2018 Dodge Demon engine specifications revealed

2018 Dodge Demon. Image: Dodge via AFP Relaxnews

There are some incredibly powerful high-performance cars being developed these days that are also increasingly environmentally friendly. All-electric cars like the upcoming Tomahawk EVO can boast zero to 60 miles per hour times as low as 2.0 seconds, and Mercedes-Benz AMG is soon to launch a 1000+ horsepower hybrid to eclipse the likes of the Porsche 918 and McLaren P1.

However, it’s still the case that nothing really stirs the soul the way a hulking great V-8 petrol engine does, especially when it’s one as ludicrous as the 707 horsepower unit American manufacturer Dodge puts in its Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcat models. But that engine is now set to be totally eclipsed by a new, even more powerful Dodge Challenger in the shape of the 2018 Challenger Demon, and Dodge has now released the full engine specifications.

The engine being dropped into the 2018 Challenger Demon is still a 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V-8, but it features no less than 62 percent of new content and it does a lot more than just seeing and raising the Hellcat’s 707 horsepower and 650 lb.-ft. of torque a little. When run on Premium 91 octane fuel, the Demon will develop 808 bhp (603 kW) and 717 lb.-ft. (972 Nm) of torque. But if the Demon is specified with the Direct Connection Controller and is run on unleaded 100 octane minimum fuel, those numbers then go up even further to a staggering 840 bhp (626 kW) and 770 lb.-ft. (1,044 Nm).

The supercharger is a twin screw, 2.7-liter per revolution unit, with rotors that are 1.1 inches longer than those found in the Hellcat’s supercharger. This helps to deliver a maximum boost pressure of 14.5 psi, which is considerably more than the Hellcat’s 11.6 psi that now seems relatively modest by comparison.

All that power is sent to the rear wheels through a TorqueFlite 8HP90 eight-speed automatic transmission, featuring an upgraded automatic transmission torque converter to increase torque multiplication by some 18 percent. The drivetrain features a limited slip differential, a 20-percent thicker prop shaft made of high strength, low alloy steel tube, and the Nitto drag radial tires deliver as much as 40 percent of extra launch force.

There are no official performance figures as yet, which is a shame. One interesting fact we do know though is that during a quarter-mile drag run, the Demon’s V-8 sucks in 173 cubic feet of air, which is the equivalent of the lung capacity of no less than 816 humans. JB

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