Dodge’s first electric muscle car is right around the corner. Here’s what we know so far!
After Dodge cheekily posted some teaser shots last month, we knew it would only be a matter of time until the next-generation Charger made its debut. Now, thanks to the team over at Automotive News, we know the battery-electric muscle car will make its public debut on March 5, exactly one month away.
When it does arrive, the production-spec 2025 Dodge Charger won’t look exactly like the concept. However, it will be fairly close, mainly just changing up the wheels and mirrors, or the things you almost never see actually make it to production anyway. One day, we’ll actually get cameras instead of traditional side mirrors, but we’re not quite there yet. Otherwise, what we saw through those insider photos will absolutely be what we get, so that’s great news if you’re a fan of the new Charger’s styling.
As for propulsion, we’re none the wiser than we were a few weeks ago, unfortunately. We know the electric version (there should be gas variants coming too — more on that in a moment) will ride on Stellantis’ STLA Large platform. Essentially, this is the platform that will underpin all of the company’s midsize vehicles, and the architecture accommodates a larger battery and beefier motors than we might see in the brand’s compact or subcompact cars.
Stellantis says vehicles on the STLA Large platform may travel up to 500 miles, but you absolutely should not expect that here. While we don’t know exactly what size battery the electric Charger will have, it’s obviously not really meant for efficiency over performance. The “R-Wing” on the front should help out with drag coefficient, but we’ll have to wait and see how that actually translates once Dodge confirms the car’s available power levels.
On the power front, there should be several outputs available for the Charger.
At least three should come at launch, while another six will be available through Dodge’s “Direct Connection” store, at least according to how the automaker originally pitched the concept. Performance will likely start somewhere around 400 horsepower with a single, rear-mounted electric motor, and go northward from there. With a second motor onboard, we’ll see power levels at least reach parity with the SRT Hellcats of yesteryear, if Dodge doesn’t take things a step further (knowing their penchant for berserk performance, something around 900 horsepower probably isn’t out of the question).
Then there’s the noise: And yes, this electric Charger will make some noise. The “Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust” will reportedly be able to produce south “just as long as today’s Hellcat”, an executive said during the J.D. Power Auto Summit in Las Vegas. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 126 decibels is on the menu, so you’ll be able to piss your neighbors off just as quickly as you can in the V8-powered Hellcats, it seems.
Now, if you’re not down with all this silly electrification stuff, Dodge is also supposedly working on gas models using the 3.0-liter Hurricane engine instead of an electric powertrain. It’s possible (maybe even likely) we’ll see some form of hybrid solution for Hellcat-esque performance, though we’ll probably see a base version using just the turbocharged engine on its own, putting out somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 horsepower.
At any rate, hopefully we’ll know more with certainty next month. We’ll at least have more info on the electric Charger, and may have some idea how much it will cost. Odds are, higher-end versions definitely won’t come cheap.
