Last month, Dodge unveiled the Challenger SRT Demon 170 as a swan song to their internal combustion muscle cars. With 1,025 hp (1,039 PS / 764 kW), 945 lb-ft (1,080 Nm) of torque, and a 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) time of just 1.66 seconds, it’s a monster on the drag strip, but as Jay Leno finds out while driving it in his latest video, it can handle its own on the road as well.
Leno got the chance to speak with Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis, who walked him through the development process of the car and some key decisions that were made along the way. Dodge originally had the intention to just upgrade the original Demon to get the Demon 170, but it ended up becoming a whole new car. Nearly every component of the 170 is different from the original Demon, with the only exception being the sheet metal.
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One of the standout features of the new car are the hybrid aluminum/carbon fiber wheels, which amount to a weight savings of 32.1 lb (14.6 kg). But it’s not just the weight that matters with these wheels, it’s also where that weight’s located. Specifically, the majority of the wheels’ mass is located near their aluminum centers, allowing them to spin up faster, and in turn, launch the car faster. Mounted to those wheels are Mickey Thompson tires made specifically for the Demon 170, which provide so much traction that Dodge had to completely retune the suspension to accommodate them.
The fact that these are tires you can drive on both the street and the drag strip is very convenient for owners, and that’s a theme that pops up a lot with car. The engine, for example, will automatically adjust its mapping based on what fuel it’s running on, and the built-in chiller means owners won’t have to spend time performing a dedicated cooldown procedure for their car. The Challenger even allows the driver to adjust torque delivery from the infotainment screen to mitigate wheelspin on the fly.
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All this results in an ownership experience that’s very easy, which carries over into the Demon 170’s road manners. Despite it being a car in which the passenger seat is an option, Leno says it’s surprisingly livable. Not necessarily in the sense that it’s super practical, but in that you can drive it without worrying it’ll give you any issues.
The off-track experience is more of what you’d expect from a from a production road car, not a drag car that can do a wheelie stock and needs a roll cage and a parachute to be legally allowed to race. Of course it’s a straight-line rocket with an enticing throttle pedal and sublime supercharger whine, but it’s also big, comfortable, and has a ride height high enough that you don’t pray for your front splitter every time you take it out for a drive.