The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon has been resurrected for the final year of muscle cars

DETROIT – Dodge is giving away its controversial muscle car model, the Challenger SRT Demon, as the final special edition vehicle before production of the brand’s current V8-engined cars ends later this year.

The limited edition track racing car will be the fastest, most powerful version of the Dodge Challenger ever produced by the automaker. This makes the 2018 Challenger SRT Demon model, which some have criticized as not too powerful and road-legal.

Dodge says the new car will deliver 1,025 horsepower and 945 foot-pounds of torque on E85 ethanol blended fuel. It can hit 60 mph from a rolling start in 1.66 seconds. The vehicle’s performance drops slightly when fueled with lower amounts of ethanol, but even on common E10 fuel it still has 900 horsepower and 810 foot-pounds of torque.

The 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 starts at a monstrous price of $96,666 — the last three figures represent the devil — but according to Dodge, with fees, options and accessories, it’ll be $120,000 or more. Ordering for the vehicle begins on March 27.

Dodge, owned by Stellandis, plans to build only 3,000 vehicles for the U.S. and 300 for Canada. It will be similar to the production of the 2018 model.

Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis declined to disclose the capital investment for the vehicle, which was unveiled Monday, or its expected profit margins.

“These cars end up being higher,” Kuniskis said. He referred to the Demon 170 as “the new height of factory madness”.

When asked about the vehicle’s fuel economy, he said, “It’s terrible,” but later called the car “eco-friendly” because the fuel, which has a high ethanol content, runs cleaner than traditional gasoline and burns more quickly. The car is subject to a mandatory gas-guzzler tax of $2,100.

Since the car can run on ethanol fuel, the “170” moniker indicates a higher proof of alcohol. Every owner receives a special glass decanter when they purchase their vehicle.

The new car will be capable of lifting the front tires off the ground due to the amount of power coming from the rear wheels.

Dodge was expected to reveal the car earlier this year, but engineers were “blowing” the engines trying to get as much performance out of the car as possible, Kuniskis said. The problems led engineers to develop a new supercharged engine for the vehicle.

The 2023 Demon SRT is Dodge’s seventh special edition muscle car as it celebrates the upcoming end of production of the current Challenger and Charger muscle cars. Dodge has sold more than 2 million of those vehicles since their introduction a decade ago.

“You have to celebrate this decision,” Kuniskis told CNBC, noting that the Challenger serves as a “halo” model for the brand, drawing attention from customers buying other vehicles. “We do crazy better than anyone.”