This race – between the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 'Last Call' special edition and the mid-engine performance hybrid version of the C8 Chevrolet Corvette, E-Ray, is like a narrow meeting at the precipice of past and present. No, not the future; that one is still electric.
Think about it for a second. The 1,025-horsepower 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 'Last Call' special edition is basically the culmination of decades of internal combustion engineering done by Dodge with one purpose only – to give it its best at the local quarter-mile dragstrip. That time is now. Well, sort of, as it all happened on April 13 during the fifth annual 'The Big Showdown: YouTubers vs. The World.' Anyway, the Demon 170 represents the past.
Meanwhile, the 2024 C8 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, with its slick looks and reinvented mid-engine setup, comes to fulfill the promises of the present – complete with the series' first-ever all-wheel drive and hybrid setup. The E-Ray uses the same 6.2-liter LT2 cross-plane OHV V8 as the Stingray but adds one permanent magnet synchronous motor for a combined output of 655 horsepower and a promise to be the quickest Corvette in history – at least until the turbo ZR1 comes to market alongside the rumored Zora supercar hybrid.
Anyway, if you know the official numbers, you will see that the Corvette is at a disadvantage: 10.5s for the quarter mile and a time of 2.5 seconds to 60 mph (96 kph) as opposed to "the fastest accelerating production car in the world," which can rocket to a claimed 60 mph time of 1.66 seconds and then wrap the quarter-mile pass in just 8.91 seconds. Alas, we all know that official numbers don't always reflect the stuff that happens in real life.
So, we have already seen quite a few Demon 170s in action – and some of them were slower than the E-Ray at the hands of inexperienced drivers or when racing in adverse conditions. At the Texas Motorplex, though, there are no novices – in the E-Ray sits a massive fan of the C8, the racing driver and United States Navy Reserve officer Jesse Iwuji. At the same time, the Demon 170 is manhandled by none other than Herman Young, who desires to make the Demonology channel one of the best for Mopar fans all over the world.
For sure, these two know exactly how to extract every ounce of 'sweat and passion' from their two glorious rides – and we have seen on Jesse's channel that he consistently ran 10.6s during the event. The question was simple – could Herman both things up a little and fail one of his notoriously great Mopar launches? This time around, by the way, we see things from his perspective – complete with pre- and post-race shenanigans, as well as footage taken from his on-board cameras.
Well, as it turns out, Young's Demon 170 worked like clockwork, and Jesse didn't even stand a chance! Maybe next time…
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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