The New Dodge Charger Drag Pak Has a V8. So Where’s the Hemi Road Car?

You’re looking at a new Dodge Charger with a V8 under the hood. It’s a factory job, and although it’s a far cry from a production model, one can’t help but feel like this might foreshadow something. Now, I’m not saying that a stock Charger will hit the road with a monstrous 3.0-liter Whipple supercharger like this drag racer has, but Dodge sells high-performance Hurricane I6 crate engines that would’ve fit the bill for this. Come to think of it, the last Challenger Drag Pak ran one of those twin-turbo six-cylinders. Hmm…

You and I could speculate all day about what this car means for the brand, but before we do that, I’ll hit you with the facts and specs. It runs a 358-cubic-inch V8 that’s NHRA-approved for competition. That engine is obviously a mighty one, and it helped Dodge win the last two NHRA Factory Stock Showdown championships.

In addition to the 3.0-liter Whipple, the engine sports a cast aluminum block with six-bolt main caps, a forged steel crank with eight counterweights, forged H-beam connecting rods, and diamond aluminum pistons. The roller lifters and rocker arms are from Jesel, while a Holley EFI lightweight Dominator ECU manages all the thinking. Rest assured that it sounds great thanks to stainless steel long-tube headers.

Dodge made sure the rest of the drivetrain was up to snuff, too. A three-speed Coan Racing XLT automatic transmission works in tandem with a 9.65-inch torque converter from the same company, sending power to a Mark Williams Enterprises modular 9-inch rear axle with a 4.30 final drive ratio. The standard driveshaft is a lightweight 4-inch tube made from 7075 aluminum, though a carbon fiber one is available. To me, what’s downstream of the engine is where factory builds stand out from most (not all) big-power customer cars. Well, that and the suspension.

Speaking of suspension, the Charger Drag Pak features an adjustable four-link rear suspension with coilover shocks. Crews can further dial the car in by adjusting the anti-roll bar, as well as the camber shims and toe links. The front suspension also received its fair share of attention with aluminum upper and lower control arms, plus a lightweight K-member with clever integrated engine mounts.

All this means something to drag racers. I won’t pretend like I’m the end-all, be-all expert on the topic, though I will say that Dodge knows what it’s doing with these specialized machines as well as anyone else. What I’m most curious to know is if this is a sign of what’s to come, given that the manufacturer could have gone forward with the 1,000-hp “CatX” crate engine that it teased last year. But it didn’t. What gives?

I believe I have a pretty good idea.

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