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Dodge has unveiled the last – and fastest – gasoline muscle car

The last gas-powered muscle car from Dodge is making way for the electric car age, but not before releasing some serious rubber on the road.

The 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 will deliver 1,025 horsepower from its 6.2-liter supercharged V-8, and the automaker says it will be the fastest production car ever built.

Formed in 2021 by Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Peugeot, the Stellantis says it can go from zero to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 1.66 seconds, making it faster than electric supercars from Tesla and Lucid.

Stellantis’ performance brand calls it the ultimate rumbling car that Saturday night cruises across the country have been a fixture of American culture for decades.

Stellantis will do Stop making gas versions By the end of this year the Dodge Challenger and Charger and Chrysler 300 large sedans have been outpaced by stricter government fuel-economy regulations and an accelerating shift to electric vehicles to combat climate change.

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Stellantis says the 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 can go from zero to 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour) in 1.66 seconds, making it faster than electric supercars from Tesla and Lucid.

Dodge

The Canadian factory that makes all three cars will be restarted to make electric versions of the big car starting next year. Stellantis hasn’t said whether all three models will survive, but it did show a Charger Daytona SRT electric concept muscle car in August.

Tim Kuniskis, CEO of the Dodge brand and unofficial spokesman for America’s gas-powered rubber-burner, says that, while he will miss the traditional muscle car, he is excited about building an electric performance car.

“The End of an Era”

“It’s definitely the end of an era,” Kuniskis said Monday. “Electric products, they’re very fast. Muscle cars, one of the primary components is a fast car. So I’ve got the power automatically. Now I have to figure out a way to bring in all the other. Exciting elements of the driving experience.”

Since last summer, Dodge has been rolling out powerful special-edition “Last Call” versions of its gas-powered muscle cars, culminating Monday night with an event featuring the Challenger Demon 170 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway drag strip.

The new Challenger Demon, a descendant of a car that first went on sale in 1969, also makes 945 pound-feet of torque — so much power that the company had to strengthen the rear drive shaft and make the differential with aerospace-grade metal.

According to Stellantis, the car will be the first production vehicle to run the quarter-mile (0.40 km) in under nine seconds – 8.91 to be exact. To do this, it hits a speed of just 151 mph (243 km/h). Horsepower and speed depend on how much ethanol is in the fuel.

It gets just 13 miles per gallon in the city and 21 on the highway, but it’s doubtful anyone will care if they buy one even as the world deals with climate change.

Kuniskis says that’s a relatively small number of cars, and he says the ethanol they burn is cleaner than gasoline. Dodge, he said, will build 2 million muscle cars by the time production of the gas version ends on Dec. 31. Dodge’s followers, he said, deserve a celebration.

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The 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 will deliver 1,025 horsepower from its 6.2-liter supercharged V-8.

Dodge

“After all these years, we owe it to them to celebrate this end, and give them something that makes them so proud of the brand they love,” he said.

The Demon 170 is street legal, though it comes with wider racing tires. To make it a daily driver, the company is offering smaller, more road-friendly wheel and tire packages.

At a devilish $96,666, the car comes standard with only a driver’s seat and a basic radio But it has air conditioning. Front passenger and back seats are optional for $1 each, a marketing promotion. You also get leather, a sunroof and a better sound system.

Stellantis will only make 3,300 of them, and the Kuniskis aren’t sure if they’ll hit that number due to possible parts shortages and limited production time.

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