New York Motor Show: Dodge Demon debuts, already banned from drag strips

NO more teasers or leaks, here it is in all of its drag strip demolishing insanity. Behold, the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon.

We won’t bore you with any of the press guff: here are some of the more ridiculous facts about Dodge’s fastest-ever road car.

Dodge claims a 0-60mph (96km/h) time of just 2.3 seconds. The company is calling the Demon the world’s fastest production car as far as the 0-60mph metric is concerned, which is bound to ruffle feathers over at Tesla’s Californian HQ. Prepare thyself for Elon Musk’s inevitable Twitter rebuttal.

Hennessey reveals 745kW Demon-fighting Camaro Exorcist

But what a Tesla Model S P100D won’t do on its way to 100km/h is lift its front wheels clean off the ground. The Demon is certified by Guinness World Records as the first-ever production car to lift the front wheels on launch, doing so for a distance of almost a metre (89cm).

How do you make a road car pop a wheelie? A supercharged 6.2-litre V8 producing 626kW and 1043Nm is one part of the recipe, and Dodge claims the Demon’s donk is the most powerful production V8 in history.

Based on the already muscle-bound supercharged 6.2 of the Charger and Challenger Hellcat, the Demon’s extra oomph comes courtesy of a larger supercharger, increased boost, a higher redline, a liquid-to-air intercooler, and extra cooling systems to ensure it doesn’t blow up.

And it is brutally effective. The Demon is built specifically to dominate the drag strip, completing the quarter mile in 9.65 seconds, with a trap speed of 225km/h. Ironically, the car’s speed is also its curse, with the Demon already officially banned by the NHRA, the sanctioning body for most drag racing in the US, because it is so quick it would require extra safety gear.

Launching the Demon will see you reach 48km/h in one second flat, with the highest lateral acceleration of any production car at 1.8g.

Another first for the Demon is the fitment of a transbrake to help build power before launching off the line. That’s race-grade stuff.

The car comes from the factory with ultra-sticky Nitto drag radial tyres on all four corners, identically sized so owners can replace the front pair with a pair of skinny ‘front runners’, and then have an extra set of boots to cycle through at the drag strip.

Oh and yes, there is a drag mode launch assist. Because, of course there is.

You won’t be able to share any of this with your mates, as the Demon only has one seat - the driver’s - as standard. Buyers do have the option to reinstall the front passenger and rear seats, and carpeting in the boot space, for a not-unreasonable $US1 each.

Only 3300 will be built, with 300 destined for Canada and the rest staying in the US of A. Owners will also receive a full day of training at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving.

All this, and the car still comes with a three-year warranty including five years of powertrain coverage. There are no plans for right-hand drive production.

16