Does Ferrari still rule the streets, or can Dodge’s fastest Challenger take on the prancing horse? Watch the video to find out
4 hours ago
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The Challenger SRT Demon 170 is a swan song for the muscle car series that helped reignite Dodge’s reputation as a performance brand. With everything turned up to 11, the special edition model is meant to get the Challenger through the quarter-mile as quickly as possible. But can it keep up with a Ferrari?
In some ways, the Challenger isn’t all that different from a Ferrari 812 GTS. Both have two doors, both have a big, powerful engine in the front, both offer a bit of comfort to go with their performance, and owners of both are known to have crashed on public streets – though obviously, not with the same frequency.
The Dodge is still only supposed to cost $133,131 – but good luck getting one for MSRP, as most are being sold for anywhere between $200,000 and sometimes even well over $300,000. While that’s certainly a lot of money, the Ferrari comes with an even more impressive price tag of around $430,000. So it ought to be quicker in a straight line, right?
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Hennessey decided to find out. Before tearing apart its Challenger SRT Demon 170 to make a Demon 1700 (which will have 1,700 hp/1,268 kW/1,724 PS thanks to a different engine with a pair of turbos ), it ran it against a Ferrari 812 GTS that it just happened to have on-hand.
In a series of races (both standing quarter-miles and roll races) the Ferrari’s 800 hp (597 kW/812 PS), naturally aspirated V12 proves to be the one to choose, beating the Dodge handily, and allowing Ferrari owners everywhere to breathe a sigh of relief.
Read: Hennessey’s Dodge Demon 1700 Twin Turbo Costs $200,000 On Top Of Donor Car
However, there are some pretty major caveats here. Firstly, the race is being run on unprepared asphalt — Hennessey says that this reflects what two owners would experience if they just met at the lights. That gives the naturally-aspirated Ferrari an advantage, because its torque curve is more forgiving. As you can see in the video, the Challenger struggles for grip.
Oddly, Hennessey notes in the video description that the Demon 170 makes 797 hp (594 kW/808 PS) and 707 lb-ft (959 Nm) of torque, which is not the case. The Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye makes those figures, with the Demon 170 rated at 900 hp (671 kW / 912 PS) and 810 lb-ft (1,096 Nm) when burning regular 91-octane fuel, up to 1,025 hp (764 kW/1,039 PS) and 945 lb-ft (1,281 Nm) of torque when filled up with E85.
Hennessey hints that it plans to run the Challenger SRT Demon 170 on a prepped drag course in a future video, but for now, this video proves that Ferrari still knows how to deliver an insanely fast car.
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