Discontinued muscle cars are not a thing of the past just yet – Ford's S650 seventh generation 2024 Mustang outsold the defunct Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger during the first quarter of the year even though production of the latter two ended in December 2023.
However, there are always stocks and backlog orders to honor, of course. As such, no one should be surprised that they still appear on the radar of motoring enthusiasts – including at the local quarter-mile dragstrip facility. Plus, the best thing is that some of these defunct muscle cars belong to the 'Last Call' special edition roster and also answer the Demon 170 call.
For example, the videographer behind the Wheels channel on YouTube is a big fan of The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and he witnessed something truly special there – all over again. Not long ago, he showed us not one but two 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 racing against each other to see who's better – a yellow and a purple example.
After that, another Demon 170 answered the racing call of a mighty Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody to see if the Mopar could stand neck and neck with the mighty Demon in a quarter-mile showdown at The Strip. Now, though, it's time for something old yet fresh: an enticing yellow Demon fighting off a 'Green Goblin' Challenger and also a star-spangled 'Marines' Challenger, with one being a T/A model and the other being a Scat Pack R/T.
With that in mind, even if the yellow Mopar is not a Demon 170, it's still a lot mightier than the other two. No worries, as the fans in the comments section explained, these encounters were of the bracket racing variety. So, the more powerful vehicle has to dial in a time and then start with a handicap compared to the slower car equivalent to the dialed-in difference.
That's how come the 'Goblin' Challenger T/A got about a third of the quarter-mile distance before the yellow Demon even started rolling – and the same almost happened with the 'Marines' Challenger, too. Alas, the yellow Challenger made two spectacular comebacks during both races. The first ended with a flawless 9.38s versus 12.26s victory, and the second was equally enticing due to the 9.37s versus 12.32s result.
Unfortunately, the time of the great V8 engine is almost over in the Mopar corner of the quarter-mile drag racing world. Soon, there will be silent but fearless eighth-generation Dodge Charger Daytona EVs roaming around the nation's tracks. Also, the Mustangs and all the other sports cars will soon face the novel 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six twin-turbo lifestyle – and we bet it's going to be a brawl for the ages when the 500-hp Mustang Dark Horses faces off with the 550-hp Charger Sixpack H.O., right?
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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