The last time the owner took this 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 to the drag strip, his HEMI started acting up. He took the car to Dodge and they replaced the engine under warranty. With a new engine, the owner of the Challenger goes straight back to the strip to see what his beast can do now.
The one-year-old Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 started acting strange at the drag strip back in October, while its owner was testing its real top speed. As reported by Dodge, the car can do 149 mph (240 kph), despite a rumor snowballing for a couple of months before the car was officially revealed.
Back then, the rumor shot the Demon 170 straight to hypercar territory with a top speed of 215 mph (346 kph). The automaker never confirmed the figures.
What Dodge did confirm, though, was that the 6.2-liter HEMI V8 pumps out 1,025 horsepower and 945 pound-feet of torque, which make the Demon rocket from zero to hero (0 to 60 mph or 0 to 97 kph) in a mind-blowing 1.66 seconds and run the quarter mile in an NHRA-certified 8.91 seconds at 151.17 mph (243.3 kph).
However, the figures it rolls off the production line with make it too powerful for its own good. That is exactly why the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) decided to ban the car from the drag strip unless it is equipped with a roll cage and a parachute.
There are owners out there who will not take the official information for granted. The man who owns this 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 took his car to a private airfield in Florida to check the numbers for himself.
With a one-mile strip stretching in front of him, he pushed the pedal to the metal. He hit 146 mph (235 kph) on the first attempt and reached 147 mph (237 kph) in Track Mode, but he knew he could do better.
However, his car started behaving strangely even before hitting 135 mph (217 kph). He took it to Dodge, and they blamed the metal present in the engine oil and decided he needed a new engine.
After around 1,500 miles with a new HEMI, the owner returned to the track to try to go faster than he previously did with a faulty power plant. On the first pass, he ran the quarter mile in 9.47 seconds at 145.2 mph (233.7 kph), which makes it the fastest run he has ever had in this car. The second go is a record-breaking attempt. "I am so unbelievably pleased with how the car ran," he says, and he has every right to be.
His 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 was clocked in at 9.24 seconds on the quarter mile at 145.44 mph (234.06 kph). That still lags behind the 8.91-second time that Dodge nailed. But the car they tested had the carbon wheels ,which this Demon lacks. Furthermore, this Challenger had to battle headwinds and high humidity at the strip.
The owner also has a third attempt that he completes with a 9.27-second quarter mile at 145.38 mph (233.96 kph). The headache with the engine replacement was definitely worth it. He is definitely not going to stop trying. He is going to try again in better driving conditions and with lighter wheels.
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