Out of the box, the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is one of the quickest-accelerating, most extreme cars ever offered with a factory warranty. But it was only a matter of time before the aftermarket tried to improve upon Dodge’s work. At the 2018 SEMA show, Wisconsin-based SpeedKore Performance Group will unleash a tuned Demon sporting carbon-fiber bodywork and even more power.
The stock Demon sports a 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V8, famously producing 808 horsepower on pump gas, or 840-hp on 100-octane racing fuel. SpeedKore kept the engine, but ditched the supercharger in favor of a twin-turbocharger setup. The result is a claimed 1,203 hp on E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline available at some gas stations. SpeedKore added a new torque converter to the stock eight-speed automatic transmission to handle the extra power.
The Demon has never lacked power, but in stock form it is a heavy brute. To address that, SpeedKore replaced much of the stock bodywork with carbon fiber. The roof, hood, bumpers, fenders, door skins, and other, smaller pieces are made from the lightweight material. Owners of the Demon (or any Challenger model) can order the full carbon-fiber conversion or select individual parts for their own cars.
To show what its upgrades could do, SpeedKore recruited professional drag racer Leah Pritchett to make a quarter-mile pass in its Demon. Pritchett races in National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top Fuel — the pinnacle of drag racing. She’s also the driver that set the NHRA-certified quarter-mile time of 9.65 seconds at 140 mph for the stock Demon.
Pritchett’s best time in the SpeedKore Demon was 8.77 seconds at 161.57 mph. But what’s really impressive is that she managed that time with a full interior and air conditioning. The Demon came from the factory with only a driver’s seat, and Dodge’s performance claims were all based on models in that stripped-down configuration. SpeedKore did use different rear tires, however, swapping the stock Nitto NT05R 315/40R18 drag radials for Mickey Thompson ET Street R Tires, sized 325/35R18.
So if you’re one of the 3,300 people who managed to get their hands on a Demon during its one model year of production, SpeedKore can make it even more hellacious. Everyone else can still get a ridiculously fast Challenger in the form of the 2019 SRT Hellcat Redeye model.
