Thirteen months ago, I claimed that the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT EV concept looked surprisingly production-like. It turns out, I wasn’t wrong. Pictures of what appears to be the unibody for Dodge’s Challenger replacement have leaked online, and from what we can see, it looks almost exactly like last year’s concept car.
These photos leaked on Twitter day, as you can see below, though it’s not clear where they originated. The images are claimed to be from inside a Stellantis production facility.
Granted, there’s only so much we can see from these pictures, given that they contain no subframes, no doors, no bumpers, no glass, no trim, no suspension, and no powertrain bits. We’re literally just talking about the unibody. However, we are looking at a two-door liftback coupe with a pronounced shoulderline and fixed quarter windows, which totally makes this thing Dodge’s Challenger replacement. Sure, the pillarless greenhouse of the concept doesn’t carry over, but I guess we can’t have everything. We haven’t seen a liftback in the American pony car segment since 2002, so this should be a welcome dose of practicality in an otherwise indulgent form.
These photos appear to have possibly been taken inside Stellantis’ Windsor Assembly plant, which would make sense given Stellantis’ investment in the Windsor area for electric vehicle battery pack production, and a previous announcement claiming STLA Large vehicle production will occur in Windsor. Dodge has been hyping up its future electric lineup, so it would be good practice for future models to be built closer to where the batteries are. It’s worth noting that STLA Large is a flexible architecture, and these shells appear to be set up for combustion power. Stellantis has confirmed in a product roadmap that a battery electric option will be available at launch.
New Charger, who dis? pic.twitter.com/2HjbZ0U5JK
— Takuro Spirit ???? (@TakuroSpirit) October 17, 2023
In addition, multiple unibodies are shown in leaked pics, which suggests that the automaker is gearing up for pilot builds. Dodge has previously announced that its next generation of muscle cars will arrive in 2024, and given standard development timelines, it seems plausible Stellantis is in the manufacturing phase of pre-production.
In any case, we’ll likely just have to hold onto our butts for now, taking solace in the knowledge that the next generation of Dodge performance cars will look pretty much like the Charger Daytona SRT Banshee concept from 2022. Expect a mixture of combustion-powered and battery-electric models, and an official launch sometime next year.
Hat-tip to Discord member JCat for the tip! Sign Up for the Discord here.
(Photo credits: Unknown, Stellantis, Thomas Hundal)
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Oh yeah. Yes. That please
How I’d love to see that car running in the Nascar Cup series.
Ralph Gillies and the design crew at Stellantis/Dodge have another winner on their hands. Stunning design.It’s like 1968 altogether again. And that is a very good thing.
I loved the look of this thing from the moment I saw it but I had no interest in the EV part.. but a 500-600hp turbo-6 in that body? Now we’re talking..
Just going to point out that calling a hatchback a lift back does not make it any more or less cool. It also as i recall from the F-Body days, does not make the overall structure all that solid for twisting and turning. It is at least a little good to see that they left enough trans tunnel to effectively make these with at least turbo sixes for ICE power. I think the cooling trends and sales of BEV’s is going to really mess up the financials of the companies that follow through with the promises of BEV only in a few years.
Cooling trends? EVs just reported a 50% sales increase in Q3
https://www.autonews.com/sales/ev-registrations-cool-some-brands-were-hot-last-year
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/10/tesla-is-losing-market-share-as-ev-adoption-grows-and-prices-fall/
I’d like to say I’d be near the front of the line to get one with a PHEV powertrain, but my company doesn’t currently allow mileage reimbursement on 2-door vehicles (other than pickup trucks), so looks like I’ll have to sit it out regardless. Looks decent though, it’s a good evolution of the previous cars in a way that keeps the family resemblance but still does something fresh and new
Supposedly there’s a four-door version coming, you should be able to choose sedan or coupe.
There will be a sedan version coming for this. It may or may not be called Charger, but there will be a sedan. 2-doors are great, but they don’t sell as well.
Dodge sold 80K Chargers compared to 55K Challengers in 2022.
Charger is actually a great name for an EV, isn’t it? 😉
Oh yeah. Way better than Firebird.
It’s actually kind of awful. Googling “EV Charger” is going to net you a whole lot of things that aren’t a Dodge car
Somebody in 2029 is going to google “Dodge Charger charger” and the AI that will have taken over Google by then will suddenly understand why people drink.
lol!
I’ve been there: I own a ´67 Citroën DS, but the last 10 years of Googling for spare parts, knowledge and inspiration has been hard, as Citroën has reinvented the DS as a car for people with small dogs and big iPhones 🙁
I don’t see boxes of yellow front chin protectors waiting to be installed. I don’t believe it’s real. /s
Leaves me cold. I’ve never liked the Charger or Challenger models from this century and this design just looks like they merged the two cars into one. My very first car was a ‘68 Charger and I will always like those, as well as the ‘66-‘67 version. The later descendants never appealed to me. If this floats your boat and/or reminds you of the old cars, more power to you, it just doesn’t ring any bells for me. Hard pass.
