Western Michigan to drive that, the 808, or 840-horsepower, Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. Now, Dodge has a long and storied history of building performance cars, and while competitors like the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro have moved more into the sports car territory, Dodge has stayed true to that drag-racing muscle car root.
We're really excited to be here. I've been looking forward to driving this for a long time. So let's go get some runs in on the drag strip.
[LAUGHS]
After that first run, all I can do was giggle and laugh. Like, it was one of the best experiences of my life, even though it was a matter of 15 seconds for the whole thing. Nothing I've ever done has excited me quite like this. Watching the Demon's quite a precise thing. So after the first run, all I wanted to do was try it again.
[CAR REVS]
I've driven a lot of really fast cars Nothing I've ever driven accelerates off the line like this. I've driven a Tesla, which is just as quick, but the noise of the supercharger, the exhaust, the way the tires squeal-- there's nothing else I've ever driven that's quite like this.
So while the Demon may have been designed for the drag strip, it's likely to spend most of its time on the streets. For the most part, that's a pretty good thing. It's comfortable. It's smooth. And it really doesn't drive all that much different than a standard Hellcat. It feels a little wider, and there's obviously a lot more grip with these drag radials on here. But it's really not that hard to drive.
So the 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V8 in the Demon is based on the one that's in the standard Hellcat, but more than 50% of the parts are new. One of the most significant changes is the supercharger is now 2.7 liters. All of that combined means the Demon makes 808 horsepower on pump gas, and if you run race fuel, power jumps to 840 horsepower and 770 pound feet of torque.
Like the Hellcat, the Demon uses an eight-speed automatic transmission. Unlike the Hellcat, there's no option for a manual. On a drag strip, this car in particular, you're better off just putting it in drive and letting it shift for itself. The first few gears are relatively short, and when you're really laying on it, come quickly. That said, the top few are pretty long. I'm cruising along at 70-ish, and I'm not even hitting 2,000. Still, fuel economy is pretty abysmal in this thing.
Cruising around these back roads, the engine kind of settles down. It's got this eight-speed transmission, so the top few gears are pretty long. I'm revving at just under 1,500 RPM at about 55 miles an hour. There is a little bit of supercharger whine in the background, but I'm not gonna complain about that. Once you do dip into it, though, it really moves.
[CAR REVS]
So the Demon's bodywork is significantly wider than that on the standard Hellcat, and that's mostly to fit these massive Nitto drag radials on there. These were specially designed for the Demon. And if you look at the sidewall, there's a little Demon logo. They're just barely allowed for road use. There's two little grooves that dissipates some amount of rain, but really, you don't want to take these on anywhere but a track.
Aside from the wide body, the interior and the exterior don't differ that much from the standard Hellcat. Sure, all the Hellcat badges have been replaced with Demon ones, but the same seats, same dash. Really, the same steering wheel, but this one's got Alcantara. The biggest change is that the passenger and the rear seats are optional. You can add them back for $1, but from the factory, as it sits, the Demon only has one seat.
Could you drive the Demon every day? I'd say so, with one caveat. Swap out these Nitto drag radials for the tires, say, off the Hellcat wide body. These Nittos are way too sticky and don't have enough grip on the rain or even like mild rocks for day-to-day use.
I do have to say, this is one hell of a car. I've driven a lot of really fast cars and a lot of really quick cars, but nothing else I've ever driven has been quite like this. The sounds, and the smells, and like the pure force of this thing launching off the line and throwing you back in your seat is wholly unique. Reese Counts for Autoblog. Thanks for watching.
[CAR REVS]
[LAUGHS]
Oh, I love this car.
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