VIDEO: Jay Leno cruises to Woodward to get his 'Last Call' Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170
Berkley — The sweet gasoline smell, engine roars and glistening paint jobs are back on Woodward for another year of cruising — kicked off again in part by Jay Leno.
Comedian and car enthusiast Leno was on Woodward Saturday to punch the gas of his very own Octane Red 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 “Last Call” special-edition vehicle, along with Dodge brand CEO Tim Kuniskis riding in a black Demon. Inside Vinsetta Garage, the former "Tonight Show" host became the first customer to receive delivery of the 1,025-horsepower muscle car.
The Demons, powered by a 6.2-liter supercharged V-8, can travel a quarter mile in under nine seconds and require the signing of a waiver to purchase.
The two stopped traffic on Woodward for a short time as they pulled out of Vinsetta Garage with a crew of cars behind them.
“This the fourth 1,000 horsepower-plus car in my collection,” Leno told The Detroit News of the last-call, 1,025-horsepower Demon 170. “The others are a 2006 Olds Tornado, a Merlin-powered Rolls and Bentley, and the EcoJet biofuels car.”
Kuniskis followed Leno up Woodward, where they stopped at Pasteiner’s hobby shop in Birmingham. Might he ride shotgun with Leno for a quick Woodward stoplight burnout?
“The last time I was in a car with Jay, it was a Fiat 500 Abarth,” said a smiling Kuniskis. “He did a handbrake, 180-degree turn in the middle of Los Angeles downtown traffic.”
Before they headed on on M-1, the Dodge CEO waxed poetic about the Dream Cruise: "This is the day that we get to celebrate everything that we love about this industry and cars in general. Every day of our life we're competing ... this is not a day for competition. This is a day for camaraderie. This is a day for all of us to slow down ... literally sit on the side and watch the history go by."
That history includes the Demon, which marks the end of the Hemi-powered muscle car as the brand moves into a new, electric era of performance. Dodge is making only 3,300 models of the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170, the seventh and final special edition Dodge muscle car as a part of the Stellantis NV brand’s “Last Call” lineup.
Leno was also part of the Las Vegas reveal of the Challenger SRT Demon 170 back in March.
"I'm a huge fan of Dodge ... to me it's a great American road car," he said.
Leno often attends the high-end Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California this time of year, but he said he prefers the Dream Cruise. “They eat kale in California," he said. "It’s good to be in Detroit where they eat real food. I enjoy Pebble Beach, but it’s $5,000 a day. The Cruise is free — it’s a hamburgers and hot dogs celebration.”
Also on Saturday, Leno and Kuniskis announced a new line of co-branded car care products from Dodge's Direct Connection performance products line and Jay Leno’s Garage.
More:'Car heaven': The Woodward Dream Cruise is rumbling and roaring again
Leno attended the 2022 Woodward Dream Cruise, spending time with Ford Motor Co. to unveil an all-electric F-150 Lightning with a custom paint job designed as a tribute to a 1970s Ford pickup once owned by Walmart Inc. founder Sam Walton.
khall@detroitnews.com