I can respect that. It’s not your cup of tea but you’re not trashing others for liking it. This is the reason why I like this site so much. People more or less behave like adults. Hopefully, you’ll see something modern that catches your eye.
I love those wheels on the red concept car. Hope they keep these.
It’s like I teleported back to the pits of Talladega 1972. Whoa!
As someone who’s been bracing themselves for owning center lock wheels on a future purchase… you do not want the center lock part. The design? Sure, but you want 5-lugs.
Center locks are an entirely special kind of pain in the ass not only for swapping the wheels, but also additional maintenance if you’re actually loading the wheels.
It’s been interesting watching Nascar’s experience with them. Just this past weekend there was yet another incident with one coming off on the track.
Oh man, there’s lubricants involved for long-term use. There’s $10 O-rings. You have to not just tighten to the correct torque, but you’re using a four foot giant cheater bar if you doing it manually (to 600 nm!), you have to loosen and tighten in a certain direction to not put undue stress on the suspension components, the car ideally should be off the ground. And so on.
Wow. I had no idea, but it all makes sense when you lay it out like that. I can’t even imagine where one would look for a breaker bar that big…
I miss how the pit crew tire changers used to often have a spare nut taped to their helmets.
I always felt that the old 5-lug steelies added a lot of visual distinction to Nascar, and looked good painted too. If center-lock issues are what it takes to bring them back, I’d be happy to see them.
I liked how they were painted different colors to match/contrast with the cars’ liveries.
Huh. I somehow missed that the concept actually has good looking wheels that aren’t insanely large-diameter. Look at that: a concept with 2” or more of sidewall!
The First car I purchased at 15 in 1979 was a 1969 charger SE, blue with white stripes around trunk, and a seized 383. Got it running, idled smooth, death knock under load. Sold it for what I had into it (DAMN IT) after failing to find a replacement engine in my budget in a year of looking. Looking at the profile in red, it’s too chunky, and doesn’t look right till you pan the bottom off till the wheel hubs disappear.
Totally channeling the ’68 Charger. Weld the doors shut, paint a traitor flag on the roof, and install a “Dixie” horn.
Style-wise, I think it’s got it down. Dodge has for the most part a great team for that. It really looks like there’s a transmission tunnel, but maybe not a driveshaft tunnel. I think it’ll have enough and varying drivetrain options. The 2.0 4xE powerplant makes 375/470 which is at least as healthy as a current R/T. They could also shove a motor between the engine and transmission with their Hurricane-6 and make astonishing numbers. Maybe they could even put a front motor like an E-Ray. They really have options with the platform, and I’m very hopeful for it.
RIP to the leaker’s job.
Will there be a super loud exhaust system for it that annoys people 5 miles away? Inquiring minds want to know.
well in case you missed it bro, they will in fact have a speaker tip for you to amp up the base on your fake exhaust anytime you want.
Takuro Spirit? Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time…
I was thinking the same thing! Ex-Opponaut! 🙂
I give it 3 weeks upon release we see a hellcat engine in one.
It was uploaded to Allpar under its own thread pretty early in the morning (3:24am ET apparently), and apparently, the one who took the pictures is likely going to be fired over this.
Welp, maybe if they let us know what’s going on, people wouldn’t have to do this.
It’s entirely their right to keep whatever secrets they want.
Not saying it’s not their right to have secrets, they can keep as many as they want to. But at least FCA would do something, even reconfirm in an interview, what was going on, even if nothing ever came of it. Stellantis is seemingly keen on not doing anything but some concepts then radio silence. We don’t even know if the project is still going on or not from them.
Hell, they showed a fully production ready Chrysler EV crossover, announced plans to build it, then backtracked and said they were totally redesigning it from the ground up, then radio silence. At a certain point, dealers and investors would like to know WTF is going on with them
My point exactly! Dealers have already been shown multiple products, seemingly* all ready for the limelight, but at this point, we got nothing.
Under FCA, the original Charger/Challenger/300 replacements were at least spoken about every so often: from their original 2015 debut, to the 2018’s, to even right before the PSA merger. And what concepts did we get? Nothing. But at least they were telling us something.
*- what I suspect, based on what I’ve heard.
If it does end up looking very much like the concept, that’s is gonna be pretty damn tasty. Give it a healthy dose of big dumb stupid Dodge power and I’m here for it. By which I mean I will nod appreciatively and Stan it, but not buy it unless they figure out how to slap an Italian brand badge on it cause well, I am me.
