The massive hype and anticipation surrounding the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon reached a crescendo when the muscle car was officially unveiled at the 2017 New York Auto Show. For all intents and purposes, the Challenger SRT Demon lived up to the hype, that is if you thought its 840-horsepower met expectations. But some people, myself included, actually thought Dodge would've swung for the fences with a car that packed 1,000 horsepower. In that regard, the Demon was a bit of a letdown, that is until we heard news that American tuner extraordinaire Hennessey is making things right with a package for the muscle car that will turn the beast into the demonic 1,500-horsepower monster we thought it would be.

See, news of Hennessey’s intentions for the Demon shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who know what the tuner is capable of. This is, after all, the same company that makes a routine of developing massive aftermarket kits for America’s biggest and baddest muscle cars. It’s got kits for different iterations of the Dodge Charger, Ford Mustang, and Chevrolet Camaro, all of which peak at four-digit power outputs. It even has programs for models like the Chevrolet Corvette and the Ford F-150, and lest we forget, this is the same company that gave the world the Hennessey Venom GT, considered as the fastest production car in the world as long as you’re not talking to Bugatti.

So what sinister intentions does Hennessey have in store for the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon? A quick peek at the company’s website reveals a number of tuning programs for the muscle car that include power increases ranging from 1,000 horsepower to 1,500 horsepower. Other upgrades in store from the clinically insane tuner include new supercharger systems, new headers, parachutes(!), and an NHRA-legal roll cage for good measure.

Should Hennessey accomplish its intended goal for the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, it’s going to go a long way in firmly establishing the muscle car as the standard-bearer of its segment. Not that it is already, but c’mon, 1,500 horsepower is 1,500 horsepower.

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Armaggedon really is coming

There’s a moment in time when you try to wrap your mind around the insanity of a 1,500-horsepower muscle car when you realize that thinking about it does absolutely no justice to the car. Just get inside, give it a go, and see if you come out of it with your arms and legs still intact with the rest of your body.

That’s the scenario that future owners of the Dodge Challenger SRT Demons are going to deal with if they do decide to take up Hennessey’s offer and have their Demons prepped for one of the most insane aftermarket auto surgeries in the business today. Consider that even in standard guise, the Demon is said to be capable of sprinting to 60 mph from a stop in just 2.7 seconds, putting it firmly in the neighborhood of today’s supercars. Now imagine if you added 660 horsepower into the mix? Remember that face Jeremy Clarkson had when he drove the Ariel Atom around the Top Gear test track some years ago? Insert your face there and that’s probably the reaction you’ll get when you’re going full blast on a Hennessey-tuned Challenger SRT Demon.

Drawing the line has never been Hennessey’s strong suit, so you can expect these programs for the SRT Demon to ignore that fictitious line completely. The tuner is pushing all of its chips on the table to give us a Dodge Challenger SRT Demon that the devil would really be proud of. So say what you will about the muscle car’s stock 840-horsepower and whether it’s enough to satisfy your drag strip cravings. All you need to know at this point is that there are going to be programs available in the near future from Hennessey that will turn that 840 horses into 1,500.

In other words, that Demon will be breathing fire and brimstone. Better not get in its way unless you’re a sucker for eating dust.

Read our full review on the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon here.