GTP Cool Wall: 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon

[Taegon Lewis]

Meh...

Because, even though, the Demon looks cool and has crazy-fast HP, it will never be in a NHRA-approved drag strip, which makes it pointless...

(Plus, I personally love the Hellcat more. It's just name and badge, that gets to me. Next to the already insane 707-Horsepower.)

 

[Cowboy]

8-speed AUTO?

I don't understand what's so bad about having an automatic. I mean yeah a manual is certainly a nice thing for sports cars but for daily drivers I prefer autos.

Just my opinion though.

 

[Joey D]

I don't understand what's so bad about having an automatic. I mean yeah a manual is certainly a nice thing for sports cars but for daily drivers I prefer autos.

Just my opinion though.

Also for drag racing, I believe an automatic is typically quicker which is probably why Dodge went with it...or the more likely reason of they didn't have an available manual that could manage that much power and torque.

 

[MisterWaffles]

I don't understand what's so bad about having an automatic. I mean yeah a manual is certainly a nice thing for sports cars but for daily drivers I prefer autos.

This is a sports car and it's certainly not a daily driver for most people. So you can probably see why an Auto would upset some people.

 

[GTRacer22]

This is a sports car and it's certainly not a daily driver for most people. So you can probably see why an Auto would upset some people.

What's the definition of 'sports car'?

 

[MisterWaffles]

What's the definition of 'sports car'?

I'd define a sports car as a car which serves a sporting purpose besides daily driving, so muscle cars would fit in there somewhere.

This car is built for Drag Racing, key word there being racing

 

[SlipZtrEm]

Yep, because we all know manual transmissions are what dominate in drag racing.

 

[prousonhairy]

I don't like the car, I'm really surprised so many people voted the same as me.

Seriously Uncool.

As far as manual and automatic goes, this is going to be Seriously Uncool to a lot of people. Im really considering getting an WRX with the CVT transmission, for ease of use. It's not going to be as fast as a manual, but it's not going to be slow by any means. I don't think I'll be racing anyone anyways.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

This is a sports car and it's certainly not a daily driver for most people. So you can probably see why an Auto would upset some people.

Pony/muscle cars are not sports cars.

This wasn't developed specifically for competition and going by that definition of a sports car, it isn't a lightweight, two-seater convertible either.

Besides that, having a manual in a car with this much power and torque that is designed to be as fast as possible in a straight line is, quite frankly, pointless and just asking for trouble.

 

[NotThePrez]

I didn't quite understand the reasoning in the article. Maybe I'm tired or something.

It is banned from racing because it needs a roll cage, because it's too fast?
If it is that fast, wouldn't you want a rollcage in your car?

As @Joey D & @Northstar mentioned, if a car clocks a time better than 9.99 seconds or finishes the quarter over 135 mph, then the NHRA requires additional safety equipment such as a roll cage, fire suit, netted windows and appropriate helmet. The driver is also required to have a competition license approved by the NHRA. With a 9.65 @140, the Hellcat ticks most of those boxes. I believe that cars that go over 145 require a parachute, though I could be wrong.

Now, ideally if you're serious about racing, and you have a really fast car, you should have those things already, but it irks me because Dodge seems to market the car as being race ready and so fast that it's banned, when both statements aren't really true.

It also kinda takes away cool points from the car, because someone would ask why it's "banned," and having to explain that just seems like gloating.

 

[Northstar]

So you can probably see why an Auto would upset some people.

Drag racing is largely about reaction times, so an automatic actually has the advantage. Even if you have perfect reaction times the computer will still beat you by fractions of a second, which is a lot when the race is only a few seconds long.

 

[UltimateYosh]

The Hellcat was uncool because all they were trying to do was create the most powerful muscle car.

The Demon is just more of the same. And it can't even be used to it's full potential in it's stock form due to lacking a cage.

Seriously Uncool.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

One of the easiest Seriously Uncool votes I've made if I'm honest. It's the car for people that didn't think the Hellcat wasn't outrageous enough (and that was already dialed to 11 on the silly scale).

This is the car your dad wants.

Actually, my dad would want a Shelby GT350.

 

[CyborgGT]

From my perspective as an enthusiast, I think the Demon is the most idiotic car ever created. It could have been made with the safety rules met (despite a certain couple of people here that argue otherwise, who obviously aren't familiar with the modification world and how it's advanced over the years), but Dodge chose not to.

From my perspective as a child growing up going to car shows and knowing what I like to see, as well as watching 'normal' people comment on and crowd around cars, I think the Demon is one of the coolest cars out there.

Seeing as how our Cool Wall is based on the Top Gear Wall (on which I think Jeremy's opinions were often wrong), the latter is what matters. Kids and even women (at least in America; it's part of our culture) will see something like this at a show and are far more likely to think, "cool" than "stupid." The thing's a beast even sitting still. Completely idiotic, as many of us here are saying, but I gave it a high Cool.

As for the people upset about it being automatic, you're clearly not really into drag racing. It's the best weapon for the job.

 

[Dan]

This car would have received a Seriously Uncool vote from me if it weren't for the performance figures and improved exterior. Uncool.

 

[Sage Ages]

I knew that there were other factors into fuel economy than horsepower, but that's another ball game for me. Thank you for clarifying.

Just pointing out that horsepower and fuel economy aren't exclusively related. I could have an inefficient engine making low power, or an efficient engine that makes an abundant amount of power.

