Dodge has unveiled its new blue-blooded electric American muscle car – the Dodge Charger Daytona.
Gone is the grumbling V8 engine, replaced instead by dual electric motors, all-wheel drive and a 100.5kWh battery.
The first all-electric car from the US brand will pacify performance petrolheads with blisteringly-fast 0-to-60mph acceleration in 3.3 seconds and a huge 670 horsepower – be in almost entirely silent.
That said, it might still sound like iconic Chargers of years gone by – such as the famed ‘General Lee’ from hit eighties TV series The Dukes of Hazzard – though this will be a synthetic burble boomed from external speakers.
The decision to make the Charger an EV could play into the hands of rival Ford, which launched its latest seventh-generation Mustang pony car with V8 power in 2022 and made plenty of noise about keeping to tradition and shunning batteries and electric power.
Dodge has unveiled its first all-electric car – pacifying performance petrolheads with 0 to 60mph in 3.3 seconds and a huge 670 horsepower
The Charger Daytona will go on sale later this year with prices to be confirmed nearer the time.
Targeting a range of 317 miles for the 460hp R/T version and 260 miles for the 670hp Scat Pack, Dodge has been clear it’s following the muscle car mantra of performance and horsepower above efficiency.
A bit like Tesla’s ‘Ludicrous’ mode, all Charger Daytona models will have a ‘PowerShot’ feature capable of delivering an extra 40hp in 15 seconds – the supercharger of the new electric vehicle (EV) muscle car era.
While it might have the performance boxes all ticked, the near-silent nature of EVs means it can never replicate the rambunctious chorus of noise created by its V8 forefathers.
But Dodge has even tried to resolve this.
Its engineers are currently fine-tuning its ‘Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust’, which uses a pair of external speakers to provide a synthetic soundtrack you can activate at the touch of a button. Press it and the car booms out the sound of a combustion-engined Hellcat Charger.
The Charger EV will offer 11kW home charging as well as 350kW DC ultra-rapid charging that’ll deliver 20 to 80 per cent top up in around 28 minutes.
The electric Charger Daytona goes on sale later this year, with prices to be confirmed nearer the time but it’s likely to cost north of £47,000
The Charger is an American muscle car icon. The most famous of all is arguably the General Lee from 1980s hit TV series The Dukes of Hazzard
Looks wise, the new Charger stays true to the concept Dodge revealed in 2022.
Modern and aerodynamic, it’s a futuristic update on the current Dodge Challenger.
The large front air intake (‘R-Wing’) is the big EV centrepiece – other than that it still puts the muscle into muscle car.
Dodge has also said all 2024 Charger Daytonas will get the Track Package Brembo brakes.
Charger Daytona models will have a ‘PowerShot’ feature capable of delivering an extra 40hp in 15 seconds – the supercharger of the new EV muscle car era
Looks-wise, the new Charger to stay very true to the concept Dodge revealed in 2022 with a modern aerodynamic yet retro look
It will offer home charging up to 11kW as well as 350kW DC ultra-rapid charging which should deliver 20 to 80 per cent top up in around 28 minutes
Dodge has also said all 2024 Charger Daytonas will get the Track Package Brembo brakes
The interior also mimics the concept car of 2022 with a freestanding 10.3-or-16-ich digital dial cluster and 12.3-inch central touchscreen and squared-off steering wheel.
Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as digital key and smartphone app connection are the headliner tech options.
Additional extras like a panoramic sunroof, ambient lighting, 18-speaker sound system and leather seats can be added with certain packages.
Initially, the Charger EV will come as only a two-door version, with four-door models following in 2025. And next year expect a SRT Banshee max-performance version with a two-speed transmission.
There’s a surprise in store for loyal Dodge fans in 2025 too.
Back in 2022, Dodge announced it would end production of the central Charger and Challenger models, in favour of an EV, with the future of its gas-guzzling unspecified.
But, with sales of electric cars growing slower than predicted in the US, Dodge has made the decision to proceed more cautiously.
As such, the electric Charger Daytona will be followed next year by a refreshed internal combustion Charger with a 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged, six-cylinder Hurricane engine.
Initially only supposed to be electric, Dodge has announced the Charger Daytona EV will be accompanied by a refreshed internal combustion Charger with a 3.0-litre twin-turbo Hurricane engine
Dodge is currently fine-tuning its Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust – its synthetic soundtrack you can whip on to hit the same sound levels as the Hellcat Charger
Drag strip Americana buyers should compare stats before buying though, because the EV Scat Pack will be faster over the quarter mile – covering it in 11.5 seconds compared to the old ICE V8 Charger’s 12.2 seconds.
And there’ll be a selection of driving modes, too, with Scat Pack models naturally getting the top performance ones. Expect launch-control, Drift and Donut modes – and Race Prep mode for the racetrack.
Considering the current top-level Charger and Challenger price points are around £47,000, be prepared to play north of this when the Charger Daytona hits the road.
For those still pining for a genuine American muscle car, the latest Ford Mustang still has a burbling 5.0-litre V8 engine under its bonnet.
At its public unveiling at the Detroit Auto Show in 2022, Jim Farley, CEO of Ford Motor Company, said: ‘Investing in another generation of Mustang is a big statement at a time when many of our competitors are exiting the business of internal combustion vehicles.’
The seventh-generation Mustang is only the second iteration to be sold as an official UK car in right-hand drive layout.
Not only does it have a completely revised eight-cylinder petrol powerplant but also updated styling and a redesigned digital cockpit, with the US brand promising that it will be the ‘most fun-to-drive Mustang ever’.
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