It may not be the solution you’re looking for, but you could slap an Italian badge brand on it and not wait on Stellantis. Just buy yourself an Iveco badge or something and you’re set!
The next generation of Stellantis badge engineering: pick your car, pick your color, pick your badge. Alfa Romeo Charger? Sure, why not. Fiat Wrangler? The customer’s always right!
Interestingly enough, although I knew exactly what I was looking at I immediately visualized a Maserati badge on the front. No idea why as I don’t have a particular yen for Masers, I just think a version of it with appropriate front and rear fascia changes would work.
But if they slap a Maserati badge on it I will be forced to make fun of it as it breaks in an expensive way every 5 minutes, as is tradition. I don’t make the rules on this one, and I don’t want to have to laugh at myself that frequently. Give it a nice interior, slap a Lancia badge on it and we’re good to go
They sort of look like front engine rear drive platforms, not an EV as expected
It’ll offer both. Stellantis is so fucked at this point when it comes to CAFE standards/other regulations that I doubt they could release a new Challenger at all if it wasn’t electrified in some capacity…but there’s also no way in hell they’d risk alienating the typical crowd who buys this, who would likely tell you you can take their ICE cars out of their cold, dead hands.
It also leaked a while ago that the hurricane 6 is going to find its way into this for some of the spicier variants. I’d imagine that the base engine will remain either the pentastar V6 or it’ll be replaced by a more boosted version of their corporate turbo 4 that’s in Alfas and such. There will probably be a low/mid tier EV powertrain as well, my guess is it will more or less sit where the current RT with the 5.7 does.
Then for the scat/maybe the assorted hell themed trims I think there will be high output versions of the hurricane 6, which is apparently capable of 5-600 horsepower on stock internals. I’d imagine the wild, over the top, banshee concept will take over as the halo car of the lineup seeing as it’s the first version they showed off and the technology seemed relatively ready to go.
They quietly announced the next gen Drag Pak car will have the HurriCrate CatX
I will be very intrigued to see how this engine does in this car. It’s gotten very positive reviews in the Wagoneer but this is its first performance application. I’ll also be interested to hear how it sounds…because IMHO the single biggest selling point of the ancient Hemis and V8s in general is the sound.
Straight sixes can sound good (the B58 and S58 BMW engines sure do) but even the best ones can’t hold a candle to a V8. I’m sure Stellantis knows this/knows their audience and is probably working on tuning the exhaust as best they can. Will be very interested to see how it turns out.
Very Much this. I’m super interested in how they play the sound game with the ICE engines in these.
https://youtu.be/ebyke2smjMQ?si=FMO-neph_LI1Jv4Z
Not great not terrible. It ain’t a V8 but it still sounds pretty good. Unsurprisingly it’s very BMW-like.
sounds pretty much like a Raptor…not the good one either.
https://youtu.be/Etu44hXY3zg?si=yH8m35D0c6Vt5fSq&t=39
I’d be willing to bet we see a version of the Jeep 4xE powertrain in these as well; Turbo 4 plus electric motor (or motors if AWD). Considering that puts out 375hp/475 ft lbs of torque combined in the Jeeps it would be a good “replacement” for the V8’s in terms of power level.
It’s already been announced what the power levels for the EV version will be:
https://moparinsiders.com/dodge-gives-us-a-teaser-of-its-future-electrified-charger-daytona-lineup/
🙂
I really wish that these cars somehow existed independently of the type of crowd that they attract. Say what you will about the ancient platform etc, but the current Challenger is a ridiculously good looking car and the new one seems like it is as well. Pulling off a retro/modern design is very difficult, and yet Dodge of all people somehow knows how to do it perfectly.
I’m also excited to see the ICE variants of this, particularly the hurricane 6 which on paper seems to be a really enticing engine…and I love that you can find nice examples of assorted V8 Challengers in the 35-45 range all day every day. That’s cool! V8s are cool! Affordable performance is cool! This will have EV/ICE/maybe hybrid options. That’s cool! And the Challenger has always had a big trunk and usable back seats.
But every time I see a car doing something incredibly dangerous on the road if it isn’t a Nissan it’s usually a Charger/Challenger. If someone pulls up next to me trying to race through a residential area it’s always a Charger/Challenger. Every buy here pay here lot is chock full of them, Dodge will finance anyone with a pulse, and if there’s a car involved in a crime scene or a viral video running from the cops sure enough it’s usually a Challenger.
It’s lame. There were times when I seriously considered buying an RT or Scat Pack in the past but as a mid 30s professional I just don’t think I want to be associated with the image these things have. People are going to make assumptions, and I’m pretty much on the polar opposite side of the equation to the usual crowd who lusts after these.
