All-new Dodge Charger launches the muscle car into the electric age | Auto Express (2024)

News

• Home
• Dodge

The all-new Dodge Charger has been revealed to the world, with the latest incarnation of the iconic muscle car to be offered with a choice of two-door coupe and four-door saloon body styles, but controversially, no V8. Instead, the new Charger gets either a twin-turbo straight-six petrol engine or pure-electric power.

The new Charger is the first car revealed on the STLA Large platform from Dodge’s parent company Stellantis. It’s the same architecture that’s underpinning the Jeep Wagoneer S flagship SUV, next-generation Maserati Quattroporte and plenty more models besides.

Three variants of the all-electric Charger Daytona will eventually be available. Arriving first are the 496bhp R/T and 670bhp Scat Pack. Dodge is targeting a 0-60mph time of 3.3 seconds for the latter – that’s quicker than Dodge’s 808bhp Hellcat Redeye, supercharged V8-powered cars.

The gargantuan 100.5kWh battery featured in the Charger Daytona EVs has a peak discharge rate of 550kW in order to maximise acceleration by allowing the motors to draw as much energy as the battery can provide over the span of a quarter mile, which Dodge estimates the Scat Pack will complete in just 11.5 seconds.

Dodge Charger SRT Banshee to be performance flagship

However, there’s an even more powerful Daytona Charger SRT Banshee version still to come. Performance stats for this particular model are still under wraps for now, but it will use an 800-volt propulsion system, rather than the 400-volt setup in the R/T and Scat Pack cars.

Range figures for Charger Daytona are yet to be finalised, but Dodge expects the R/T to deliver more than 317 miles on a single charge, while the faster Scat Pack will cover closer to 260 miles before the enormous battery is out of juice. Speaking of which, the right ultra-rapid charging point will allow for a 20 to 80 per cent top-up in just 27 minutes.

The Charger Daytona R/T and Scat Pack use two electric motors for all-wheel drive. The front motor can be disconnected to improve range and efficiency when needed, while the rear motor incorporates a mechanical limited slip differential to increase traction and performance.

Despite the near-silent nature of most EVs, the Charger Daytona will make its presence known with a ‘Fratzonic Chambered exhaust system’ that uses two speakers to create “Hellcat levels of sound intensity,” says Dodge. The Daytona Charger Scat Pack also gets Donut and Drift modes, in addition to Track and Drag modes.

Dodge Charger Sixpack swaps V8 for turbocharged six

In place of the traditional V8, the petrol-powered Dodge Charger Sixpack uses a 3.0-litre turbocharged six-cylinder ‘Hurricane’ motor, which is the “most power dense internal combustion engine Dodge has ever installed in a muscle car,” according to the brand’s CEO Tim Kuniskis.

It’ll be available in two states of tune: the standard output is 420bhp, while the high output engine delivers 550bhp. Power is sent through an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive system on all models.

The design of the new Charger has been influenced by the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept from 2022, itself inspired by the iconic second-generation Charger – which played a villainous role in the film Bullitt – and the Charger Daytona, though not its enormous rear wing and Sputnik-esque nose cone.

Nods to the Charger’s forefathers include the raising beltline, pronounced rear quarter panels and slim grille design, while R-Wing on the front end of the electric Daytona, designed to increase downforce, is carried over from the 21st Century show car. Other details borrowed from the concept include the full-width front light bar and red “ring of fire” LED tail-light design.

The triangular logo on the Charger’s nose will be unfamiliar to anyone apart from hardcore Mopar muscle fans. It’s called the Fratzog and was used by the Dodge brand from 1962 to 1975, but is being brought back for the brand’s next-generation cars.

Offering the new Charger as a two-door coupe and four-door saloon allows the one model to replace both the out-going car and its Challenger cousin. The coupe and saloon versions of the new Charger also benefit from a hatchback tailgate, plus the Charger Daytona EVs get an additional 42-litre frunk under the bonnet.

Details inside the cabin include a 12.3-inch central touchscreen angled towards the driver, a 10.25-inch or 16-inch digital instrument display depending on the model, wireless smartphone connectivity, a modern interpretation of the “pistol-grip” shifter and three-spoke steering wheel with paddles behind to adjust the strength of the regenerative braking in the electric models.

Prices for the new Dodge Charger Daytona EV and petrol-powered Dodge Charger have yet to be announced. Worse still for any Brits enamoured by the new Charger, Dodge exited the UK market in 2010, along with its sister brand Ram. The last model Dodge offered to customers here was the Journey MPV.

Got a need for speed? Here are the best performance cars to buy right now...