By Dave Ashton
Dodge has finally revealed the beginnings of their electric muscle car concepts, which have come with a few surprises. The latest announcements also include interim vehicles such as the 2023 Dodge Durango SRT hellcat, the new SUV Hornet (also available in the future as a BEV), a drop-top Challenger, and new Charger and Challenger models. However, dissenters and advocates alike have all been on the edge of their seats wondering how Dodge will migrate from the V8 to electric motors.
The initial public release comes in the form of a concept Charger Daytona SRT EV as seen on the header image of this page. The initial impressions of the outer shell look very promising. Not that dissimilar from current Charger and Challenger models, and with what looks like a more traditional front grille.
What we know so far…
There are no power ratings released as yet, but the new ‘800v Banshee’ propulsion system should be more powerful than the latest Hellcat Redeye at 807HP. Power will be served from 2 electric motors, while also being all-wheel drive.
From here on in the feature set is a little more unique. The transmission dubbed ‘eRupt’, will have a traditional gear selector, more like what we are used to with already available ICE vehicles.
An engine noise generator will pump out engine noise from the rear of the car from what they dub a Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust. The system is linked up to road speed and acceleration and should hit 126Db, just like the Hellcat. There are also easy-to-access driving modes on the steering wheel which include, Auto, Sport, Track and Drag modes. All current details you can find at https://www.dodgegarage.com/
The initial design is inspired by the original 1969 Charger Daytona, obviously minus the huge front nose cone and rear wing. For the interior, it seems to be a mix of the old and the new with a 12.3-inch center screen, 16-inch instrument cluster, and a heads-up display.
Initial Impressions
We like the fact that Dodge hasn’t gone for some outlandish design, but rather built on and improved from the already familiar. I doubt there will be any future complaints in the power, speed, and torque arenas, but will the sound generator make up for the lack of V8 rumble? We reckon this is a feature that will be continually developed, dictated by future customer feedback.
We are also guessing that the suspension setup, built from the ground up, will finally put to bed the myth that muscle cars can’t go around corners. It will be very interesting to see in a few years a few winding track races up against the likes of a Tesla…
On the whole, Dodge is stepping in the right direction. Interim vehicles that will show off the best of what the current V8 platform can offer, while slowly refining until release an E-muscle car that ticks all the boxes.
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