This Is The World’s Fastest Muscle Car Over The Quarter Mile Ever
Few performance benchmarks cut through the noise quite like a quarter-mile time. Strip away the marketing, the dyno charts, and the track-day lap times, and what you’re left with is a number that every gearhead instinctively understands. For decades, that number has defined muscle car greatness — and right now, one American machine owns it outright.
Factory cars like the 1960s Cobra 427 ran the quarter in 12.2 seconds. Fast-forward to 2017, and the Dodge Viper ACR (considered the Cobra’s spiritual successor) managed 11.5 seconds. Impressive, but not a massive leap forward.
Then in 2023, an American car arrived that shattered expectations, becoming one of the fastest production cars ever built and the fastest muscle car of all time. Following the classic formula of big power and rear-wheel drive perfected in the ’60s, this limited-production model served as a fitting farewell to traditional muscle car engineering — likely the last of its kind.
The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 Is The Fastest Muscle Car Over The Quarter Mile
Dodge called time on the popular Challenger and Charger at the end of 2023, leaving a giant muscle car-sized hole in the world of performance automobiles. But before the Challenger disappeared, Dodge had one last model up its sleeve that would leave its mark on the 60-year-long history of muscle cars. It is called the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 and straight out of the factory this car could blitz the quarter mile faster than any other muscle car.
Dodge Wanted To Win The Muscle Car Quarter Mile Race Once And For All
When Dodge unveiled the Demon 170 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the automaker made an audacious declaration: this was the quickest, fastest, and most powerful muscle car ever built. As the seventh and final “Last Call” special edition, the Demon 170 arrived with the numbers to back that bold statement up.
The quarter-mile has sparked endless debates among enthusiasts since drag racing’s early days, and Dodge came prepared with performance figures that would silence the skeptics.
The Demon 170 Has Bonkers Power And Torque
The Dodge Demon 170’s Hemi V8 produces 1,025 horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 945 lb-ft of torque at 4,200 rpm on an E85 ethanol blend. On the drag strip, this makes the Demon the first factory production car to run the quarter-mile in under nine seconds, with a National Hot Rod Association (NHRA)-certified 8.91-second ET at 151.17 mph.
Even Dodge acknowledged that taking the Challenger SRT Demon 170 to a drag strip and unleashing its full potential would earn you an NHRA violation letter for running a sub-nine-second quarter-mile without a safety cage or parachute. On top of this mind-boggling quarter-mile time, the Demon 170 reaches 60 mph in just 1.66 seconds and delivers the highest G-force acceleration of any production car at 2.004 g’s.
A Closer Look At The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170
2023 Dodge Demon SRT 170 Specs
|
Engine |
6.2-liter supercharged HEMI |
|
Power |
1,025 hp |
|
Torque |
945 lb-ft |
|
0-60 mph |
1.66 seconds |
|
Quarter Mile |
8.91 seconds |
The Dodge Demon features extensive modifications to extract more than 1,000 horsepower from its mill. The 6.2-liter HEMI uses a modified 3.0-liter supercharger upgraded with a larger snout and a 105mm throttle body, while a 3.02-inch pulley increases boost pressure by 40% over the Challenger Hellcat Redeye Widebody. All the main engine power components have been completely upgraded, with the camshaft being the only significant part left untouched.
The Demon Was Designed To Demolish The Drag Strip
The rear prop shaft is now 30% stronger than the original Demon’s, and stronger half shafts feature a larger inner-connecting spline and revised heat treatment. A unique Drag Mode suspension delivers the most efficient forward drive, and there are custom race settings designed for sizzling standing starts.
There Were Street Car Firsts On The Demon 170
The car runs on 315/50R17 Mickey Thompson ET Street R drag radials — never before offered on a production car — which are critical to the vehicle’s performance, delivering extra tractive force. The Demon 170 is also the first factory production car built with staggered drag radial tires and fender flares. Other standout features include an SRT Power Chiller, which diverts the air conditioning system to cool the supercharger intercooler for optimal intake air temperature. Stopping duties are handled by Brembo four-piston brakes.
Here’s How The Challenger Demon 170 Compares To The World’s Quickest Cars
Fastest Hypercar Quarter Mile Times
- Dodge Challenger Demon 170: 8.91 seconds
- Pininfarina Battista: 8.55 seconds
- Rimac Nevara: 8.25 seconds
- McMurtry Spéirling (prototype): 7.97 seconds
A small but elite group of cars have staked a claim to the fastest quarter-mile times on record. In May 2023, the all-electric Rimac Nevera set 23 performance records in a single day, including a quarter-mile pass in 8.25 seconds. Interestingly, even that electric hypercar couldn’t match Dodge’s claimed 0–60 mph time for the Demon 170 — the Rimac managed 1.74 seconds to the Demon’s 1.66. The Pininfarina Battista runs it close, posting a quarter-mile time of 8.55 seconds.
There Is One Car That Can Outsprint Them All
However, none of these cars could catch one unusual British hypercar over the quarter mile. In 2022, YouTube channel Carwow took a McMurtry Spéirling fan car to 60 mph in 1.40 seconds and covered the quarter mile in 7.97 seconds during filming. Only 100 will ever be built of this extraordinary machine, with the cars currently destined for track-only use.
How Many Demons Were Produced And What They Are Worth Now
Interestingly, despite its epic performance, the Dodge Challenger Demon 170 wasn’t limited to a tiny production run. Dodge planned to build 3,300 units in total — 3,000 for the U.S. and 300 for Canada. Despite not being as rare as some other American sports cars, the Demon 170 has done far more than hold its value; it has skyrocketed. The original MSRP was $96,666, but the used market tells a very different story: Classic.com puts the average transaction price of a used Demon 170 at around $169,591 as of 2025.
Source: Dodge.com; Classic.com; Hagerty.com.
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