We are just hours away from the Dodge Last Call reveal (March 20 at 6 PM PST). That’s when The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will see Dodge showcasing the seventh and final special edition HEMI V8-animated muscle car. We’re all preparing in our own way. And, for a car enthusiast named Josh Welton, this meant driving his Challenger SRT Demon for 28 hours straight to attend the event in person.
With Dodge having already paved an electric muscle car future for 2024, the carmaker has already unveiled six Last Call specials that bring out the best in the Challenger and Charger lineup and heritage. Based on the leprechaun-filled teasers released so far, the last-of-the-last Challenger will be a drag strip-friendly monster topping any production vehicle the company has ever released.
That even includes the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon Josh brought to the party. And, with a supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI offering up to 840 hp—on race juice—for a 1/4-mile time of 9.65s, these numbers are a challenge, but we’re not here to discuss this. Just give it six hours and check out the Roadkill Nights-powered event live in the YouTube clip below.
From hardware like the Torque Reserve and the TransBrake, to custom suspension, smaller brakes, and others, the SRT Demon (here’s one with a manual swap), of which just 3,300 were built for 2018, was made with the said quarter-mile purpose in mind. Even so, the said enthusiast cannonballed his way across the country in his black example.
The man left his Detroit “base” at 7:30 AM on March 18 and made it to Vegas 22 hours ago. As he explains in the first Instagram post below, the Rocky Mountains did give him some bad weather, with snow covering the road. Fortunately, he had come well-prepared, so instead of the Nitto drag radials that normally grace the wheels of the still-regining-at-the-time-of-press Challenger, he used snow tires.
His 28 hours of driving are only a little under what the Google maps app offers, but keep in mind we’re talking about a Demon going over white-covered roads here. In fact, the man made up for the weather forcing him to slow down by not stopping along the way—at least not for too long.
For his 2,130-mile trip, the driver averaged 20.4 mpg, which is quite the achievement given the nearly 800 hp monster under the hood-this is the figure on pump gas. Sure, that’s just below the 22 mph highway rating for the Demon, but you don’t need to be a muscle car fan to know that achieving these numbers in the real world, where that pedal is the devil himself, doesn’t come easily. Then again, with 33,000 miles on his Demon, the man has a bit of experience with the vehicle and then some.
Who is Josh Welton?
Josh describes himself as a writer, welder, artist, and blue collar advocate on his Playing With Fire podcast. His metal work shines on Instagram via the welderassassin handle, and he’s no stranger to Dodge’s own affairs.
For one, the comments section of his adventure posts was visited by Stellantis Design Boss Ralph Gilles and VP of Ram and Mopar Design Mark Trostle. Roadtrips? He’s done a few, including a 1,400-mile journey in Gilles’ 1,400 hp carbon-bodied, Hellephant-powered 1968 Dodge Charger Hellucination, which was built by Speedkore.
For his Demon trip, though, he shared the car with his wife Darla, and that says it all.
2023 Dodge Challenger Demon 170, the last one!
Dodge has unveiled the 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170. Cranking into the four-digit arena, this is the world’s most powerful production muscle car and yes, it can leave that tri-motor Tesla Model S Plaid trailing in its wake.
Thanks to E85 gasoline, with the 170-proof ethanol fuel mixture inspiring the vehicle’s name, the completely overhauled 6.2L HEMI, which uses the Hellephant 170-codenamed 3.0L supercharger, now offers up to 1,025 hp and 945 lb-ft of torque. On your average 91-octane dinosaur juice, the unit still makes a whopping 900 hp and 810 lb-ft of twist.
The official numbers—which will probably once again be difficult to replicate—show a quarter-mile time of 8.91s at 151 mph and a 1.66s 0 to 60 mph run.
The Demon 170 wheelies, can be had with a parachute via Dodge’s Direct Connection program and offers an updated Trans Bake 2.0—together with other improvements, this should make dialing things up at the drag strip easier than with the OG Demon.
Mickey Thompson provided the ET Street R rubber, size 245/55R-18 front and 315/50R-17 rear, which promises to be sticker than the previous Nittos. The new car tips the scales at 4,275 lbs, which is about the same as before. However, you can now get two-piece wheels made of carbon and aluminum. Offering the same design as the standard units, they shed 25 lbs overall, but make for an $11,495 option.
Speaking of which, the Dodge Demon 170 has an MSRP of $100,361 (we too fear the $200,000 dealer markups), which seems only fitting for the creme de la creme Challenger. Production will once again be limited to 3,000 units for the U.S. and 300 for Canada, even though that number might not be reached by the time the assembly line is axed to make room for EV muscle on December 31. So let’s enjoy this wicked ICE party while it lasts!
