You don’t hear that much about the “regular” Challenger SRT Demon nowadays. Meaning the original Demon and not the Demon 170 with its crazy 1,025 horsepower and 945 lb-ft of torque. But this is good if you’re in the market for a top-notch muscle car, because an older Demon should be kinder to your wallet.
Am I totally off in saying that for a collector, the original SRT Demon is a more desirable product than the Demon 170? You get the first of its kind drag strip-focused Challenger, featuring its very own “Demon Crate” - that’s how you prep the vehicle for high-speed runs. Also, according to Dodge, the SRT Demon was the first-ever production car to perform a wheelie. That’s just cool, period.
Speaking of cool, how about this Pitch Black 2018 example with the red-finished badges and calipers? It looks gorgeous. Unfortunately, it failed to sell at auction recently, with its owner flat our refusing a top bid of $77,500. Granted, this is not a low-mileage car (it’s got 26k miles on the clock), but word has it that the seller (a dealership out of California) may have set a crazy high reserve.
Someone in the comments section pointed out that the dealer had it listed on their website for $125,000, which we haven’t been able to verify. However, if that’s true, and they used that $125k marker as the reserve, then feel free to scoff at the notion. This might be a nice Demon, but it’s not that nice.
Let’s take a closer look at the spec, starting with that Pitch Black exterior. Other highlights include the Air Grabber hood, rear spoiler, xenon headlights, widebody fenders, LED taillights, plus a set of 18” Hole Shot alloy wheels with 315/40 Nitto NT555 tires.
Meanwhile, inside is where you’ll find the heated and ventilated bucket seats in black Laguna leather (with Alcantara inserts), a rearview camera, dual-zone automatic climate control, a Harman Kardon sound system, power-adjustable steering column, a UConnect infotainment system with sat-nav, heated Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel, plus a carbon fiber dashboard plaque that identifies this car as Demon #1,612.
Photo: Bring a Trailer
As for performance, again, this isn’t as impressive as the Demon 170, but it’ll still get the job done in a straight line on a prepped surface. The 6.2-liter Hemi V8 boasts a 2.7-liter supercharger which helps produce the 808 horsepower and 717 lb-ft of torque on regular gasoline. However, if you use 100 octane fuel or higher, you can boost the output to 840 hp and 770 lb-ft of torque.
On paper, the Challenger SRT Demon can rocket to 60 mph in 2.3 seconds (2.0 seconds with a rollout), while a quarter mile is achievable in just 9.65 seconds at 140.09 mph (225.45 kph).
Oh, and one more interesting nugget of information regarding this specific Demon - it was “reported stolen” back in January of this year and “recovered after theft” the following month. It’s got street cred now.
Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration. Full profile
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