The Dodge Demon 170 Is the Final Gas-Powered Mopar Muscle Car

After months of teasing and project delays, Dodge is finally ready to send off its beloved muscle car pairing with the final Last Call special edition model. The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170, announced Monday night, is a 1025-horsepower drag-racing special and the most extreme vehicle to come from the automaker yet. Here’s everything you need to know about the new corn-fed Challenger capable of running NHRA-certified ¼ mile times in the Eights.

From the onset of the Demon 170 program, Dodge’s team of engineers had three main goals for the muscle-car sendoff: it needed to make 1000 horsepower, it needed to run eights, and it needed to break 2 seconds in the 0-60 mph sprint. In order to accomplish those tasks, the team looked to the range-topping Demon from 2018 as a starting point, the automaker told Road & Track.

The Demon has remained the most potent variant of the Dodge family up until this point, with up to 840 horsepower available when using race gas and the requisite ECU. That limited-production dragster also packed unique hardware outside the engine bay, including bespoke suspension front and rear as well as a trans brake for optimal launches on a prepared surface. This new model isn’t simply a Demon turned up to 11, as the team quickly discovered that the older Demon components weren’t up to the task at hand. In fact, the camshaft is the only primary engine component from the 2018 car that remains unchanged in this application.

The Demon 170 receives revised pistons, rods, bearings, a new crankshaft, and billet main caps to cope with its four-digit output targets. A larger 105-mm throttle body works in tandem with a revised 3.0-liter supercharger to feed the monstrous 6.2-liter V-8 air, while upgraded injectors flow up to 164 gallons of fuel per hour, which is a higher flow rate than the shower head in your bathroom. The resulting 2500 psi of cylinder pressure is 25 percent higher than the outgoing Demon when running on race gas, as well as 50 percent higher than those found in a roadgoing Challenger Redeye model. That means the new engine also requires beefier studs to keep the heads in place.

Whereas the previous Demon needed race gas, the Demon 170 has been programmed to utilize a wide range of ethanol mixes. The Demon 170 name itself is actually a reference to the proof of the corn-based fuel. The ECU is able to adjust the tune parameters based on what fuel balance is present, providing a maximum output of 1025 horsepower and 945 Ib-ft of torque on E85. With full power available, Dodge says the Demon can do 0-60 mph in just 1.66 seconds on a prepared surface. The company also claims the muscle car does so with 2.004 gs of accelerative force, which is the most of any production vehicle on sale. Stick your foot in it and the Demon 170 is capable of ripping off an NHRA-certified quarter-mile time of 8.91 seconds at 151.17 mph. Those sorts of numbers mean the Demon 170 is technically banned for NHRA competition due to its lack of a roll cage or parachute, though customers will be able to purchase said components from Dodge’s Direct Connection parts program.

The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 can also run on traditional e10 fuel and it's still able to provide up to 900 horsepower and 810 lb-ft on pump gas. In order to make the best use of that power, Dodge has revised the hardware package for the Demon this time around.