With the introduction of the street-legal 2018 Challenger SRT Demon, Dodge now holds the record for the world’s quickest production stock vehicle quarter-mile time at 9.65 seconds. For this exercise, we’re using the Wikipedia definition of “production car,” meaning it was built to sell to consumers and drive on public roads, it was fitted with original manufacturer tires, at least 25 examples were made and it is street legal. So what will the Demon beat? At least to 1,320 feet? Let’s explore.
We don’t have quarter-mile times for the Chiron yet — it might take the lead over the Demon.
Bugatti Veyron Super Sport
Despite its all-wheel-drive setup and 8.0-liter quad-turbo engine, the Veyron Super Sport will still be 0.05 second slower in the quarter-mile. After that, things get a little murky, and eventually the Veyron will pull away. But for five-hundredths of a second, the $2.7 million Bugatti will be looking at the $86,000 Demon’s taillights.
The McLaren will outrun the Demon on a high-speed mile, but not a quarter-mile.
McLaren P1
The McLaren P1 hybrid hypercar crosses the quarter-mile line in 9.8 seconds, 0.15 slower than the Dodge. That will probably be the only time we can make that statement. The P1 tops out at 218, so like the Veyron, it’ll eventually pull away. But if we’re running the quarter, pink slips go to the Dodge.
The 918 Spyder runs the quarter-mile in 9.8 seconds.
Porsche 918 Spyder
The 918 Spyder is the most technically advanced street car Porsche ever built; it may be the most technically advanced car built by any manufacturer. Still, it can’t take the DOT-approved drag-radial Dodge in a quarter-mile. Like the P1, it dispatches 1,320 feet in 9.8 seconds, but with a few less miles per hour. Sure, seeing a Challenger on the street, Demon or not, doesn’t invoke the same emotions as the 918 — I’ve yet to see one in Michigan — but for less than two-tenths of a second, Dodge puts Porsche in the rearview. If the track happened to turn, it’d be a different story.
No one should pick the Demon over a LaFerrari, but if your only concern was 1,320 feet, you might.
LaFerrari
From what I know of the Ferrari 488, the LaFerrari is probably the best car in the world. Its 6.3-liter V12 and KERS energy recovery system deliver bursts of 950 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels. However, like the McLaren and 918, it finishes the quarter-mile in 9.8 seconds. There was a 9.7-second run, but the scuttlebutt was that there’s a 1.4 percent slope at the Ferrari test track. Car and Driver clocked the 9.8-second run.
The Aventador SV delivers 740 hp, good for a top speed “well in excess of 200 mph.”
Lamborghini Aventador SV
Rounding out the list of insanely priced supercars that would lose to the Dodge Demon in a drag race is the Lamborghini Aventador Super Veloce. It too could outrun the Demon over a long enough runway, but for those first 1,000 feet or so, it’s Dodge’s race. The SV gets to 200 mph in 33.5 seconds and finally tops out at 217.
So, the Demon will slay basically everything in a quarter-mile. That’s what it was built for. Like we said, though, throw a few corners at it and things change. But if — like Dominic Toretto, the patron saint of acceleration, says — you live your life a quarter-mile at time, the Demon will surely set you free.