Dodge Demon 170 Races Lucid Air Sapphire, Both Run 9s

Pictured at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida, the purple Demon features no passenger seats whatsoever, Billet Specialties racing wheels, a set of Mickey Thompson drag radials out back, and skinnies for the front axle. Tipping the scales at 4,275 pounds (1,939 kilograms) with factory lightweight options (i.e., seat deletes and carbon-fiber wheels), the Demon 170 is theoretically capable of clocking 8.91 seconds at 151.17 miles per hour (243.28 kilometers per hour).

Over three digs, the purple car posted a best of 9.494 seconds at 144.89 miles per hour ( kilometers per hour) with E85 in the fuel tank. Corn brew is essential to the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 because it unlocks the supercharged V8 engine's full potential, that being 1,025 ponies and 945 pound-feet (1,281 Nm) of torque.

Ridiculous, for sure, but Lucid can do better with three motors. With Brooks Weisblat of DragTimes behind the wheel, the Air Sapphire pulled three 9.0-second runs in a row. The best one was 9.006 seconds at 152.66 miles per hour (245.68 kilometers per hour), which is hugely impressive for such a heavy car (5,336 pounds or 2,420 kilos).

Be that as it may, what did you expect from three motors that generate near-instant peak torque? Also remember that Lucid wants a staggering $249,000 for the fully-equipped Air Sapphire, whereas Demon 170 used to retail at $96,666 before freight and the gas-guzzler tax. Much pricier than the Tesla Model S Plaid as well, the Lucid Air Sapphire is the electric sedan to beat in the quarter mile.

Emphasis on sedan because alternatives do exist. By acceleration, the Rimac Nevera is faster still, recording a mind-bending 8.25 seconds in the quarter and 12.83 seconds for the half mile. Croatian automaker Rimac and Volkswagen Group-owned Bugatti currently work on the long-awaited successor to the Chiron, which – in stark contrast to its forerunner – uses a naturally aspirated V16 tower of power, aided by a high-performance hybrid setup.

Stellantis, which is the company formed after FCA tied the knot with PSA, doesn't plan a new generation of HEMI engines. To this effect, the L-platform Charger and Challenger have been replaced by the STLA Large-based Charger, a liftback that can be had with either 3.0L twin-turbo I6 oomph or dual-motor electric powertrains. The most powerful of electric powertrains hasn't been detailed, but we do know that it's called Banshee and that it rocks an 800-volt electrical system.

Dodge has been stripped of V8 options in December 2023, and Ram is pretty close to getting rid of the V8 as well. For model year 2025, only the Ram HD will be offered with eight cylinders instead of six or zero-emission muscle for the Ram 1500 REV.

Maserati also stopped making V8 cars and sport utility vehicles last year in favor of a twin-turbo V6 that screams Ferrari rather than Maserati. On the flip side, Ford and General Motors are perfectly fine keeping the V8 alive. GM went one step further by confirming a new generation of small blocks for large trucks and sport utility vehicles. Hearsay suggests the C9 as being a potential recipient, which does make sense considering that the current Stingray uses a 6.2-liter small block derived from the LT1 of the previous-generation Stingray.