Home » The 2025 Dodge Charger Six Pack May Have 550 Horsepower But It’s Still Not A V8

The 2025 Dodge Charger Six Pack May Have 550 Horsepower But It’s Still Not A V8

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If the all-electric Dodge Charger Daytona doesn’t tickle your fancy, wait a few months. Come next year, the 2025 Dodge Charger will also be available with Stellantis’ three-liter twin-turbocharged Hurricane inline-six in two states of tune and both three-door liftback and five-door liftback bodystyles. There’s a 420-horsepower standard output variant that already looks tantalizing, and then there’s the double bacon cheeseburger 550-horsepower high-output model. Dodge is currently extremely light on details so there’s lots we don’t know about this new gasoline-powered Charger, but for those who crave internal combustion while it’s still available, that ought to do the trick.

Oh, and then there’s the name. Dodge is calling the inline-six version of its muscle car the “Dodge Charger Six Pack,” a throwback to the iconic six-barrel carburetion option on classic Dodges with 340 cubic-inch small block and 440 cubic-inch big block V8s. Might the use of this name brush some hardcore classic Mopar fans the wrong way? Perhaps, but if most of us got over the introduction of a Charger sedan, it’s likely we’ll get over an inline-six powertrain option being referred to as the Six Pack.

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So, what’s the deal with the Hurricane inline-six? Currently used in the Jeep Wagoneer and Ram 1500, this three-liter, twin-cam, twin-turbocharged motor features a closed-deck aluminum block, forged connecting rods, and a forged crankshaft, meaning it’s ready to make some serious power. Standard output versions feature a 10.4:1 compression ratio and cast pistons, while high-output versions drop that down to 9.5:1 using forged pistons and cramming in more boost before detonation happens. With a bore of 84 mm and a stroke of 90 mm, the Hurricane falls squarely in the camp of modern undersquare turbocharged engines, limited in peak engine speed by relatively high piston speeds but rich in usable torque. Basically, don’t expect a high redline, but do expect a slug of grunt.

Stellantis Unveiled Its New 3.0 Liter Hurricane Twin Turbo Inlin

Our own David Tracy recently got the chance to sample the Hurricane inline-six in the 2025 Ram 1500, and he came away impressed, writing:

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I love the old Hemi, yes, but I don’t miss it, because when boost hits on this inline-six, the thing moves with fury. Like, it’s an event. The Tungsten I drove comes standard with the High Output (HO) engine making 540 horsepower, so it probably goes without saying that this thing moves

If it can make a half-ton pickup truck feel like that, just imagine what it can do in a coupe or a liftback sedan. Sure, we might not be talking Hellcat power here, but considering the Hurricane weighs 441 pounds in high-output trim and a HellCrate 6.2-liter Hellcat crate motor has a shipping weight of 875 pounds, that’s a big difference on the nose of a car. Granted, we don’t know total curb weight, so there’s still a chance the new Charger Six Pack could weigh more than the old Hemi-powered Charger. On the plus side, this car’s STLA Large architecture includes multi-link front and integral link rear suspension, and should provide tangible benefits over the old LD platform under the previous car.

[Ed Note: I like the inline-six for the truck, but in my eyes, the Charger/Challenger were defined by the V8 burble, while in the truck that beautiful noise isn’t as important. So I’m unsure, here. -DT]. 

Stellantis Unveiled Its New 3.0 Liter Hurricane Twin Turbo Inlin

In the Jeep Wagoneer, the standard output Hurricane inline-six makes 420 horsepower and 468 lb.-ft. of torque, and as the standard-output Charger also sports 420 horsepower, don’t expect that torque number to change much. As for the high-output model, the Ram 1500’s most potent Hurricane engine makes 540 horsepower and 521 lb.-ft. of torque, so it looks like the 550-horsepower variant in the 2025 Dodge Charger is going for the crown. Regarding sound, inline-sixes are renowned for their outstanding smoothness, and turbochargers do muffle exhaust noise, so V8 fans whose hearts race for a Woodward Avenue stoplight-to-stoplight soundtrack may be disappointed.

As it stands, every current Hurricane inline-six application comes backed by a ZF 8HP eight-speed automatic transmission, and the combustion-powered 2025 Dodge Charger Six Pack will also feature that slick torque converter automatic just like the old Charger did [Ed Note: Because the Charger is now offered as a two-door, it’s safe to say it’s replacing the Challenger, which came with a stick. I want a stick. -DT]. Dodge has also dug deep into the parts bin and pulled out a transfer case (PTU) stout enough to spin all four tires, making the Charger Six Pack all-wheel-drive just like the Charger Daytona EV. Best of all, you can turn this transfer case off and go rear-wheel-drive only. This is going to be the old-school kind of hybrid — one that burns both gas and rubber.

