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For the past nearly twenty years Dodge has built its reputation -- and sales -- off the backs of the retro Charger and Challenger muscle cars, coming out with increasingly antisocial variants powered by crazy supercharged V8s with huge amounts of horsepower. But Dodge knows it can't ignore the onset of electrification, and now it's showing us how it will keep the muscle car spirit alive in the EV era with the new Charger Daytona SRT concept, which closely previews a production EV coming in 2024.
The Charger Daytona takes the majority of its design inspiration from the 1968 Charger, and as you can probably tell the nameplate is back to having two doors again. (Dodge is being purposefully tongue in cheek by doing this, a funny nod to the mid-2000s outrage when the then-new Charger was introduced as a four-door sedan. But this new Charger has a hatchback liftgate instead of a traditional trunk and a spacious interior with four seats, the back row of which can be folded flat to create a large cargo area.
At the front of the Charger Daytona is what Dodge calls the R-Wing, a pass-through that lets air flow through the "grille" area over the sculpted hood. The squared-off front end features a slim rectangular opening like that of the '68 Charger's, with an LED light bar surrounding the whole thing. Mounted in the center is Dodge's new "Fratzog" badge that was originally put on the brand's muscle cars from 1962 through 1976; it will be used for all new EVs.
The Charger Daytona's profile to me is less successful, though it is a good homage to the original Charger. The new car has super-smooth surfacing with a Coke-bottle profile to the fenders, but the greenhouse looks kinda tall and ungainly. Despite having a hatchback the rear window isn't as raked as I'd like, giving the Charger a bit more of a sedan profile rather than a coupe silhouette. The rear end is awesome though, with taillights that echo the headlights and a cool lower diffuser.
The massive tailpipes of previous Chargers might be gone, but that rear end design is unmistakably Dodge.
DodgeSadly, we don't know much about the Charger Daytona's powertrain. Dodge says it will have an 800-volt electrical architecture and standard all-wheel drive, and three power levels will be offered from the factory. The EV powertrain is called Banshee, and the logo emblazoned on the concept's front fenders is somehow even cooler than the already rad Hellcat and Demon logos. But if the Charger Daytona's already Hellcat-beating performance isn't enough, another half-dozen performance upgrades will be available through Mopar's Direct Connection catalog, consisting of both software and hardware changes.
Dodge is highlighting two of the Charger Daytona's patent-pending features that will separate it from pretty much every other EV on the market. The first is called eRupt: A multi-speed transmission that provides electromechanical shifts for a more visceral experience. One aspect of EVs that can get less impressive quite quickly is the instant acceleration and lack of driver engagement, and the eRupt system looks to rectify. The Charger Daytona will also have a PowerShot mode that delivers a horsepower boost at the press of a button for more passing power or a better launch off the line.
The Banshee's badge is pretty sweet.
DodgeThe second patented feature is even cooler. Dodge is giving the Charger Daytona a real exhaust system called the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust, which uses tuning chambers and an amplifier at the back of the car to enhance the powertrain's natural noises. The Charger Daytona's sound apparently equals the current Hellcat powertrain in terms of decibels generated -- no small feat. It's even able to "rev" while at a standstill, producing a distinctive noise that will absolutely capture the attention of everyone around you.
Step into the Charger Daytona and you're greeted by a 12.3-inch center screen that's angled toward the driver and a 16-inch curved digital gauge cluster. There's a thin-rimmed steering wheel with a floating center spoke, capacitive touch controls and a button for the PowerShot mode. The lightweight bucket seats feature a Fratzog perforation pattern, and lots of the interior parts like the dash, center console and doors are covered in a sweet Ultraviolet color.
The Charger Daytona's interior keeps it nice and simple.
DodgeGraphics made to look like a circuit board surround the seats on the floor and flow up onto the center console, and a lightning-bolt-shaped accelerator pedal and Blue Plasma and Silver stitching are a nod to the Daytona's electric powertrain. It's also got a cool parametric texture throughout that's inspired by the '68 Charger's grille; natural light bounces off the surfaces, and adjustable ambient lighting illuminates it from below. There's lots of exposed carbon fiber as well, including in the cargo area.
Dodge still has one year left of production for the existing, gas-powered Charger and Challenger models, so don't expect to hear much more about the Charger Daytona until that final model year is underway. But nothing about the Charger Daytona concept is super far-fetched -- tone down a couple of the more out-there styling elements, and the production EV due in 2024 should look just like this rad coupe.