Dodge Demon Top Speed Record

From the factory, the Dodge Demon SRT is speed-limited to 168 mph. That's because the drag radial tires equipped from the factory aren't designed to go any faster. But, when you remove the speed limiter using the car's second power control module from the Demon crate and swap on some more high-speed capable tires, it can go faster. Much faster.

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This was first tested in February 2018, when a Demon owner took his car all the way up to 203 mph. in only 60 seconds, at the Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds event in Florida. Recently, a different Demon attempted another top speed, and it went even faster, hitting a top speed of 211.227 mph.

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This record was also achieved on the 2.7-mile-long Proving Grounds runway. Despite its big blocky fascia, massive air scoop, and heavy curb weight, the supercharged Demon pulled hard all the way from start to finish. In addition to removing the speed limiter, the power control module from the Demon crate allows the 6.2-liter motor to run on 100-octane race gas, bringing output from 808 horsepower to 840. All this power is necessary to overcome aerodynamic drag. Top speed all boils down to a mathematical formula:


The force due to drag goes up with the square of the speed of the moving object. In short, if you want to go twice as fast, you need to overcome four times the force from drag.

It's only towards the end of the run that Demon stopped accelerating hard, but if the car were given enough room, It may even squeeze out another mph or two.


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After seeing runs like this, it's clear the Demon is more than just a fantastic quarter-mile car.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/a27031798/dodge-challenger-srt-demon-top-speed-211-mph/

This feat is all the more impressive because the retro styling of the Challenger does not have the sleekest aerodynamic body. In fact, extensive wind tunnel testing was necessary to make the necessary design tweaks, so that the original 2008 Challenger would remain stable at high speeds. Check out this designer interview:


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I quote: The force due to drag goes up with the square of the speed of the moving object. In short, if you want to go twice as fast, you need to overcome four times the force from drag.

True that. However, due to the SPEED also going up, double the speed leads to four times the drag at twice the speed, which yields a need for EIGHT TIMES the horsepower to overcome it.

This is one reason jets are so good for high-speed flight and rockets are even better. About 9000 pounds of thrust would give a Demon 2g of acceleration from a standing start, and the acceleration would decrease due to drag at higher speeds, BUT, the thrust required to go twice as fast would only be four times as much, not EIGHT times as much.

A rocket at zero mph burns fuel at the exact same rate to get 9000 pounds of thrust as it does at mach 6. IN FACT, due to the bigger low-pressure area behind the body, rockets can become MORE efficient at high speed.
 

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