Here’s Our Wild-Ass Speculation about How Much Horsepower and Torque We Think the Dodge Challenger Demon Will Make

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How much power? How much torque? How much anything? These are all questions that we’ll have to wait eight weeks to answer with regard to the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon. What we do know with certainty today nestles somewhere between the files labeled “jack” and “squat,” but there are some clues. For instance, Dodge indicates the Demon will be 200 pounds lighter than the Hellcat, and the third tease released by the company, which showed drag-racing rubber at all four corners, indicates the implementation of all-wheel drive. And then there’s the cryptic “#2576@35” license plate in one of the latest images.

What does all this mean? In the virtual, sometimes suspended, and most definitely skewed reality that exists in our collective heads, the Demon engineers need to find something close to 350 pounds of superfluous items in the Hellcat to ditch in order to hit the weight target. That’s because of the additional mass of the all-wheel-drive system.

This weight loss will require more than a two-week cleanse; chopping hundreds of pounds from an automobile is a significant task. The first place we would look is the engine block. All Dodge V-8s employ an iron block—a majorly heavy hunk of metal. When we once asked if there are any Vipers running around with Hellcat engines, for example, an SRT engineer told us it would never happen because the Hellcat is just too heavy.

So, where’s the weight gonna come from? The front fenders, hood, and doors, while steel in lesser Challengers, likely will be made of aluminum, and there may be some application of carbon fiber. The aggressive fender flares that provide shelter to those 315/40R-18 Nitto drag radials will be easier and cheaper to manufacture in low volumes out of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic than stamped metal. Banging out aluminum requires expensive tooling, while carbon-fiber tooling costs pennies by comparison. Same goes for the doors and the hood. The rear fenders likely will remain steel because they are integrated, stressed parts of the steel unibody. The most gifted UAW welders likely will graft them into place by hand.

The lighter body panels (the trunk should remain steel to help weight distribution) might come close to offsetting the addition of all-wheel-drive componentry. Without directly saying it, Dodge showed its hand by saying the Demon wears DOT-legal drag radials on both axles. There’s no reason to put those tires up front unless it is a driven axle. Well, no reason besides providing buyers an extra set of rears to swap in once they’ve fried the first set, but we don’t think that’s the case here.

When it comes down to it, everything not essential to meeting basic federal vehicle standards will be pulled from the assembly process. The typically dense sound deadening will go, along with the back seats and likely the navigation system and a bunch of speakers. (The last-generation Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 famously had but one speaker, simply to sound the federally required seatbelt chime.) A titanium exhaust is possible. Heck, Dodge mentions electroplating the unibody in one of its releases, so an exposed-metal interior isn’t out of the question. This won’t make the Demon great for a weekend getaway, unless said getaway takes you to the pump-gas nationals. Even then, we’d bet you’d trailer your Demon. We’d at least bring a second vehicle, just in case.

As for the cryptic license plate, we think the 2576 figure is a reference to the maximum torque of the engine (multiplied through the gearbox and final drive and then split among four wheels). This is merely a guess, but it makes some sense, given the Hellcat’s larger, 4010 lb-ft number for each of its two driven wheels. If our supposition is true, and the Demon uses the same final-drive and first-gear ratios as an automatic-transmission Hellcat, this engine will make about 705 lb-ft of torque at 3500 rpm. That would be a roughly 10 percent gain over the Hellcat’s torque output, which would equate to peak horsepower flirting with 800.

Some additional mass may be stripped from the suspension, which should feature modified geometry to suit the car’s extra-wide front and rear tracks, but if we are right in thinking that the cryptic license plate is torque related, the driveline will have to be fortified. Carbon-fiber driveshafts saved the BMW M4 11 pounds over a 4-series coupe, with the bonus being that CF shafts are stronger and stiffer, improving reliability.

The lightest Challenger Hellcat (with the eight-speed automatic) we’ve put on our scales weighed 4488 pounds and returned a quarter-mile time of 11.7 seconds at 126 mph. Take the weight loss-claim and then deduct a few of that Hellcat’s options, and there is potential for a 4250-pound Demon. Taken with the lower curb weight, all-wheel drive, and four Nittos, the ridiculous engine has the potential to make the Demon one of the quickest cars ever made. We’re looking forward to learning if it will turn, too. But that’ll come in time. For now, we wait.

