Last week, we tested the new 2026 Dodge Charger R/T—the twin-turbo I6 sporty coupe-sedan thing built on an EV platform that replaces a popular V8 muscle car. We also got to speak with some engineers and executives who brought the car to life and, of course, asked about things like the future of the Hellcat, the Hemi, and the briefly teased high-performance EV called Banshee. Most of the replies were non-answers, but two messages came through loud and clear: Dodge’s SRT performance brand is not dead, and there’s headroom to make more power with the Hurricane six-cylinder engine.
Personally, I found the entry-level “Sixpack” in the Charger R/T, claiming 420 horsepower and 468 lb-ft of torque, to be plenty satisfying, even in a car that weighs almost 5,000 pounds. But, I know, some of you dorks insist on overkill and need those “rookie numbers” bumped up. So Dodge also supplies a Scat Pack Charger model with the same basic engine but forged internals, upgraded cooling, unique fuel mapping, and some other supporting upgrades to crank output to a claimed 550 hp and 531 lb-ft of torque.
Still, plenty of people have made the observation that the new Charger’s huge engine bay looks like it has room for a 5.7-liter Hemi or even a 6.2-liter Hellcat motor. I clocked a lot of wincing, grimacing, and awkward body language from Dodge’s people in real time as this came up at this month’s Charger launch event. And while nobody denied the abstract potential for a V8-powered eighth-gen Charger, my read-between-the-lines of media-approved commentary is that engineering a new Charger Hellcat would be considerably more challenging than just cramming the engine bay full of extra engine displacement.
Meanwhile, the Banshee, the supposed super-powerful electric muscle car originally slated to be the Hellcat’s spiritual successor, is effectively off the game board. It was rumored to be abandoned last October, and again, Dodge’s people were careful to say things like “never say never” last week. But I would not bet a nickel on that thing ever coming to market as it was originally pitched.
Now, as for what I would bet on, it’s more powerful variants of the Hurricane 3.0-liter inline six we’re now seeing in the Charger (and Ram trucks and Jeep SUVs). “We’ve got a lot in the works for SRT, that’s for sure,” Matt McAlear, Dodge CEO and head of Chrysler and Alfa Romeo NA, told me by the skidpad we were using to play with the new Charger. “The SRT’s gonna continue to be the biggest, baddest, boldest, best thing we do, and it’ll be fun,” effectively confirming that a new Charger SRT (though not necessarily named “Hellcat”) is in the pipeline.
I pitched him on the idea of turning the immensely long Charger into a mini pickup truck (return of the Rampage!?), but I don’t think he was convinced. I did, however, overhear him make some other interesting comments as he floated around the testing event.
“V8’s not a bad word, but performance is performance,” he said at one point, regarding the future of SRT. “We’re gonna continue to push the limits of this engine [the Hurricane I6] and see what it can do.” He confirmed that SRT is actively working on “upgrades we can offer for the Sixpack,” and went on to say, “I think this engine, with the twin turbos, has a ton of growth in the aftermarket world. People have been doing it with inline sixes from Japan for years.”
On the tunability of turbo inline sixes, McAlear is absolutely right. Toyota, BMW, and others have long proven that huge power can be made with a boosted six-banger. And reliably, too. “There will be more stuff coming,” he said.
I think it’s fair to say the aftermarket will likely make it possible to get a Charger R/T to approach Scat Pack power levels in the near future, and Scat Packs will be tuned even further. The Hemi set the bar pretty damn high—Dodge got a comical 1,025-hp claim out of the Demon 170 before ending production of the Challenger. Can SRT get the Hurricane TT 3.0 anywhere near that kind of output? I guess we’ll see!
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