Who’s up for a good old-fashioned Dodge vs. Dodge battle? We’re talking nearly identical cars, yet with quite a few important differences that only true muscle car fanatics can fully appreciate. Hold on to your trousers, because this is as good a race as you’ll see all day.
Let’s introduce them as if they were two prizefighters: in one corner, wearing all-black, the legend itself, a machine so quick off the line that it outgrew the need for having a "Hellcat" moniker. The one, the only, Challenger SRT Demon! Its opponent? The car Dodge believed would pick up right where the now-discontinued Demon left off, wearing purple from head to toe, the epic Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye!
Let’s start with the Demon first since it technically has seniority over the Redeye Hellcat. It first burst onto the scene in April of 2017 at the New York Auto Show, making some really wild promises, like having a 1-second sprint time from zero to 30 mph (48 kph), a zero to 60 mph (96 kph) time of just 2.3 seconds (or 2 seconds flat with a rollout), and completing a quarter-mile in just 9.65 seconds at 140.09 mph (225.45 kph).
When it launched, the Demon was the fastest non-electric production car in terms of 0-60 times and quarter-mile times.
In order to get there, Dodge needed to work a little bit on the 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V8 unit, which uses a 2.7-liter supercharger for a total of 840 hp (852 PS) and 770 lb-ft (1,044 Nm) of torque on 100 octane racing fuel or higher. Opting for a lower octane figure would leave you with “just” 808 hp (819 PS) and 717 lb-ft (972 Nm) of torque.
Meanwhile, the Hellcat Redeye is mostly just a stronger Hellcat, or a less powerful Demon, depending on how you look at it. It's got the same engine but rated at 797 hp (808 PS) and 707 lb-ft (959 Nm) of torque. It also packs a reinforced 8-speed automatic gearbox, track-tuned suspension, heavy-duty drive-shafts, and a few other upgrades.
Thanks to its Demon Crate, the Challenger Demon is a little better prepared for drag racing, but even if you don’t use the crate, you still have more power at your disposal, which is why the Demon beat the Hellcat Redeye during this race. The Demon ran the quarter mine in 10.17 seconds, while the Redeye needed 10.52 seconds. Awesome stuff.
Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News