They couldn’t be further apart.
Both the Nissan GT-R, and Dodge Challenger SRT Demon were bred using different philosophies. The two cars are very similar beneath their metallic exteriors and high-octane horsepower. Both are able to ride on platforms that were built before the Great Recession. The GT-R was introduced in 2007, while the Challenger appeared in 2008, months before Lehman Brothers collapsed and the housing market crashed.
Neither has much changed. Both still ride on the same old bones. Engineers have improved both platforms over the past decade to make them more powerful and efficient. The 2017 Nissan GT-R Nismo is capable of producing 600 horsepower and 481 pound-feet torque from its twin-turbocharged, 3.8-liter V6. Power is sent to all four wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. The 2018 Demon produces 840 horsepower from its supercharged, 6.2-liter V8, which is delivered all the way to the rear wheels by Hoosier tires. It is 4,280 lbs and the GT-R 3,900 lbs.
It is difficult to tell which car has the edge. While the Demon has more power, the GT-R is lighter, and has all-wheel-drive, which allows it to put more power on the road. Their differences actually make them unusual equals. Those two different philosophies deliver similar performance.
In the first race, the GT-R took the lead at the start. However, the Demon soon caught up and crossed the finish line first by half an inch. Although the Demon was victorious, the Dodge’s V8 of 840 horsepower outpowered the brakes. The Demon driver can be seen leaving the track after he corrected his course. The track member called out the Demon driver for his mistake, and the driver said he had hit the brakes hard. The GT-R gets a jump again at the start of the second race, but the Demon driver can’t recover from the slippery start and takes the win.
The GT-R, Demon and Demon are not competitors. Dodge is a drag-track-focused machine that can rip apart the carcasses of other competitors. The GT-R is a highly tuned performance computer. They translate to real-world performance, and that is something we all can enjoy.