When Dodge announced its extremely ambitious Challenger SRT Demon 170, Texan tuning gurus over at Hennessey Performance immediately decided to one-up the carmaker by producing a “Demon 1700”, where the number corresponds to the actual engine output. The car was two years in the making, but it’s here at last – and street-legal, to boot!
Needless to say, the tuner had to rebuild the entire 7.2-liter Hemi V8 drivetrain from the ground up using high-end components. Measured at the dyno, the car sent 1,375 PS (1,355 hp / 1,010 kW) to the wheels. It also developed mountain-moving 1,630 Nm (1,202 lb-ft) of torque. For comparison, the Bugatti Chiron has 1,500 PS (1,479 hp / 1,103 kW) at the crank, but considerably less at the wheels.
Aside from the mandatory things like upgrade turbos, all-forged internals and transmission reinforcements, the Demon ended up with a fuel system that works best off E85 fuel.
It remains to be seen how many units will be made and how much they will cost. Back when it announced the project in 2024, the company said it would be good for a 7.9-second quarter-mile run. It also promised an exit acceleration of at least 175 mph (281 km/h). We are excited to see how fast the Demon 1700 really is in a straight line, and will be looking forward for a video to be posted on Hennessey’s YouTube channel.
