9 Coolest Cars and Trucks from Kuniski-Era Dodge and Ram

Dodge’s history book is closing one of its most interesting chapters. It’s official: Tim Kuniskis is retiring from his CEO role at Ram trucks and Dodge cars. During Kuniskis’s time at Dodge, the brand leaned into its muscle car heritage with some of the wildest machines to ever head from a showroom to a stoplight. His time at Ram might be shorter, but his tenure saw more of his touch, with the production version of the Ram TRX. While his impact on both brands is probably immeasurable, take a look at some of our favorite machines to come out during his tenure as the boss.

2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat

707 hp. That says it all. Of course, before the Hellcat made its way to the assembly line, high-performance muscle machines were posting absurd numbers.

Ford’s Mustang Shelby GT500 pushed the envelope with 662 hp, but Dodge answered with its 6.2-liter Hellcat-powered Challenger in 2015. The Challenger Hellcat became an instant hit, and will likely be coveted years down the line by Dodge collectors, like the Hemi cars of the 1960s and 1970s are today.

2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

Okay, you’re going to see a trend. A lot of the vehicles on this list pack 6.2 liters of supercharged Hemi under the hood. Like its Challenger stablemate, Dodge rolled the Hellcat under the hood of the Charger in 2015. Unlike the Challenger, the Charger packed an extra set of doors and the Hellcat turned it into one of the wildest four-door performance sedans Detroit has ever offered.

Dodge Challenger SRT Demon

By 2018, the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat was becoming old news. The fix? Make it even wilder.

The Demon still packed 6.2 liters of Hemi under the hood, but power shot up to 840 hp. More than just extra horsepower, the Challenger SRT Demon—or simply Demon as it’s better known—leaned into the quarter-mile and came with a set of Nitto drag radial tires, a set of narrow front-runner front tires, and only a driver’s seat. If you wanted some extra comfort, you could opt for the passenger seats for one dollar.

2021 Dodge Durango Hellcat

Are you seeing a trend? It seems that Tim Kuniskis agreed with Dodge faithful and wanted to stuff the powerful Hellcat mill under the hood of every product that he could.

The Dodge Durango Hellcat featured more than just 710 hp and had suspension and braking upgrades that helped handle the workload. Though let’s be honest, the star was, and will always be, the 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi.

2021 Ram 1500 TRX

Ram showed off a Hellcat-powered Ram concept at the 2016 Texas State Fair that the company called the Rebel TRX Concept. The concept looked ready to compete with the likes of Ford’s F-150 Raptor, maybe duke it out at a SCORE race with Ford’s best.

However, it wouldn’t be until 2021 when Ram launched the production version of its Hellcat-powered Ram truck, and it dropped the Rebel name. Like its passenger car companions, the Ram 1500 TRX was an instant hit, and will likely be a collector’s item down the road.

2015 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack

If you didn’t want to throw down the bucks for a Dodge Challenger SRT8, you could get its beating heart and some of the other performance upgrades thrown onto the Challenger R/T in 2014.

Reviving the Scat Pack name for the entry-level Challenger and Charger performance models was a smart move, and these 6.4-liter Hemi-powered machines were a hit.

2024 Dodge Charger Daytona

Shutting down popular Charger and Challenger models probably wasn’t an easy decision to make, but it ultimately happened on December 31, 2023.

For ’24, the Challenger is gone, and the Charger is moving back to its original two-door shell. While the Charger will replace the Hemi with a 3.0-liter turbocharged I6 on some models, the Charger is also going electric under the Daytona banner.

2017 Dodge Viper

Okay, so the Dodge Viper isn’t exactly Kuniskis’s baby, but he was in charge when the Viper saw the end of the line.

Celebrating the Viper’s legacy, Dodge rolled out a handful of limited-edition send-off models, like the GTS-R-inspired Viper you see here. Packing the aptly named Extreme Aero package, this special edition—and the V10 under the hood—is a fitting celebration of the Viper.

2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170

Last, but certainly not least, Dodge revived the Demon name for the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170. While the official name is cartoonishly long, it all boils down to this Demon advertising 1,025 hp, thanks to its reworked 6.2-liter Hemi’s penchant for E85.

The alcohol-burning Demon works as a send-off to the latest generation Challenger and will undoubtedly be seen in high-end collections in the future. Though, you’ll probably also see a handful at your local drag strip.