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Here’s Our Wild-Ass Speculation about How Much Horsepower and Torque We Think the Dodge Challenger Demon Will Make

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New Bipartisan SPY Act Pushes NHTSA on Automotive Cyberthreats

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In our politically toxic capital, there’s a bipartisan effort underway to better protect motorists in a world increasingly aware that automobiles are vulnerable to cyberattacks. Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation Wednesday called the Security and Privacy in Your Car Study Act of 2017, or the SPY Act. It would direct federal regulators to conduct a study that would determine the best cyber standards and defenses for motor vehicles. 

“Cars don’t necessarily come to mind when most of us think about cybersecurity,” said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), who co-sponsored the bill along with Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC). “But the Internet of Things is bringing technology and connectivity into every part of our lives—including our motor vehicles. Without good cyber hygiene, a hacker could easily turn a car into a weapon.”

Terrorists in Berlin and in Nice, France, have shown in recent months that advanced computer skills aren’t necessarily needed to kill with vehicles. But in an era of heightened attention to cyberattacks of any stripe, there’s concern that vehicles—and fleets of vehicles—could be an attractive target for adversaries.

In July 2015, two security researchers demonstrated the capability to commandeer remote control of a Jeep Cherokee from hundreds of miles away, a disclosure that rattled regulators and brought greater scrutiny to an issue the auto industry has been slow to address.

Automakers formed their own Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Auto-ISAC) last year to gather threat intelligence. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proffered cybersecurity guidance in October 2016 in view of the fact that, according to global consulting firm Gartner, 250 million connected vehicles are projected to be on roads across the world by 2020.

Those efforts are not nearly enough, says Josh Corman, director of the Cyber Statecraft Initiative at the Atlantic Council, a nonprofit that promotes leadership and engagement in international affairs, and co-founder of I Am the Cavalry, a grassroots organization that focuses on issues where computer safety intersects with public safety. Given the years-long automotive development cycle and the similarly long rulemaking cycle in Washington, Corman fears the industry and regulators have left motorists vulnerable to an attack that could span across a connected network of vehicles.

“

“Even as we are more connected than ever in our cars
and trucks, our technology systems and data security
remain largely unprotected.”
— Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA)

”

“Even if they started tomorrow, we would be behind,” he said. “And that’s if we decided right now that we’re going to go implement what NHTSA has already put forth. By dragging our feet, we are wasting years of potential exposure.”

In some sense, the three-month-old NHTSA guidance makes the proposed SPY Act redundant. It essentially asks the agency to study cybersecurity problems and report back to Congress in a year.

On one hand, the clock is ticking. On the other, Corman says there may be a benefit if the additional study encourages NHTSA to fix what he sees as the shortcomings in the October guidance rather than merely repeating what it has already delivered. He says the agency needs to push for faster adoption of over-the-air software update capabilities, which may allow for fast fixes of vulnerabilities that surface.

Further, Corman, whose Five Star Automotive Cyber Safety Program has been used as the basis for some of the Auto-ISAC and NHTSA best practices, says that NHTSA needs to mandate the inclusion of black boxes that capture evidence of cyber anomalies or attacks in all new vehicles.

“We have no such capacity in vehicles right now,” he said. “As we see high-profile attacks on vehicles that shatter public confidence, the inability to harvest data from that black box will have a material impact on important parts of our economy. We need the data, and we need to see that data is being processed. We will regret not having it when we need it.”

This isn’t the first time Congress has tried to spur greater action on automotive cybersecurity. Within days after the Jeep breach became public, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced a bill by a similar name – the Security and Privacy in Your Car Act of 2015, also known as the SPY Act. That bill never made it out of a Senate subcommittee.

“

“By dragging our feet, we are wasting years of
potential exposure.” — Josh Corman,
Cyber Statecraft Initiative

”

While the nearly identical names may suggest the bills are intended to be reconciled at some point, there are substantial differences between them, chiefly that Markey’s version would charge NHTSA with initiating formal rulemaking that requires automakers to isolate sensitive systems, while the newer House version would only compel a study of cyber best practices.

Further, the Senate version would require carmakers to create a “cyber dashboard” that informs consumers about the security measures installed in their vehicles and the extent to which their personal data is protected.

Markey has been perhaps the most ardent Congressional proponent of stronger automotive security measures in Congress. In 2015, he authored a report called Tracking and Hacking: Security and Privacy Gaps Put American Drivers at Risk, and in 2016, he pressed the Federal Communications Commission to consider protections for consumer information as vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications systems develop for cars.

