Can the Hennessey Exorcist drive out the Dodge Demon?
Texas tuner extraordinaire Hennessey Performance wants to give anyone considering snapping up the new Dodge Challenger SRT Demon cause for concern.
At the New York International Auto Show, Dodge confounded expectations with an 840hp street-legal drag car called the Demon. Capable of hitting 60mph in 2.3 seconds and covering the standing quarter mile in 9.65 seconds, its performance levels border on witchcraft.
But as all fans of classic horror movies know, good always prevails and Hennessey is hoping to quite literally exorcise this demon with a white-hot muscle car of its own.
Based on the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and set to be offered as either a full turnkey car or as a conversion for existing ZL1 owners, the Exorcist has a totally overhauled engine complete with ported cylinder heads, new valves, a new camshaft, a high-flow supercharger, plus new exhaust system. Together they up the car's output to 1000hp from the factory standard 640hp.
Hennessey is yet to divulge what these upgrades do to the car's acceleration times, but if we take Hennessey's other customized Camaros as a benchmark, the company's existing 850hp engine upgrade package gives the ZL1 a 0-60mph time of 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 210mph.
The Hennessey Exorcist will be strictly limited to 100 individually numbered examples. Buyers will be able to specify their cars with 20-inch rear drag radial tires for phenomenal straight-line performance and, because even before these upgrades, the base ZL1 is already the most track-focused Camaro in the Chevrolet line-up, a special Track tool kit for days out at the circuit.
