Summary

• Classic muscle vehicles have been underrated in horsepower for insurance coverage causes, however fashionable muscle vehicles simply hit 500+ HP.
• The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 could not hit 215 MPH as beforehand reported, however nonetheless boasts spectacular efficiency stats.
• Top velocity is not every thing – some extreme-horsepower vehicles are all about fast quarter-mile occasions and dominating the drag strip.

In the basic period of American muscle, Detroit made some amazingly quick rides with loopy quantities of horsepower. The legendary 426 Street Hemi cranked out 425 ponies and the long-lasting Corvette 427 added 10 extra. Engines on the time have been notoriously underrated when it comes to energy, for insurance coverage causes, and dyno checks have since confirmed they jammed much more, however these are the official numbers, which means no basic common manufacturing automotive had ever hit 500 horsepower.

Fast-forward to the fashionable period of muscle cars, and there are many rides that make 500 horsepower and extra. Thanks to fashionable manufacturing methods and efficiency elements, in addition to tremendous and turbocharging, engines can generate obscene ranges of energy, with much less displacement. With fashionable suspensions, chassis, and tires, that energy can be extra successfully utilized to the pavement, which implies these horsepower machines are making quarter-mile runs that appear like 0-60 occasions from the previous days.

For a automotive that blasts out 500+ horsepower, the time period “slow” would not appear applicable, however, by technique of elimination, one in all them needs to be the slowest. A scorching soar off the road is a measure of quickness, however fastness is gauged by prime velocity and a few vehicles merely have a better quantity. Being the slowest automotive with 500 horsepower or extra is form of like being the sixth-richest individual on the planet, because it’s in the end fairly rattling cool. Still, some American vehicles have this distinction and the reply is perhaps a bit shocking.

In order to provide the most recent and correct data doable, the info used to compile this text was sourced from numerous producer web sites and different authoritative sources, together with Dodge, Car and Driver, and MotorTrend.

2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 May Be Slower Than Previously Thought

It’s truly fairly surprising to see the Earth-destroyer 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 topping the listing of slowest 500+ horsepower American vehicles as a result of everyone is aware of it has a prime velocity of 215 MPH, proper? Not precisely, as Dodge has by no means made that particular declare about its fierce 1,025 horsepower Last Call automobile. It seems that MotorBiscuit printed an article in 2023, saying that the Demon 170 had a prime velocity of 215 MPH, and so they cited a now-deleted write-up from CarHP because the supply.

Challenger SRT Demon 170 Power and Performance

(Performance stats sourced from Dodge Garage)

From there, everybody merely reported the Demon 170’s prime finish as 215, with out giving any thought as to the place the quantity got here from or if it was legitimate. Doing a Google seek for the highest velocity of the mighty Mopar will return dozens of outcomes that each one regurgitate the 215 quantity, however not a single one is an official Dodge supply. Also, authoritative sources like MotorTrend and Car and Driver have by no means printed this velocity, or on the very least, have eliminated it from their websites. This raises the distinct chance that the quickest manufacturing automotive ever constructed, may be the slowest among the many crass horsepower automobiles.

How Fast is the Demon 170?

There is numerous scuttlebutt in boards and YouTube movies claiming that the precise prime velocity of the Demon 170 is simply 149 MPH. These are clearly not official sources, however one creator, Butter Da Insider, says he truly communicated with Dodge, who confirmed that the Demon 170 doesn’t have a prime velocity of 215 MPH. They did not inform him what the precise prime finish is, however different sources have put it at 149 restricted by a governor, that enables a few further seconds of acceleration in a quarter-mile to hit 151 MPH.

The Demon 170 is a Drag Car

The Challenger SRT Demon 170 was constructed to be the fastest factory drag car, so energy off the road is an important issue. It’s not a flying mile automotive or an endurance racer so a freaky prime velocity is totally irrelevant. Still, the concept that this fearsome beast is definitely slower than lesser automobiles will be upsetting to Mopar followers. Especially contemplating that it was so broadly misreported that it was a 200+ MPH automotive. The excellent news is that each one the opposite insane numbers like a 1.66 second 0-60 time and a quarter-mile within the 8s are 100% legit.

The Fastest American 500+ Horsepower Cars

The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 will not be a 200 MPH automotive, however there are few American vehicles with 500 or extra horsepower that may hit and exceed that magic quantity. In the Mopar secure, are a few 807 pony-producing rides that prime out at 203 MPH within the 2023 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody Jailbreak and the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody Jailbreak. These are producer claims, which implies Dodge stands by the numbers, and so they weren’t made up by a publication.

