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Watch these Dodge Demons explode on a Texas drag strip

The Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is extremely quick. It can hit 60 mph from a dead stop in less time than it takes to read this sentence thanks to its supercharged 6.2-liter V8. That engine makes up to 840 horsepower and 770 pound-feet of torque, depending on what octane is running through the fuel lines. That's a ton of power going solely to the rear wheels. So much so that Dodge developed a number of features and a new set of tires specifically for the car. In our time with the Demon, the car took abuse run after run on a drag strip without skipping a beat, but it seems some actual owners aren't quite so lucky. Just take a look at what happened to a few of these cars. You can see the whole car shake and jitter right as the whole rear explodes in front of the tree. It seems the initial shock from the launch — the most taxing bit of any drag run — is what kills the differentials. Catastrophic failure is rarely pretty, but it is neat to see the whole thing occur in slow motion. Three more cars — four stock and one modified in total — suffered similar fates. Not a great look for Dodge or SRT. According to The Drive, a private drag event in Texas drew a number of Demon owners all trying to beat NHRA NHRA Top Fuel racer Leah Pritchett's time in her personal Dodge Demon — 42 stock Demons attended along with five modified cars. While no one managed to match her 9.65-second quarter-mile run, a few owners did dip below 10 seconds. Now, there are a few of caveats we must address. First, with any modified car, you run the risk of breaking something, even with a car that's set up from stock specifically for drag strips. Even a set of tires like the Mickey Thompsons shown in the video above can have an effect on driveline components. Horsepower may be king, but it's torque that's the rear killer. All that torque sends a shock through the car. Adding even more with aftermarket parts increases the risk of something failing. The modified car was apparently pushing out about 1,000 horsepower. That said, four of the five vehicles were stock, so any extra power or torque should theoretically be a non-factor. The drag strip's surface was maintained by a company called Mass Traction. FCA used Mass Traction during the Demon's development, so that too should be a non-factor in the part's failure. It's unclear what exactly caused the failures, though The Drive reports that FCA officials are investigating the matter. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party.

2016 Dodge Viper ACR racks up lap records

With 645 horsepower and an adjustable spoiler nearly six feet wide, the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR would look at home on the runways of most any airport, air base, or aircraft carrier in the world. But it's not built for the runway. It's built for the race track. And it has positively mastered them one after another. In fact, the new Viper ACR has not only beat the lap times of its own predecessor as it set out to, but took the production-car lap record at 13 tracks across the country. The endeavor started out at the Inde Motorsport Ranch in Arizona, where development engineer Chris "The Wolf" Winkler set a lap time of 1:33.75 on the Configuration 4 track to beat every other street-legal vehicle to ever lap the circuit. Then it was off to Buttonwillow, the MotorSport Ranch (in Cresson, TX), Big Willow, VIR, Grattan, Pittsburg, GingerMan, the Motown Mile, Nelson Ledges, Waterford Hills, and Road Atlanta. And with the new American Club Racer, Dodge took the lap record at each and every one. The journey culminated just days ago at Laguna Seca, where track expert Randy Pobst climbed into the Viper ACR and set a lap time of 1:28.65. That's 5.27 seconds faster than the previous ACR's time, and 1.24 seconds faster than the Porsche 918 Spyder that held the record until now. The sum total is a bragging-rights sheet of lap records set at 13 tracks across these United States. And you don't have to take Dodge's word on that. The records have been certified by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), cementing the ACR's place in the record books. Nice work if you can get it, and you can scope it out in the video above and press release below. Related Video: 2016 Dodge Viper ACR Is Undisputed Track Record King - Ultimate street-legal race car sets new high-performance benchmark with more track records than any production car in the world - Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) has certified lap records at 13 road courses, including world-famous Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta and Virginia International Raceway - With 645 horsepower and more torque than any naturally aspirated engine in a production car, the ACR is purpose built for weekend club racers who want the most extreme, but street-legal, track car available - Significant aerodynamic and suspension upgrades, new Carbon Ceramic brakes with six-piston calipers from Brembo and high-performance Kumho tires, specifically designed for the new 2016 ACR, set this Viper apart on any road course November 3, 2015, Auburn Hills, Mich.

Dodge Challenger Shakedown: '71 body, new guts

While Jeep has created a number of vintage-bodied custom vehicles with modern components, this year's SEMA show plays host to Dodge's take on the idea. The Shakedown concept began life as a 1971 Challenger and ditched almost everything in it, including the engine and chassis. What's left is a modern car with a retro look. The chassis was a particularly complicated part of the job, since the Challenger was originally a unibody car. However, Dodge chose to separate the Challenger's iconic body from its structural parts, and moved it onto a custom, one-off chassis from which the body can be removed as needed. The chassis also carries lowered suspension, Challenger Hellcat brakes, and a 6.4-liter 392 Hemi V8 connected to a six-speed manual transmission from the Viper. Dodge also installed the engine using the new Hemi engine swap kit from Mopar. With the shaker cold-air intake and custom exhaust, the Shakedown's powerplant makes 485 horsepower. View 13 Photos The body itself received plenty of tweaking as well. Dodge shaved off the drip rails, door handles, and turn signals for a cleaner look, and also fitted the grille, headlights, and taillights from a 2017 Challenger. The whole thing is finished in matte black paint with a "vibrating" stripe offset on the left side. The Shakedown also gets 20-inch Slingshot rear wheels and a pair of custom 19-inch versions for the front. On each fender is a bright red "392" decal that uses the same font as the labels on classic Mopars 360 cubic-inch V8s. Inside, the Shakedown gets the same radical upgrade as the chassis. Two Viper seats accompany a Viper steering wheel, and the rear seats are gone altogether. The Viper gearbox is shifted with a Challenger Hellcat gear knob, and carbon-fiber accents and leather adorn the wheel, door panels, instrument panel and center console. Related Video: Image Credit: FCA, Joel Stocksdale SEMA Show Dodge Coupe Concept Cars Performance