Never in the history of American muscle has a production car been musclier than the Demon. Offered only for the 2018 model year in limited numbers, the Challenger to rule all Challengers can be better, though.
Hennessey Performance Engineering of Texas offers the HPE1000 package for the supercharged strip slayer, and the list of improvements kicks off with a 4.5-liter supercharger instead of 2.7 liters from the factory. A pulley upgrade complements the larger throttle body and dedicated engine calibration.
Stainless-steel long tube headers, a high-flow supercharger bypass valve, cats, injectors, and induction system also need to be mentioned, along with up to 200 miles of road testing, dyno testing, Hennessey and HPE1000 badges, premium floor mats, and serialized plaques in the cabin and on the engine. All told, these changes translate to 1,035 horsepower and 948 pound-feet of torque. That's 195 hp and 231 lb-ft over the standard output.
Showcased on video to the tune of 500 Miles by Hedy West in the background of V8 burble, the Demon with Hennessey know-how stands out in terms of aural pleasure. A bit more aggressive than the stock configuration, the Mopar machine also puts on a show once you open the hood.
The polished finish of the Whipple supercharger contrasts beautifully with the orange paint on the valve covers of the 6.2-liter HEMI, but still, how does the HPE1000 fare in a straight line? As opposed to 2.3 seconds for the bone-stock car, the Hennessey specification hits 60 mph in merely 1.9 seconds.
On the blacktop, the quarter-mile finish line is crossed in 9.14 seconds at 152 mph (244.6 kph), a feat that you can confirm with your own eyes in the second video below. Care to guess how much the HPE1000 package costs? Hennessey never gave a price, so your guess is as good as mine. Considering that the MSRP of a Demon without options was $85k back in the day, it’s easy to imagine that the upgrade package pushes the total price to beyond $100k.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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