Charged EVs | 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona: the ‘Brotherhood of Muscle’ goes electric

The Charger sedan and Challenger coupe exuded testosterone, courtesy of snarling V-8s. Dodge says the EVs that exchange them can be simply as noisy.

The 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona is a Detroit anomaly: it’s a passenger automotive in an age of vans and SUVs, it’s battery-electric when U.S. makers appear to be in an EV lull … and it resolutely, defiantly sneers at social conference and environmental considerations. “When everybody else goes left,” stated Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis, “we [Dodge] wanna go proper.” OK then.

In that gentle, it’s the logical follow-up to the earlier Charger, which ran for an astounding 18 mannequin years over two generations. Courtesy of more and more, absurdly highly effective V-8 engines, the outdated Charger oozed testosterone, and inexpensive testosterone at that. The 707-horsepower Hellcat launched at $62,000, decrease than another automotive of equal energy. And it signaled its presence with loud, delinquent noise, as if marking its territory.

The world’s “solely” electrical muscle automotive?

So how do you hold onto the very worthwhile “Brotherhood of Muscle,” as Dodge calls it, when EVs don’t roar, don’t vibrate, and awe their passengers with surprising immediate acceleration that’s all however silent, relatively than ear-splitting engine noise and smoky burnouts? Effectively, apparently you duplicate these latter qualities with cleverly engineered technical fakery—to make a high-performance EV sedan “really feel proper” to the American muscle bros.

The Charger may even have a model with a gasoline engine (the electrical one is the “Daytona”)—however each model of the EV will outperform its gasoline counterpart.

It’s indicative of how far and how briskly EV powertrains have come that the Charger may even have a model with a gasoline engine (the electrical one is the “Daytona”)—however each model of the EV will outperform its gasoline counterpart. Like the most recent BMW sedans that supply both battery-electric or gasoline energy in the identical mannequin, e.g. the 2024 BMW i7 and 2025 BMW i5, the electrical model is more likely to be a greater automobile throughout.

If all goes in response to plan, patrons who need final velocity (and all that noise) will go for the electrical Charger, particularly in the event that they stay in additional progressive, EV-friendly coastal areas and might cost at house. Chargers powered by an inline 6-cylinder engine and automated transmission, whereas nonetheless high-performance muscle vehicles, might enchantment extra to patrons in central states, those that can’t cost at house, or these nervous concerning the availability of public quick charging.

The brand new Charger, electrical and gasoline, is constructed on Stellantis’ STLA Giant platform, which it shares with the upcoming Jeep Wagoneer S and Recon, together with future fashions from Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, and Maserati. Dodge payments the Charger as “the world’s first and solely electrical muscle automotive.” (House owners of Tesla Plaid and Lucid Air Sapphire fashions might quibble, however, hey, neither of these vehicles generates sufficient noise to be heard earlier than it’s seen.)

The brand new Charger, electrical and gasoline, is constructed on Stellantis’ STLA Giant platform shared with different fashions from Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, and Maserati.

All Daytonas are powered by a 100.5-kilowatt-hour battery pack with 13 modules containing Samsung nickel-cobalt-aluminium cells, working at 400 volts and delivering a peak discharge fee of 550 kilowatts. For its first yr, two Charger Daytona variations will go on sale: R/T and Scat Pack. Commonplace energy rankings for these fashions are 340 and 440 kilowatts respectively. Outdated Mopar muscle-car followers will perceive the historic allusion, although they’ll probably need the horsepower equivalents: 455 and 590 hp respectively.

Energy issues, however vary? Nobody cares!

For 2024, each will come commonplace with a Direct Connection Stage equipment already fitted, to permit most acceleration from launch. The R/T with the Stage 1 equipment is quoted at 496 horsepower, whereas the extra highly effective Scat Pack with a Stage 2 equipment produces as much as 670 hp and 627 lb-ft of torque. The Brotherhood will recognize its 0-to-60-mph acceleration time: simply 3.3 seconds.

That’s not Lucid Sapphire territory, however we anticipate the Dodge to return in at a far lower cost than the quarter-million-dollar Sapphire. (Dodge received’t launch costs till a lot nearer to this summer time’s supply date.) Each Daytona mannequin comes with all-wheel drive as commonplace, together with a “Energy Shot” characteristic that delivers an additional 40 horsepower for 15 seconds (an identical idea is named “Enhance” on the Kia EV6 GT). Prime velocity is 137 mph. New drive modes for racing use embody Donut Mode, Drift Mode, and two Race Prep choices.

And the Daytona’s vary? “Did anybody ever ask concerning the gasoline economic system of a Hellcat?” roared Kuniskis. “NO! That’s not why you purchase it…It’s not designed to get you 500 miles. It’s designed for final efficiency.”

