The gas-powered Dodge Charger is back. SRT is back. The Hemi is back. So when are we going to see them all in one place? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say “soon” — maybe even by the time you’re reading this. Because at this point, it seems like Dodge has all but confirmed that we’re going to get a new V8-powered Charger.
Setting aside the fact that the Challenger is now the Charger 2-Door, there are already four different ways (three, technically; the base Charger BEV is still M.I.A.) to build one: two electric, and two gas. But for V8 diehards, that number might as well be zero. So go ahead and hold your breath, Hemi fans, because it’s only a matter of time.
At a preview event for the turbocharged Sixpack, Dodge CEO Matt McAlear spent quite a bit of time answering questions about the future of the company’s bruiser of a sedan. In light of those recent Hemi and SRT announcements, it should come as no surprise that the first round of questions were all about whether we’d see even more power from the new Dodge Charger. The short answer was one we’d hear again and again throughout the course of the Q&A: “We’re just getting started.”
“At this point, we’re here to talk about the Sixpack,” McAlear said. “And I’m extremely excited for what the team has turned out. I mean, I think hopefully you all agree it sounds incredible. When you get behind the vehicle or inside the vehicle, it sounds even better. This is the next generation of performance, and these powertrains outperform the V8 they replace,” he said.
“But long-term, there’s more to come.”
More cylinders, certainly. But maybe not necessarily more power. As we’ve seen from the revived Hemi Ram, the V8 is not being positioned as its range-topping engine. The 670-horsepower Daytona EV will wipe the floor with any ICE-powered Charger, eight cylinders or otherwise, and on the combustion side of things, the 550-horsepower high-output inline six has quite a bit of headroom over both the 5.7-liter and 6.4-liter V8s that it replaces. Dodge has no incentive to dethrone the Sixpack with a garden-variety Hemi, so a truly dominant V8 will have to come in Hellcat form. But will it even fit?
“I’ll let you come up here and take a look and get your tape measure out,” McAlear. “But, uh, don’t be surprised if it would fit.”
Yep, that’s would.
“But, you know, that’s the beauty of this platform. Some could say we’re lucky, some can say we’re smart. Uh, you know, we did not commit to one technology, one powertrain,” he went on. “And that’s why the beauty of this is in the multi-energy. A lot went into this platform from the beginning to be able to evolve over time and flex with consumer demand and changes in [regulations].”
But make no mistake, even a revived Hemi won’t mark the end of the electric Charger.
“It’s no secret that we’re absolutely flexing more into ICE production right now,” McAlear said. “But we are not walking away from the power, the performance, and the excitement that battery electric can provide.”
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