The 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon has done it once again and brought home another award; this time being chosen for the 2018 Roadshow Shift Award in the Driveline Technology of the Year category by “Roadshow by CNET”. As many know, the 840-horsepower Demon was designed, engineered and built for pure drag strip domination; leaving its completion wondering what hit it.

“We saw some amazing innovations on the powertrain front this year, and this was a hotly contested category, but in the end, the Roadshow team couldn’t resist the lure of the Demon,” said Tim Stevens, editor-in-chief, Roadshow by CNET. “The power output is of course phenomenal, but it’s the extent of the technology that really impressed us, like ducting the air conditioning to chill the intake air. It’s a hell of a package.”

“Our performance-minded designers and engineers worked tirelessly to shake the foundation of the entire performance car industry with the 840-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Demon,” said Tim Kuniskis, head of passenger cars, Dodge, SRT, Chrysler and FIAT, FCA North America. “In the quest for domination at the drag strip, Dodge and SRT engineers reviewed and strengthened every piece of the drivetrain to ensure it provides the ultimate in performance and durability.”

It’s no wonder that the Demon was awarded this honor as the car is a true work of art and features many automotive industry bests and firsts such as the Direct Connection engine controller (first ever for a production car), the Air-Grabber induction system that includes the largest functional hood scoop (45.2 square inches) of any production car, the first-ever factory-production car with a TransBrake, the highest g-force acceleration of any production car and the After-Run Chiller (a production car first) that runs the cooling fan and the low-temperature circuit coolant pump after engine shutdown.

The Demon’s best and first list continues with the award-winning and factory production car first SRT Power Chiller that redirects air conditioning refrigerant to help cool compressed air entering the engine and the Drag Mode Launch Assist (a factory car first) that uses wheel speed sensors to watch for driveline-damaging wheel hop at launch and in milliseconds modifies the engine torque to regain full grip. That’s just scratching the surface. We are anticipating plenty more awards in the Demon’s future.