Las Vegas — Dodge unveiled its 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 via a helicopter on Monday evening at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It was all part of what the automaker called ‘Dodge Last Call’ with thrill rides, racing simulations, a car show, food trucks and much more.
The new Challenger is equipped with a 6.2-liter, V8 engine. It will be the most powerful muscle car in the world– producing an impressive 1,025 horsepower. In addition, the SRT Demon 170 will go from 0 to 60 mph in just 1.66 seconds.
The new muscle car is so fast that it receives a violation letter from NHRA for not having a safety cage or parachute on board. It raced on the drag strip and finished with a time of 8.91 seconds on the quarter mile.
“If you think it makes a bad a** entrance, just wait until you see how it leads,” said Dodge brand CEO Tim Kuniskis. “The Demon 170 is the world’s first production street legal drag car that runs on Ethanol. We took everything that the original Demon did, stood unrivaled for six years, and we turned it up to 11. Actually, more like 22 because that’s how much boost we’re pumping into this HEMI with a new 3-liter supercharger and 105-mm throttle body. We’re pumping so much air into this HEMI that it took our cylinder pressures up to 2,500 psi. We upgraded the entire engine.”
Comedian and car enthusiast Jay Leno was on hand for the special event. He spoke about Dodge and addressed his health following a car that caught on fire while he was making repairs near his face.
“Dodge does those kick a** commercials and it makes me laugh because it’s what people like, you like the performance,” Leno told the crowd. “I always consider the Hellcat the great American road trip car. It doesn’t have those skinny butt-clinching seats where your a** is killing you all the way. I like anything gas, electric, anything that rolls, explodes and makes noise. In fact, one actually exploded in my face that was kind of stupid. That’s okay. This is a whole new face, a whole new face of comedy so it’s okay.”
Dodge Last Call was described as a high adrenaline performance festival. The SRT Demon 170 will be the seventh and final Dodge last call model.
The company is making the transition to electric vehicles after one last model year. The 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona electric muscle car was also on display.
There were hundreds of custom dodge vehicles in the parking lot near the drag strip. I spoke to several of the car owners and here’s what they had to say.
“This is a Hellcat Charger 2018 wide body full custom everything,” said Jaime Flores from ReflectionzDetail in Las Vegas. “Custom wrap, custom door jams, custom headliner, custom lights, custom engine bay, custom sound system, everything done here in Las Vegas at ReflectionzDetail. The guys were working on it as of last night at 11:30 p.m. still stuff getting put together. We’ve been excited to be out here to check out that new last call Dodge.”
Robbie Robinson from Las Vegas bought his Hot Wheels-themed 2019 Dodge Challenger Scatpack. “I grew up playing with Hot Wheels and collecting Hot Wheels so I decided to build the real thing. My wife did the engine bay, all of the hydro dipping and she did the interior. A friend of mine, we did the wrap with all of the flames, cut out all of the flames for it. It has the LED underglow lights. It is lowered with air ride suspension. I have a Hot Wheels track around it, which I don’t have for the show. During a lot of shows, I will have Hot Wheels in the back for the kids and I hand out Hot Wheels to the kids.”
“We have a 2017 SXT Plus Dodge Challenger,” said Jess Scott from Phoenix. “What sets her apart is she is the only Challenger with a suicide hood. It has a full reflective wrap. I have a 24-inch TV in the trunk. I added a bunch of small details as far as embossing under the wrap. I have custom etching in my headlights. I tried to do little tips and trucks. In my lighting, I have stars in my doors as well as the roof. I even have webbing and spider webs through my taillights. It changes colors all the way around and it’s been quite the eye catcher.”
Travis Tettleton from Las Vegas told me about his wife’s 2021 Dodge Durango Hellcat. “It has a few modifications done to it. We have some lighting and some billet engine parts. Also, the theme of it is United States patriotic. It also has some interior work done to it. It is all-wheel drive and it has 710 horsepower. We’re waiting for the reveal of the vehicles coming out so it’s good. It does suck that this is the last year they are making the SRTs. We have all SRTs and we love them. I wish they were going to stay but Dodge is discontinuing them after 2023, I believe.”
Dodge will begin accepting orders for the Challenger SRT Demon 170 at DodgeGarage.com on March 27, 2023. Production will begin this summer and will be limited to 3,300 units—3,000 for the U.S. market and 300 for Canada. Dodge has set pricing at $96,666 before delivery and fees.
For more info about the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170, go to: https://www.dodgegarage.com/srt-demon-170
A helicopter carries the new Challenger SRT Demon 170 to the drag strip 
Dodge Brand CEO Tim Kuniskis describes the new vehicle 
Comedian and car enthusiast Jay Leno 
Dodge car show just outside the drag strip 
Jess Scott’s custom 2017 SXT Plus Dodge Challenger 
Robbie Robinson bought his Hot Wheels-themed 2019 Dodge Challenger Scatpack 
Travis and Renee Tettleton with their 2021 Dodge Durango Hellcat