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Man hits 153 mph on I-75 in Dodge Magnum

A man driving in Michigan took his 2005 Dodge Magnum practically to the limit in the wee hours of the morning on May 19 when the Michigan State Police caught him on radar going 153 miles per hour on Interstate 75 near Detroit. The 21-year-old driver was spotted around 3:00 AM, according to The Detroit News. Michigan State Police First Lieutenant Michael Shaw told Autoblog that officers initially saw the man on radar doing 79 mph in a 70-mph-zone, and they started following him. He eventually clocked 153 mph. However, First Lt. Shaw was clear that there was never a pursuit. "Speeding isn't necessarily a reason to put the public at risk," he said. The situation ended rather abruptly, though. The driver pulled off the interstate and behind a building. He remained in the vehicle, and police arrived and arrested him. According to First Lt. Shaw, the man was driving home from work and alcohol wasn't a factor. The Magnum has been impounded, and the driver was charged with reckless driving. Unfortunately, First Lt. Shaw said that he didn't know what engine was in the wagon, but as enthusiasts, we're curious. After all, the 2005 Magnum RT was governed to 130 mph and the SRT8 wasn't unleashed until 2006, which means either the wagon must've been derestricted to hit such high speeds or that police have the year wrong. We'll let you know if we figure that one out...

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.

Watch a Dodge Challenger Demon break 200 mph

We all know that the Dodge Challenger Demon is a monster in short bursts. Its 840 horsepower and drag-ready tires allow it to hit 60 mph in a claimed 2.3 seconds on the way to a sub-10-second quarter-mile time. But it turns out that the Demon doesn't run out of grunt after the quarter-mile. This was proven by a group that took one to the runway where space shuttles landed, Johnny Bohmer Proving Grounds in Florida. There they hit a top speed of 203 mph. Dodge doesn't give a top speed for the Demon, but for a bit of comparison, the 707-horsepower Hellcat Widebody has a top speed of 199 mph. Watching the video, it's interesting how calm things appear to be in the cabin. There doesn't appear to be much vibration, and the car was clearly staying steady in a straight line, since the driver hardly moved the wheel. And before you know it, the 2.3-mile run is over. The run's not official unless a record-keeping body is witnessing it, and there will surely be Demons out there trying to beat this run, but it's sure fun to watch in the meantime. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.