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The 2017 New York Auto Show leaned hard into SUVs, from a new Lincoln Navigator to a 707-horsepower Jeep Trackhawk. But buried in the same lineup was Dodge’s answer to the utility-vehicle takeover: an 840-horsepower Challenger SRT Demon. Here’s how the show’s biggest trend and its loudest outlier ended up sharing a floor.
In 2016, the muscle car market was shrinking almost everywhere except one corner of it – Hellcat sales climbed nearly 70 percent while overall Challenger and Charger volumes both fell. The family SUV mentioned almost in passing in this piece would eventually get the same supercharged treatment, at a price tag nobody saw coming back then.
There’s nothing like driving a muscle car, and sometimes, they wear a sedan disguise. These six sedans pack a punch, turning grocery runs into heart-racing adventures. Take the Dodge Durango, for instance—it’s part SUV, part muscle car, like a Clark Kent of vehicles. Or the Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack, offering cheap thrills with its 485 hp V-8. It’s secretly a muscle car in a business suit, ready to unleash a caramel-thick rumble at any moment. Who says practicality can’t have a rebellious streak?
Somebody at Chrysler looked at the 707-horsepower Hellcat engine, looked at the Grand Cherokee platform, and said yes. The 2018 Trackhawk is what happened next — an SUV that outruns sports cars, hauls the whole family, and does both without breaking a sweat. Watch the 0-60 run and try not to laugh at how absurd this vehicle actually is.