And the Daytona’s vary? “Did anybody ever ask concerning the gasoline economic system of a Hellcat?” roared Kuniskis. “NO! That’s not why you purchase it.” The spec sheet initiatives EPA vary rankings at 317 miles for the Daytona R/T and 268 miles for the Scat Pack model. “It’s not designed to get you 500 miles,” Kuniskis added. “It’s designed for final efficiency.”

What about charging charges? “Uhhhhh … that’s not high of thoughts. We’ll should get again to you.” Lastly, for the report, the gasoline Charger Six-Pack S.O. develops 420 hp from its twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-6, whereas the H.O. is listed at 550 hp.

Dodge is way from completed with Charger efficiency, although. Kuniskis acknowledged a future Banshee model to return, with an 800-volt battery pack and a two-speed transmission. That gearbox could also be included for a similar purpose because the one within the Porsche Taycan: quicker acceleration from a cease whereas letting the electrical motor function most effectively whereas cruising.

Two doorways, 4 doorways

The design and styling of the brand new Charger very a lot nods to the earlier model: It’s crisper, and has just a few extra onerous traces, however it’s immediately recognizable. As Kuniskis stated dismissively, “It doesn’t appear to be the standard melted jellybean” that, he claims, is what “regulators need the Brotherhood to drive.”

One shock: the Charger identify is now being utilized to each the two-door that was proven as an idea and a four-door sedan that instantly replaces the outgoing sedan. The 2-door supplants the outgoing Challenger coupe. One other shock: the four-door has a liftgate relatively than a trunk, giving it 38.5 cubic ft of cargo area, which Dodge known as “utility automobile” flexibility. That’s sufficient quantity to suit 4 race tires for observe days, Kuniskis prompt. Simply don’t name it a “hatchback,” otherwise you’ll scare away the patrons.

Dodge claims good aerodynamics and low drag for the Charger design, and calls out what it calls its “patent-pending entrance R-Wing pass-through” on the Daytona fashions. It’s primarily a duct that admits air from what can be the grille space and releases it from a vent halfway by means of the entrance hood. For those who’ve seen a Jaguar I-Tempo, you’ll know precisely the way it works. A full-length glass cabin roof is optionally available.

The Charger Daytona is an enormous, heavy sedan—curb weight is 5,840 kilos, with a gross automobile weight score of 6,950 kilos for the Daytona Scat Pack—so it rides on huge 20-inch wheels. The Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperCar tires are staggered in measurement: 305 part within the entrance, 325 within the rear, in opposition to a most 275 part for the departed Hellcat. Stopping all that mass requires 16-inch Brembo vented rotors with 6-piston entrance and 4-piston rear calipers (painted pink, after all). Dodge says the brake swept space is greater than 30 % increased than its earlier SRT mannequin.

Exhaust noise? Huh ?!?!?

As for all that promised noise, it comes from what Dodge calls its “Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust.” Its output is claimed to “match” in the present day’s “Hellcat ranges of sound depth” in tempo, beat, and cadence, with a most quantity of 126 decibels. It’s clearly designed to set the Charger Daytona far aside from another EV on sale in the present day.

Wait, whut? Exhaust? However that is an EV. Yeah, so right here’s the way it works. Sound waves generated by woofers and midrange audio system is pumped by means of a collection of blending chambers and out twin “exhaust” pipes. It’s the tuning of the “exhaust meeting” that fine-tunes the sound for “a extra genuine sound,” in response to a Stellantis patent filing uncovered last September.

Efficiency bros can be delighted to study they’ll “rev” the Daytona at a standstill, mimicking the sound of a V-8 at a stoplight. EV followers can be relieved to study there’s a Stealth Mode that turns off all of the noise.

However there’s extra. A set of “drive turbines” is mounted on the automobile construction to transmit vibrations into the automobile, synchronized to its velocity, its energy supply, and the exhaust sounds. They generate their very own sounds as effectively. Completely different vibrations arrive in several components of the automotive in several intensities; the motive force will really feel them by means of the seat and steering wheel, amongst different parts.

Efficiency bros can be delighted to study they’ll “rev” the Daytona at a standstill, mimicking the sound of a V-8 at a stoplight. EV followers can be relieved to study there’s a Stealth Mode that turns off all of the noise.

Two-door fashions of the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T and Scat Pack will begin manufacturing later this yr, all fitted with the Direct Connection Stage equipment. 4-door variations of the electrical Daytona, together with gasoline-powered Charger fashions, will arrive early in 2025. All Chargers can be constructed within the Stellantis meeting plant in Windsor, Ontario.