America’s muscle car culture will live on as the country transitions to electric vehicles, but the gas-powered power car will last at least a few more years
DETROIT — America’s muscle car culture will live on as the country transitions to electric vehicles, but the gas-powered powerhouse will last at least a few more years.
Dodge on Tuesday unveiled two battery-powered versions of the Charger muscle car that will still roar like a big V8 without the tailpipe pollution.
However, the Stellantis brand, which has carved out a niche for itself selling high-performance vehicles, will also continue to sell a gas-powered Charger without the big Hemi V8.
Both will be built on top of Stellantis’ global large vehicle lineup, and the Windsor, Ontario factory that will build them will be able to choose between gasoline and electric depending on consumer demand. The flexibility will allow Stellantis to hedge its bets if sales of electric vehicles pick up or slow down.
Last year, Stellantis stopped making gas-powered Chargers and Challengers, and many thought it would be the beginning of the end for the thunder sedans.
But Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis said there are hints that the gas version will continue to exist. “It was always there. It was always in the plan. It always came,” he said.
The company downplayed the gas version, however, as it showed two- and four-door electric models that looked a bit like the Chargers of the 1960s with aerodynamic lines and a hatchback instead of trunks.
The electric versions, named the Charger Daytona after the NASCAR racetrack in Florida, will come with two powertrains, one delivering up to 670 horsepower with the ability to accelerate from zero to 60 mph (97 kilometers per hour) in 3, 3 seconds. The other is without fail with 496 horses and a 0-60 time of 4.7 seconds.
Dodge claims the high-performance electric version is the fastest and most powerful muscle car in the world. An even higher performance version is coming next year.
The 496-horsepower Daytona is expected to have a range of 317 miles (510 kilometers) on a single charge, while the high-performance version can go 260 miles (418 kilometers).
Both will feature the company’s Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust, which sends air through the chamber to simulate the roar of a V8.
Both are heavy due to the large batteries, each with a gross vehicle weight of over three tonnes.
The new gas-powered Charger Sixpack will look similar to the electric versions and will be powered by a new 3-liter twin-turbocharged six-cylinder engine. The standard versions will produce 420 horsepower, while the high-powered engine will have 550 horsepower.
The company says the new engine will produce more horsepower and more torque than the outgoing 5.7-liter and 6.4-liter Hemi V8s. Company officials said they have not yet completed fuel economy testing of the new Charger engine.
All versions have four-wheel drive, but can be switched to rear-wheel drive so owners can still do burnouts and drifts. There will be options that set up the cars for the race track.
Production of the Daytona two-door coupe versions is expected to begin this summer, while the electric four-door and gas-powered versions will begin early next year.
Kuniskis said he wasn’t sure which version would sell better, electric or gas. With federal tax incentives for electric vehicles, there are likely to be very attractive lease payments that could sway some buyers, he said.
The company will almost certainly be criticized by environmental groups for offering EVs that emphasize performance efficiency and for keeping the gasoline muscle car. But Kuniskis said that under normal circumstances, about 17 million new vehicles are sold in the U.S. each year.
“It’s a 17-million-unit industry,” he said. “And you know what? People need choices,” he said, adding that the company could be criticized if it didn’t create electric versions.