“Even as we are more connected than ever in our cars and trucks,” he said, “our technology systems and data security remain largely unprotected.”

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2017 Nissan Rogue Hybrid Commands $1000 Price Premium, Undercuts Toyota RAV4 Hybrid

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Nissan is gunning for the Toyota RAV4 hybrid with a new gasoline-electric version of its Rogue crossover that goes on sale this spring. Although Nissan doesn’t have as much experience with hybrids as Toyota, the Rogue is looking to take the RAV4 to task on the numbers, as it achieves slightly better EPA ratings and costs less. The 2017 Rogue hybrid starts at $27,180 for a front-drive SV model and $32,100 for a front-drive SL model—about $1000 and $1200 more than the equivalent non-hybrid Rogue.

To achieve a fair comparison with the Toyota RAV4 hybrid, which comes only with all-wheel drive, you have to add the $1350 that Nissan charges for AWD. Even then, the Rogue hybrid SV AWD comes in at $28,530, $1440 less than the RAV4 XLE hybrid. The better-equipped Rogue SL costs $33,450 with AWD, which slots in between the RAV4 hybrid’s SE ($33,125) and Limited ($34,970) trim levels.

Standard equipment for the hybrid Rogue SV includes automatic climate control, heated front seats, remote start, and blind-spot warning, while a $2870 Premium package adds navigation, a Bose audio system, a panoramic sunroof, a heated steering wheel, and a power liftgate. The SL model comes standard with all of those features minus the sunroof and adds leather seats, LED headlights, and 18-inch wheels; a $1520 Premium package adds back in the panoramic roof and automated emergency braking.

Rated at 34 mpg combined for front-drive models and 33 mpg combined with all-wheel drive, the Nissan also beats out the 32-mpg-rated RAV4 hybrid in fuel economy. The Rogue’s hybrid system is composed of a 2.0-liter four-cylinder mated to a 40-hp electric motor for a total of 176 horsepower; that’s short of the 194 total horsepower offered by the Toyota, which still resulted in a sluggish 8.3-second slog to 60 mph in our testing. We’ll see how the Rogue hybrid stacks up once we’re able to drive one.

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Aston Martin Vanquish S Knows It’s Hot, Takes Off Its Top

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The Aston Martin DB11 is a newer and better sports car in just about every way, but the Vanquish remains the supreme ruler of Aston Martin’s lineup. The sharper and more powerful Vanquish S stepped out from behind the curtain in November, and we loved the improvements and its unmatched style when we drove it. But Aston felt the urge to click the enhance button one more time, and the result is the most expensive and possibly most exclusive Gaydon-born car available, the 2018 Vanquish S Volante.

We’ve known about the convertible since the announcement of the Vanquish S, but these are the first photos Aston Martin has released. Priced at $315,775, $18,000 more than the coupe, the Vanquish S Volante is powered by the same 5.9-liter V-12 engine linked to a eight-speed Touchtronic III automatic transmission that is supposed to be smoother and quicker than in previous years. The most notable power improvements to the base 568-hp Vanquish are quad exhaust tips and revised inlet manifolds for better airflow. The U.S. model makes 580 horsepower at 7000 rpm and 465 lb-ft of torque at 5500 rpm; Europe gets a 595-hp version. Aston has not released estimates for top speeds or acceleration times for the S Volante.

Like the coupe, the S Volante has new aero design elements, including a carbon-fiber front splitter, rear diffuser, and side skirts. Keeping the car at a curb weight of less than 4000 pounds is a body structure made of aluminum and carbon fiber, along with carbon-fiber body panels and magnesium door structures. The poundage is about evenly divided, with weight distribution of 51 percent front, 49 percent rear.

As standard, the S Volante comes with 20-inch 10-spoke gloss black cast-aluminum wheels, carbon-fiber mirror arms, titanium hood mesh, bright accents around the window and on the exhaust tips, and an Alcantara and Strathmore leather interior. Optional features include a steering wheel from the One-77, a choice of four 20-inch wheel designs (two 10-spoke and two five-spoke), a graphics pack, painted brake calipers, and a variety of black or carbon-fiber accents.

The first customers will get the Vanquish S Volante in April, Aston Martin said.

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