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Dodge unveils final gas Challenger that goes 0-60 in under 2 seconds

The 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 boasts a powerful 1,025 horsepower and delivers the highest G-force acceleration of any production car.
The 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170.
Posted at 1:08 PM, Mar 21, 2023
and last updated 2023-03-21 13:08:41-04

Dodge has unveiled the final gas-powered addition to its muscle car lineup, and it's scary fast.

The 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 boasts a whopping 1,025 horsepower and 945 pound-feet of torque, or rotational force. It also delivers the highest G-force acceleration of any production car.

Its 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 engine is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission, allowing the Demon to go zero to 60 miles per hour in a chilling 1.66 seconds — even faster than the fastest Tesla.

The company says it can also run a quarter-mile in under nine seconds without a safety cage and parachute, earning it a "ban" from the National Hot Rod Association.

John Locher / AP

But the power doesn't stop there. The new Challenger also comes equipped with a range of performance-enhancing features, including a 30% stronger driveshaft, a modified 3.0-liter supercharger, and patent-pending brake technology.

But perhaps the most impressive feature of the new Demon is its ability to run on high-octane ethanol-blend racing fuel, which boosts the car's power output.

“To celebrate the end of the HEMI muscle-car era, we pulled off all the governors to reach a new level, a new benchmark of ‘factory-crazy’ production car performance,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge brand chief executive officer. "In 2015, Dodge shocked the world with the 707-horsepower Hellcat. Then, in 2018, we did it with the 840-horsepower Demon, and now we are doing it again with the 1,025-horsepower Demon 170, the world’s first sustainable-energy, eight-second, factory-production, street-legal muscle car.”

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The company said it will stop production of its gas-powered muscle cars — including the Challenger — by the end of 2023, as the industry is squeezed by government regulations pushing for more electric vehicles. 

"Let's be clear, we didn't ask for those rules to change, we don't want those rules to change, but they did," Kuniskis said at the reveal. "So we have to, we have to change, we have to adapt."

Production of the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 will be limited to just 3,300 units and will be priced at a demonic $96,666 — excluding taxes and fees.

Buyers can start placing orders for the car next week and ordering will close on May 15.