2024 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing

The 670-horsepower 2024 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is governor-limited to 189 MPH, however GM does have a automotive, as unlikely because it appears, that may fly previous the 200 MPH barrier. The 2024 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing has a 668-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 that not solely blasts it off the road, however powers it to a 205 MPH prime velocity. Of all of the massive-horsepower American vehicles, that is probably the most unassuming, making it the ultimate sleeper car. While it most likely will not win too many drag races in opposition to the Mopars, it should edge them out in The Texas Mile.

Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing Power and Performance

(Performance stats sourced from Car and Driver)

2015 Dodge Viper GTS

The 2015 Dodge Viper GTS had obscene horsepower and an insane prime velocity earlier than it was cool. Equipped with an 8.4-liter V-10, the discontinued sports activities automotive produced 645 horsepower, which is spectacular for a naturally aspirated engine. Equally spectacular is the 206 MPH prime velocity able to this killer journey. Unlike all the opposite huge horsepower American vehicles, the Viper was truly designed for racing and winding out the highest finish, although it is a aggressive drag racer as properly.

Dodge Viper GTS Power and Performance

(Performance stats sourced from Car and Driver)

The Slowest Of The Fastest 500+ Horsepower Cars

Much just like the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 being ranked as gradual, there is no disgrace in being a sub-200 MPH automotive, as a result of something with over 500 ponies underneath the hood remains to be a mind-blowing journey. The 2024 Tesla Model S Plaid is an EV and perhaps would not belong in the identical dialogue as these gas-burners, however it’s American-made, with loopy horsepower. In reality, the three permanent-magnet synchronous electrical motors mix to provide 1,020 ponies, making it the second most muscular automotive within the group. Unfortunately, or perhaps thankfully, it’s governor-limited to 162 MPH.

2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse

At 500 horsepower, the 5.0-liter engine of the 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse simply makes the elite group of American monster muscle vehicles. With a producer’s declare of a 166 MPH prime velocity, nonetheless, it’s on the gradual finish of the spectrum. Those who bear in mind the Fox Body Mustangs of the 80s and 90s are most likely blown away as a result of their model of the 5.0-liter solely made 255 horsepower, however the Dark Horse is a supercharged Coyote V-8.

Ford Mustang Dark Horse Power and Performance

(Performance stats sourced from Car and Driver)

2024 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

Chevrolet has discontinued the Camaro after the 2024 mannequin yr, however that does not imply the legendary pony automotive goes out with a whimper. The 2024 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 continues, and blows away, the long-lasting journey’s legacy of efficiency with a supercharged small-block V-8, producing an explosive 650 horsepower. That’s ok for a blink-of-the-eye 0-60 time and a 190 MPH prime velocity. For perhaps the primary time in its historical past, the Camaro is quicker than the Corvette, if by just one mile per hour, nevertheless it nonetheless counts.

Power and Performance

(Performance stats sourced from Car and Driver)

Top Speed Ain’t Everything

TopSpeed is clearly the premier automotive web site (barely biased opinion) however in the case of the higher limits of a 500+ horsepower American efficiency automobile, it isn’t all that essential. Participants in NASCAR or the 24 Hours of LeMans need to have the ability to hit 200 MPH, however individuals who purchase extreme-horsepower efficiency vehicles wish to gobble up a quarter-mile within the quickest means doable. The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 is the proper instance of that. The Super-Mopar simply can’t be beat in 1,320 feet, and but most likely has the slowest prime velocity of any within the group.

The Price of Extreme Horsepower

• 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse – $61,080
• 2024 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 – $81,995
• 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye Jailbreak – $90,890
• 2024 Tesla Model S Plaid – $91,630
• 2024 Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing – $94,890
• 2023 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody Jailbreak – $95,960
• 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 – $100,361
• 2015 Dodge Viper GTS – $107,995
• 2024 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 – $114,395

While it isn’t official that the Demon 170 has the slowest prime finish, it most likely does, and that is okay. It’s not a supercar or a grand tourer, it is an all-American muscle automotive designed to blow away something that dares line up in opposition to it, and it achieves that objective superbly. Nobody purchased a Demon 170 for prime velocity and none of these fortunate homeowners are going to complain that it would not go 215 MPH. Top velocity generally is a bragging proper for a automobile, however in the case of road machines, the one numbers that matter are on the rear license plate, which an opponent shall be staring on the total time she or he is dragged to Embarrassment Town.