Video: Up Close With the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170

This is the 2023 Dodge Challenger, SRT Demon 170 and it's probably the craziest Challenger I've ever seen. Now I may be just a jaded automotive journalist but it's been a while since a Challenger actually got my blood pumping but this does and let me tell you why. Now looks wise there's not a lot here that's really a radical departure from Challengers we've seen in the past this looks a lot like the Demon that debuted here in New York in 2018. You get the air grabber hood the air catcher headlights on both sides to feed more air. The hood does have a little alcohol injected logo there because the Demon 170 does make its most power on an ethanol mixture. You will notice as well no little yellow bumper covers here. Just something to keep in mind. As you go along the sides you'll notice weird things like there are no fender flares on the front. There's not a wide body to this. That's to save weight. These are skinny street tires to reduce rolling resistance for faster runs. I believe these are the optional carbon fiber wheels. You get the Fun Demon logo as well with the 170 and the yellow eyes and then you come along to the back and these are flared because these tires are gigantic, gigantic Mickey Thompson Drag Radials developed specially for this. You'll also notice some optional things that you can get from Dodgers parts catalog like this parachute which you will need to slow down after your drag run and you will need as well to be NHRA certified because if you don't have this and you don't have a safety cage inside you cannot take this on a drag strip more than once before you get banned. Other design elements you can see this has the optional satin black hood roof and deck lid. You can also just get the hood satin black or none of it if you want. Dodge is really, really going all in on customizing your Challenger for the last year. When we're talking Demon 170, we have to talk numbers. This is why I'm excited about the Challenger and the biggest two are its horsepower and torque. It can produce up to 1025 horsepower and 945 pounds feet of torque. When using E85 ethanol using premium gas those numbers drop to a pedestrian 900 horsepower and 810 pounds feet. The original Demon meanwhile only, only managed a maximum of 840 horsepower and 770 pounds feet. And again that was on 100 plus octane. Your only transmission choice in the Demon is still an eight speed automatic. Tried and true. We love it. At Max Power Dodge says the Demon 170 can go from zero to 60 in 1.66 seconds on its way to an 8.91 second quarter mile at over 151 miles per hour. To help achieve those crazy, crazy numbers Dodge has upgraded the trans break to now what they're calling calling Trans Break 2.0 which is configurable for track conditions and now accessible via a specific button on the interior close to the center console. Torque reserve helps improve supercharge and accelerator response. Line lock makes burnouts nice and easy and there's launch control and launch assist which are necessities to keep this monster under control when the light turns green. This also has the SRT power chiller which cools down the air sent into the engine for improved performance and the race cool down feature provides extra cooling once you've done a run and have shut the engine off. There's only one key for the Demon 170 and it's the red one. Previous Hellcats and the Demon had a red key for full power and a black key that limited power to a round 500 horsepower which reduced the likelihood that some enterprising valet might decide to Ferris Bueller your Challenger. The Demon 170 has an integrated ethanol sensor which governs power output. When you get to 20% ethanol mixture in the fuel the gas light turns to white, get to 65% and it glows blue and that's when you know you have all 1025 horses at your disposal. To get there Dodge also upgraded pretty much everything. Every engine component except the camshaft has basically been upgraded. There's a bigger supercharger new throttle body, new spark plugs tougher enhancements to handle all that power. The drive line has been upgraded and toughened as well. Weight saving is the name of the game here. The only standard seat in the Demon 170 is the driver's seat. Nearly everything that could be torn out is as standard. The stereo only has two speakers. If you do want comfort there's a premium leather interior available and Demon 170 specific red leather interior you can get as well. Backseat delete is still available with both of those. And at its lightest, the Demon 170 is 157 pounds lighter than a Hellcat Redeye wide body according to Dodge's measurements. Now Demon 170s like every other challenger and charger for the 2023 model year have already been allocated to Dodge dealerships across the country. And if you're interested in one you can find them on Dodgegarage.com. Ordering is available now but closes on May 15th and the MSRP before destination is $96,666. Get it, but you might have a tough time finding them at msrp. Dodge says it is prioritizing orders that are sold at msrp but we'll have to see. I genuinely considered becoming part of the problem buying one of these and just turning around and flipping it because my wife and I are trying to buy a house and we need a down payment. Seems like a good way to do that. Don't want to be part of the problem though. Dodge said it's building up to 3000 units of the Demon 170 for the US and they did let us drive the original Demon back when it debuted so hopefully they'll save a few of those 3000 for us to get behind the wheel and check it out because this is the craziest and most exciting Challenger I have seen in years. For more on the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 and all the rest of the things here at the 2023 New York Auto Show, be sure to head to cars.com.