Because too much is never quite enough, Dodge has gifted us with the new Challenger SRT Demon, one of the most hotly anticipated cars to come out of Detroit since… well, the now-docile 707 horsepower Dodge Challenger Hellcat. So what’s the Demon got that the Hellcat doesn’t? Another hundred horsepower for one, with a baseline power output of 808 very angry ponies along with 717 foot-pounds of torque.
Oh, not impressed? Then be sure run some 100-octane race fuel in it, and with a few easy tuning tweaks, it’ll make 840 horsepower and 770 pounds of torque. That’s enough muscle to get to 60 miles an hour in just 2.3 seconds and down the quarter mile in 9.65 seconds, which puts the Demon solidly in supercar territory. It’s also worth noting what the supercharged, inter-cooled screaming Demon doesn’t come with: passenger seats.
A regular Challenger has four seats, but the stock Demon only comes with one: for the driver. Also missing: sound deadening material and stereo equipment. Why? That’s stuff’s heavy and slows the car down, and clearly, the Demon is all about at-all-costs maximum forward velocity. Now, if a few tenths of a second off the quarter mile time aren’t deal breakers for you, you can add all that stuff back in as options if you want. But why? Might as well get a slow old Hellcat at that point.
The ridiculously fun and outrageous Dodge Challenger SRT Demon will arrive this fall, and while no price was specified at the New York Auto Show, marketplace chatter puts the sticker at around $80,000 for one of the 3,300 units Dodge will produce, so get that deposit in now if you want one. We’ve got a full report on the new Dodge Demon right here.
You’re here early
T*Mobile customers will be among the first get the new Samsung Galaxy S8 super-smartphones, according to a post on a site that tracks T*Mobile’s shenanigans. Tmo News claims the Un-Carrier will take their usual “us-first” plan to rolling out the new phone, which isn’t supposed to hit retail shelves until April 21st. But according to messages Tmo says some S8 buyers are receiving, they’re going to start shipping the S8 two days ahead of the official release date.
In the past, T*Mobile has sent out phones as much as two weeks ahead of their official debut, so if you already plunked down your money for an S8, you just might get one early.
Maybe Assistant can assist Bixby
More S8 news, and not really good news. According to the Wall Street Journal, Samsung’s much-touted digital assistant, Bixby, will not be able to respond to commands from English language users when the phone arrives.
Bixby reportedly will get more chatty sometime in May, well after the April 21st launch date. But hey, not to worry, because you know what WILL work on the S8 when it gets into customers’ hands? Yep, Google Assistant.
Since the S8 runs Android from Google, the delay of Bixby’s full functionality leaves a door very wide open for Google’s chatty bot, which has been available on millions of devices for some time now. Doesn’t sound like a very auspicious start for Bixby.
We’ve got more news on our Facebook page and YouTube channel, and be sure to tune in to this week’s DT podcasts: Close to the Metal (computers and such) on Tuesday, Trends with Benefits (general tech shenanigans) on Thursdays, and Between the Streams (movie and TV topics) every Friday.