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On the outside, the 2025 Dodge Charger Six Pack ditches the massive nose duct seen on the EV and adds a revised front bumper with an extra air inlet and a deeper lower grille, a pair of air inlets between the headlights, and a substantially broader power bulge in the hood to cover the inline-six. Around back, Dodge has installed a revised valence that includes some beefy exhaust tips, completing the Charger Six Pack visual package.

Dodge Charger Six Pack Rear

While interior details of the Charger Six Pack haven’t been released yet, it feels reasonable to expect a manumatic mode in the electronic gear selector at minimum for changes over the EV variant.

It’s worth noting that the Hurricane inline-six is a fairly tall engine, and automakers with inline-six-powered cars have been known to tilt this engine configuration over for better hood clearance. Could we be looking at a new Leaning Tower of Power (the nickname of the old Chrysler Slant-6, the most reliable gas engine of all time) here? It’s unlikely, but perhaps. We’ll know for sure next year, as the gasoline-powered 2025 Dodge Charger Six Pack is expected to go on sale in the first quarter of next year in both three-door liftback and five-door liftback configurations.

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(Photo credits: Stellantis)

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DRAIDEZ1
DRAIDEZ1
7 months ago

Forget about horsepower, v6, electric or gas, 2dr or 4dr, this monstrosity is hideous especially compared to the beauty of the previous Charger! What on earth were the design team at Dodge/Stellantis thinking?! Whomever approved this should be fired immediately with prejudice!!! This design is a disaster in the making and will never achieve the sales of the previous Charger…in your dreams!!!

Fix It Again Tony
Fix It Again Tony
7 months ago

The question is if they left enough room in the engine bay for a Hellcat.

Boxing Pistons
Boxing Pistons
7 months ago

For those disappointed in the lack of V8 character: I’m sure they’ll pipe a hemi soundtrack into the cabin…

Rod Millington
Rod Millington
7 months ago

Here I was hoping that despite being a Dodge product, going with a B58 style, closed deck block would bring reliability. But then there’s all the ancillaries…

Von Baldy
Von Baldy
7 months ago

I feel like a missed boat here would be to call the 5 door a polara in ev trim only
Had the fratzog then anyway, add the double hoop bumpers and itdve been the most sinister thing to quietly wizz down the road
Hell, why not bring the wagon back as well, but call it the fury ev.

OrigamiSensei
OrigamiSensei
7 months ago

He’s back! And I am very much here for your trenchant observations.

Boxing Pistons
Boxing Pistons
7 months ago

It’ll be interesting to see what this thing weighs. I know the hemi is a cast iron block, but still. OHV vs OHC (with 1 big head as opposed to 2), twin turbo and associated plumbing, etc. I can’t imagine it really weighs 50% less. Not that any weight reduction really trumps the abysmal reliability so who cares anyway..

Cerberus
Cerberus
7 months ago
Reply to  Boxing Pistons

Just a rough guess, but I would think it might only weigh about 80-100 lbs less.

Manwich Sandwich
Manwich Sandwich
7 months ago
Reply to  Boxing Pistons

Depends on which version of each engine you’re comparing. The Hemi V8 ranges from around 580lbs to nearly 700lbs (Hellcat). And I imagine the HO version of the Hurricane 6 weighs a bit more than the lower output version

Edit… apparently the new 6 weighs between 430 and 441lbs… So 150lbs lighter on the low end and 350lbs lighter compared to a hellcat

Last edited 7 months ago by Manwich Sandwich
SooperDooperPooperScooter
SooperDooperPooperScooter
7 months ago
Reply to  Boxing Pistons

Also, they really could’ve made an aluminum block for the hemi and cut down weight. Even with boost, most other automakers have been doing that for awhile. That change alone would bring it to the same weight as the Hurricane (w turbos and gear).

Boxing Pistons
Boxing Pistons
7 months ago

“the old Chrysler Slant-6, the most reliable gas engine of all time”

If DT can make up new definitions on what makes things reliable, then I will too. Anything that does not use timing GEARS is unreliable as they may need to be changed at some point during the engine’s life. Using that logic, the slant 6 is unreliable. Haha.

Glutton for Piëch
Glutton for Piëch
7 months ago
Reply to  Boxing Pistons

One of my cars has timing gears and it simultaneously makes me deeply horny, but also, concerned, as they sometimes make an odd noise when coming to a stop.

I know it’s normal, but it’s so strange for a passenger car.

Taargus Taargus
Taargus Taargus
7 months ago

I’m the weird heretic on here that buys sad base engines and doesn’t particularly want/need a V8 in everything. I understand that it sort of sucks that it’s no longer even an option, but I was never buying it anyway.

Honestly I think both the 3 and 5 door look great, liftback practicality is appreciated. I kind of want one. And Christ, I don’t know what I’d do with more than 420hp anyway. Give me the inline 6.

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