- After confirming the current Charger and Challenger’s demise and introducing the Hornet SUV, Dodge previewed their electric future with the Charger Daytona SRT Concept coupe.
- “Performance made us do it”: While the Hellcat’s demise is near, the company claims this EV beats the outgoing V-8 cars in every key metric.
- That said, Dodge did not share several key figures just yet — we should get more information there in the coming months.
- The Charger Daytona SRT concept brings features you wouldn’t expect to set it apart from its main EV competition.
- A production version following this concept should emerge sometime in 2024.
We’ve seen what the present has to offer — and now the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept previews the future.
Depending on where you land on the enthusiast spectrum, the impending electric Dodge Charger is either a moment of excitement or dread. Like it or not, though, the brand is leaving its V-8 muscle cars behind next year, and this is what will ultimately replace them sometime in 2024 (at least under Dodge’s current plan). The company is insistent that performance is still king in this electrified era, and Wednesday’s reveal aims to show how that’s going to look and sound on the street, or indeed on the drag strip.
To understand a couple pieces of patented design at play here, let’s cover the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept’s styling:
The open grille and hood design create the Charger Daytona SRT’s “R-Wing”.
Compared to most EVs out there that try to set a completely new aesthetic trend, the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept pulls in styling cues from the brand’s classic muscle cars. Both the front and rear fascias throw back to the very first Chargers, while the open design along the leading edge of the hood is a nod toward the original Daytona, in terms of its performance ambitions.
What you see in some of the photos above is an aerodynamic passthrough called the “R-Wing”. That design allows designers to retain some classic muscle car elements while giving the car a better aerodynamic profile than a brick outhouse. Dodge won’t say exactly how much that R-Wing helps airflow, other than to say it and other cues “exceed targets”.
Carbon fiber ports in both the front and rear fascias and 21-inch turbine-style wheels also help the electric Charger concept’s aerodynamic profile, and by extension its performance and range (when Dodge actually discloses those figures, that is).
Another neat touch for old-school Dodge fans out there is the “Fratzog” logo spread throughout the car’s design. On the concept, at least, both Fratzogs in the grille and taillights are illuminated. That badge harks back to Dodges built between 1962 and 1976, though this time around the company says that symbol represents its electrified future.
What do you mean the electric Charger has an exhaust?
Dodge is all too keen to point out the patented (or patent-pending) features that set this Charger Daytona SRT Concept apart from your ‘boring’ EVs. One such feature is an exhaust system. Yes, as counterintuitive as it sounds, you do get an exhaust system on a battery-electric car…sort of. Naturally, it’s not there to deal with gases from burning fuel — it’s there to create sound.
While some of you may prefer the relative silence of an EV, that’s not how Dodge rolls. Instead, the “Fratzonic Chambered exhaust”, as the company calls it, uses an amplifier and tuning chamber to push out a distinctive sound up to 126 decibels. That sort of volume matches the old-school Hellcats, though getting used to loud noises coming from an electric muscle car may take some getting used to.
Speaking of defying expectation, the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept aims to do that with the actual driving experience as well. Unlike your Teslas, your Mustang Mach-Es or really any current production EV, this Charger is not direct-drive. Instead, there’s an “eRupt” multi-speed transmission. You actually get distinctive shift points — a move which Dodge made because it wants to offer that same “shoulders into seatbacks” feeling that the Hellcats offer up, for example. In addition, the electric Charger concept also includes “PowerShot”, a feature which acts as an overboost to increase horsepower for a limited time, like through passing maneuvers.
At the moment, it’s unclear what effect the multi-speed transmission and PowerShot will have on real-world performance against your typical performance EV. Still, if you shop for cars on how “different” they are from the rest of the pack, Dodge does bring some unique features to the party. While some automakers dabble with offering more conventional shifting to their EVs, this will be one of the few that puts the concept into practice for the masses.
The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept promises more power than a Hellcat
Unfortunately, we can’t say at this point exactly how much performance Dodge is bringing to the table with their “eMuscle” flagship. They did bring in the name “Banshee” to punch up the car’s 800-volt propulsion system. Following up on the epic performance of the Hellcat and Demon is no small feat, and the electric Charger will bring power to suit. At least, that’s what Dodge claims, as the production car will launch with three distinct power levels. Through their Direct Connection program, end buyers will be able to tweak the output (through Power Broker dealers) to one of nine different power levels.
Beyond the top-spec 800-volt performance models, Dodge also mentioned a lower 400-volt version that tires into at least one of those three levels. You can reasonably assume that sort of output will command a lower price, but we still have some time yet before Stellantis actually discloses all the juicy numbers like price, performance, battery capacity, range and so on. Keep in mind, we usually end up waiting several months between “concept” and the production-ready version that ships out to dealers.
Take a look inside the electric Charger Daytona
Finally, we come around to looking inside the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept. Regardless of the company’s electrification plans, the old Charger was long past due for an interior overhaul. We get exactly that with this car, and once again Dodge peppered in throwbacks to the original muscle cars. That includes the grille pattern from a 1968 Charger in the “Attitude Adjustment Ambient Lighting”, as well as the distinctively shaped gear selector. To that, we also see a host of modern features, including a 16-inch curved instrument cluster and an updated 12.3-inch center screen. Dodge’s design team tilted that center display about 10 degrees to create a more “driver-focused” cockpit. The Charger Daytona concept also incorporates an 8-by-3-inch head-up display.
While the layout may look pretty familiar to current drivers, the electrified Charger Daytona features capacitive buttons on the steering wheel, as well as similar buttons on the doors to control the mirrors, locks and windows. Two new buttons worth talking about, however, are for the aforementioned PowerShot, as well as the EV’s drive modes. Those include “Auto”, “Sport”, “Track” and “Drag” modes — all modes that should (hopefully) make the best possible use of the car’s all-wheel drive power.
Another nice touch: Dodge included a fighter jet-style flap over the start button and launch control, to make each of those experiences just a bit more special.
From TFL’s own Andre Smirnov’s impressions looking at this car in person, the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept occupies a larger footprint than you might imagine for a two-door coupe. As you can see from the photos above, the car is a four-seater coupe, though I hope this car has at least slightly roomier rear seats than the outgoing Challenger.
When will we see the actual production car?
For now, exactly when the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept will morph into the actual production model is a question mark. We should see it hit dealers sometime during the 2024 model year, after current Charger/Challenger winds down in December 2023.
In the meantime, Dodge will sell the small Hornet SUV to bridge the gap toward the company’s complete electrification in the next few years. If they do hit that mark, it’s likely the company will beat the next-generation Ford Mustang and the follow-up to GM’s current Camaro (if the automaker decides to keep it going as an EV — that’s also unclear right now).
Stellantis plans to build the electric Dodge Charger on its STLA Large platform. Given the car’s overall footprint, we may see a healthy portion of both power and range, but we will have to wait and see.
Stay tuned for more updates in the coming months, and check out more on the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept below!
