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The 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon left the factory with 840 horsepower, a front-wheel lift kit, and an NHRA-certified 9.65-second quarter-mile at 140 mph — numbers that made it the quickest production car ever built at the time. Getting the engine’s full power required a separate $1 unlock. Watch to see exactly what Dodge built when the brief was simply: fastest, no compromises.
Dodge tried to stop dealer markup on its 3,300-unit Demon with a serialized dash plaque bearing each buyer’s own name and priority pricing reserved for orders at the $84,995 MSRP. Dealers in South Carolina, Tennessee, and Louisiana found the workaround within weeks anyway, auctioning off the right to be that at-MSRP buyer on eBay for bids that reportedly approached $70,000. Read on to find out how Dodge’s own leadership responded once the loophole went public.
Dodge revived the Challenger name for real in 2008, and demand was strong enough that every single SRT8 built for the U.S. market sold out before it reached a showroom floor. Underneath the retro sheet metal sat a platform borrowed from an unexpected source, and a trim structure that changed considerably over the car’s production run. Read on to find out what powered the entry-level version, and why Canada got a completely different lineup than the U.S.
The 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 launched with a waiting list before most buyers ever sat in one, thanks to a shortened LC platform, a numbered dash plaque, and a 425-horsepower Hemi under the hood. Riding on the same bones as the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger, it kept the long-hood look that made the original Challenger famous. Only 6,400 were built for the U.S. market, and nearly every one sold above sticker.
Mopar’s Crate HEMI Engine Kits let owners of any 1975-or-earlier Mopar bolt in genuine modern HEMI power — 383 horsepower from the 5.7-liter kit or 485 horsepower from the 6.4-liter version — without chasing down custom wiring or tuning. Each kit ships with an unlocked, pre-calibrated PCM that sidesteps the usual factory security headaches of a late-model engine swap. Debuted on two complete builds at the 2016 SEMA Show, the kits have owners of everything from Dusters to Aspens asking if their own project qualifies. Watch the full rundown of what’s included.
Dodge built an entire verification system just to keep its own dealers from overcharging customers on the hyped Challenger SRT Demon, requiring a notarized sales document before any order could move forward. Where a car landed in the build queue depended on numbers most buyers never think about. Read on to find out how the Demon concierge desk actually worked.
The 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon made 808 horsepower on pump gas and 840 on race fuel, ran a certified 9.65-second quarter mile, and lifted its front wheels hard enough to earn a Guinness record. It also arrived with a steel crate of drag parts, a factory transbrake, and an air conditioner repurposed to chill the intake charge. Dodge built it for a single model year and then walked away. Read on for what it actually took to get there.
Dodge built the only all-wheel-drive American muscle coupe ever sold, and then gave it a V6 instead of a Hemi. The 2017 Challenger GT made 305 horsepower, started at $33,395, and sent up to 38 percent of its torque forward only when it decided the situation called for it. That combination confused a lot of shoppers. It also answered a complaint Dodge had been hearing from buyers in snow states for years.