From my perspective as an enthusiast, I think the Demon is the most idiotic car ever created. It could have been made with the safety rules met (despite a certain couple of people here that argue otherwise, who obviously aren't familiar with the modification world and how it's advanced over the years), but Dodge chose not to.

I would assume it's because they wanted to keep the thing a street legal car, which is a nightmare to accomplish with a cage. Otherwise, this would be nothing more than a Drag Pak Challenger that no one would remember.

Of course, it's still a stupid car for a stupid niche.

 

[Grandea GTR]

This thing is so dumb.

Uncool.

 

[Tornado]

It could have been made with the safety rules met (despite a certain couple of people here that argue otherwise, who obviously aren't familiar with the modification world and how it's advanced over the years), but Dodge chose not to.

Certain people here were actually brave enough to debate your insistence that they could have built a trim level of a Dodge Challenger the same way that Ford built the GT when you (eventually) claimed that that was all Dodge needed to do to make it NHRA approved the first time. I'm sorry you're not brave enough to name who they were in this thread or even link to the discussion in question so people could make their own judgements. But hey, slinking out of a discussion you started only to pop up to later veeeery quietly call those people ignorant for arguing against you in a different thread in the same forum takes a certain kind of bravery I guess.








I'll help you though: @TenEightyOne

 

[Aphelion]

Muscle cars usually aren't my thing, but this car is so bonkers and so in-your-face that it's kinda cool to me.

This guy is bonkers and in your face, but that doesn't make him cool:

 

[Casper_TFG]

What's the reason for the NHRA banning?

 

[Famine]

What's the reason for the NHRA banning?

It's just one of those nonsensical PR 'so fast they banned it' claims.

In official competition, cars that manages 9.999 ET or less in a quarter mile must have a roll cage. The Demon can, but doesn't have a roll cage because it's a road car (and a roll cage in a road car is unbelievably dangerous unless you also wear a helmet at all times) so it wouldn't be allowed in an NHRA competition. Unless the driver habitually shorts it to 10s or more.

It's basically a way of saying 'it's very fast' with a florid example.

 

[Tornado]

What's the reason for the NHRA banning?

It isn't really "banned" so much as its performance can exceed the number the NHRA has listed for when you need to have certain safety equipment installed. You can take it to an NHRA track during an NHRA event and set 10 second times all day with sub-135 trap speeds, which is as good as most owners would probably be able to do anyway. If you are good and can consistently beat that, if a track has NHRA certification (which not all dragstrips in the US do) they probably won't let you continue to run the car until you have the modifications done that they typically require for vehicles that fast, especially if it is during something the NHRA sanctions.




This isn't the first time something like this has been brought up, either. The rule used to be 11.50 until 2013. which started becoming an issue at the time when the C6 Z06 could easily go faster than that at a strip; nevermind when the ZR-1 and Nissan GT-R came out.

 

[1241Penguin]

This guy is bonkers and in your face, but that doesn't make him cool:

That's not quite what I had in mind, but okay.

 

[05XR8]

I'm two people's Dad. If this were a "Would You Rather.. Demon or EP3 Type R", I'd pick the EP3.

As it is, I like it. I saw a triple black Hellcat and that was the business. Overfenders with wide tyres front and rear on the Demon? Definitely Sub Zero.

 

[Razor440]

I think the amount of people who are voting this car to be uncool might put it below some cars that don't deserve to be closer to "cool" than this machine. Yes, it's bonkers, but hey, plenty of other cars are as well and those reasons makes it justified enough in my opinion to vote Sub-Zero for this car.

 

[Michelin Man]

I think the amount of people who are voting this car to be uncool might put it below some cars that don't deserve to be closer to "cool" than this machine. Yes, it's bonkers, but hey, plenty of other cars are as well and those reasons makes it justified enough in my opinion to vote Sub-Zero for this car.

Whilst it's ultimately subjective and down to opinion at the end of the day, personally the Demon is bonkers for the wrong reasons IMO. I think it's deserved of it's highly uncool status.

I think it comes down to the image in which it's been created. I thought the Hellcat was quite unnecessary and somewhat stupid IMO, with it's vast amounts of power, but weighed the same as a house. What I find silly, is that the Hellcat, is much the same as that concept, only turned up to 11, "because adding more power solves it all". For starters, it's "fastest accelerating production car" tagline, was created under a set of ridiculously specific set of conditions, as touched upon earlier. Plus it's available with road legal drag slicks, but it's completely banned from NHRA sanctioned drag events .

I think that ultimately why so many have voted SU, is that it really wasn't needed, especially over the Hellcat, since all Dodge have created is a marketing tool, disguised as an overly powerful, over weight barge, that any Tom, Dick and Harry can purchase regardless of all this

Anyway, different strokes, for different folks and all that 👍.

 

[Joey D]

I can't really think of anything that makes this car cool, it's a marketing piece for FCA when FCA doesn't even want to build cars anymore. It's also the answer to a question no one ever asked. If you're serious about drag racing, chances are you can build a faster car for less more and have it meet NHRA rules, if you're not serious about drag racing, then why would you want a car that's nearly $100k that at the end of the day isn't a dedicated sports car. I'm guessing the average person with that kind of money to spend and their heart set on a Dodge would ultimately end up with a Viper.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

I personally think that the aspect of the Demon being the baddest street-strip production car is SZ, but the fact that the car is "banned from NHRA competition" (which really depends on how seriously NHRA sanctioned tracks adhere to NHRA guidelines) when it's designed to be a no compromise street-strip car makes it SU. So to me, it balances out to a meh.