Seeing the announcement of a record-breaking, drag strip-destroying Dodge Demon might be déjà vu. Back in 2017, Dodge announced the original Demon, which boasted 808 horsepower from its monstrous supercharged V8 and all sorts of production car drag strip records. Now, there’s the new Dodge Demon 170 and it seems like it does the very same thing. So what makes this new car mechanically different from the old one?
In concept, it isn’t any different than the previous Demon, it’s just more extreme. It’s still a ferociously tuned Challenger with as many mind-boggling figures as asterisks for them. The only real difference is that the Demon 170’s numbers are even wackier than its predecessor’s. Here are the headline figures: 1,025 horsepower and 945 pound-feet of peak torque (on E85 ethanol blend), 0-60 mph in 1.66 seconds, and a quarter-mile in an NHRA-certified 8.91 seconds at 151.17 mph. Wacky stuff indeed.
Don’t let the familiar 6.2-liter displacement fool you, the new Demon 170’s V8 shares more with the Hellephant crate engine than it does with the old Demon V8. Almost every single significant engine component is different in the Demon 170, with the only major remaining part being its camshaft.
Its 3.0-liter supercharger was modified with a 105mm throttle body and a 3.02-inch diameter pulley. It now has nitride-coated intake valves with upgraded valve guides, copper-lead main and rod bearings, strengthened connecting rods, aerospace-grade high-strength steel cylinder head studs that increase clamp load by 38%, and a cylinder pressure that’s 32% higher than the Hellcat Redeye Widebody’s.
Here’s one of the nuttiest upgrades to the Demon 170’s engine: fuel injectors. The new high-flow fuel injectors are capable of pumping 164 gallons per hour, which is more than a shower head in the U.S. New spark plugs were even added with a lower heat range to optimize the combustion of all of that ethanol-rich fuel. The engine software detects the levels of ethanol in the fuel and, when 65% ethanol or more is detected, the fuel gauge icon on the dash will turn blue, indicating that the full 1,025 hp is available. When 20% ethanol or less is detected, the gas icon turns white and power is reduced to just 900 hp ad 810 lb-ft.
Dodge didn’t just upgrade the engine, though. The driveshaft is now 30% stronger than before and the rear axle housing is 53% stronger, thanks to aerospace-grade materials. The rear axle housing is made using HIP (Hot Isostatic Pressing) to reduce porosity and increase strength, compared with casting. It has a 240mm ring and pinion, a new input flange, and a larger CV joint. The rear axle half shafts were also beefed up, with larger shaft diameters and larger joint splines.
The rear suspension camber was also modified to increase the contact patches on the tires. Speaking of tires, the rear wheels measure 17×11 inches and are wrapped in Mickey Thompson P315/50R17 ET Street R drag radials while the front wheels are 18×8 inches and wear Mickey Thompson 245/55R18 ET Street tires. The wheels themselves are Lacks Enterprises two-piece carbon fiber wheels, which contribute to an overall weight savings of 157 pounds in the Demon 170 versus the Hellcat Redeye.
Those nutty specs add up to wild numbers, even if those metrics require many asterisks. Those absurd times—1.66 seconds to 60 mph and 8.91 seconds through the quarter-mile—can only be achieved with non-street legal drag radials on a prepped surfaced. So while it’s capable of truly outrageous performance, it needs to be on a drag strip for that.
That doesn’t really matter, though, does it? The Demon 170 is quite possibly the final exercise in internal combustion absurdity and all the awe that brings with it.
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