Can you separate the art from the artist? I don’t know if I can…but we’ll see what the new one is like. With inflation/gouging likely increasing the eventual prices of these by a substantial margin and the inclusion of electrification, there’s a nonzero chance the new one will appeal to a more diverse crowd.
Lo and behold:
https://jalopnik.com/florida-man-goes-full-send-launches-dodge-challenger-i-1850933470
Looks like them Duke boys got away again.
I understand the urge to return to monke via the big pedal on the right as well as anyone…but holy shit is this ever a trifecta of the Challenger crowd.
Racing on a residential street? Check.
Unable to handle a turn? Check.
Car totaled? Check.
If you ever want a really good laugh look up Challengers on your preferred car search engine and go through the Carfaxes. I swear that over half of them have been in accidents.
Where I’m at, I frequently see Hellcats murdered out with dark tinted windows, no plates, no tags, no registration, and hooning about the hood. Sometimes they participate in street takeovers. And the cops don’t even bother trying to catch them at this point.
It’s awesome.
Man, life is way too short to worry what others think of your car. Drive what makes you happy.
The most notorious drivers of most of the vehicles I own have very little in common with me politically or socially either. That doesn’t bother me a bit when I’m driving them.
As a Ford guy, I enjoy how the Challenger/Charger duo has basically managed to replicate what the Fox body Mustang achieved in the ’80s/’90s. It was basically that car of its day and likewise did so with a comparatively ancient setup topped with some cool sheetmetal.
And for what it’s worth, at some point, you just have to go for it if that’s what you like. I’m not that guy either, but I love my Mustang for what she is.
I think the compromise for me will ultimately wind up being something like an M2, IS500, CT4V BW, etc. that gives me a similar hoon in more incognito sheet metal. Although you and V10emous do make good points, for sure.
I think part of it is the Dodge cars are purposefully and loudly retro…designed to aggressively evoke a previous era, and with it, some of the mores/attitudes supposedly from that era. So a certain sort of driver may be drawn to them for reasons other than the driving itself, which becomes basically simply a way to signal their values. Which sadly seem to often involve putting others in danger.
If anything I prefer being the opposite of whatever demographic is expected.
The Challenger is simply fun. It looks awesome. For a cruiser, it’s not even that impractical in the backseat is actually usable. Hell, I’m probably one of the few people who wouldn’t mind owning one with the V6, as the efficiency isn’t that bad with it. But I think I’m one of the few people who could give a rats ass about what people would think about that.
If you badly want something, get it, and if doesn’t align with the typical culture that surrounds it, fuck ’em. Don’t let tools take that opportunity away.
Agreed. All well and good, however, until the insurance quote.
Ha, you certainly have to want one badly to deal with the overall cost of ownership, that’s for sure.
Part of why I love their ubiquity in rental fleets is it allows me to enjoy these cars without committing to owning one.
I’ve rented both a Mustang and a Camaro before. I couldn’t agree more. It’s fun to be a monkey in one for a few days then hand the keys back over and go home to my hot hatch. Don’t be gentle, it’s a rental.
Hell, man, you already drive a CUV that farts on command; what do you care what others think?
>>jest pickin’, man!
And it Harm No One, Drive What You Will
Oh you’re totally good! I do indeed drive a farting CUV, but it’s kind of the opposite approach of a burbling muscle car. I’m a big fan of sleepers. No one expects the innocuous looking CUV to have nearly 300 horsepower.
I’ve tracked it before too and the results were hysterical. A bunch of Very Serious Dudes in Corvettes and assorted Mustangs were giving me a good natured ribbing about it while we were getting ready and it wound up lapping Dominion Raceway in VA (which is a pretty tight track) faster than most of the “serious” stuff.
They wound up bumping me into faster groupings the whole afternoon, and at the end of the day a bunch of folks came over to ask me about it/mention how confused they were about how fast it was. That’s more of the type of attention I’m going for…that sweet sweet trolling
I want some autopian writers to do a stake out for test mules from the plant. Its an article that practically writes it self
I volunteer as tribute.
It would be nice to see the Charger name back on a proper two-door performance car.
I thought the name choice was odd, after nearly 20 years of “Charger = 4-door, Challenger = 2-door”.
It still confuses me to this day, and my father owned one.
Genuine question: are you not familiar with the Chargers from the late 1960s / early 1970s?
For about five years, they were very desirable big-block (two-door) muscle cars.
Bill Hickman would agree.
I’m familiar, but is the general public?
Probably. Those OG Mopar muscle cars are icons.
There are probably nearly as many ’68-’70 Chargers in movies as Mustangs of all years and they’re still being cast today. I suspect Burn Notice only used a ’73 because the ’68-’70s got too expensive to wreck. They’re one of the top muscle car icons. I’m sure people know and there were certainly a lot complaining when the present one came out as a 4-door.
Pfft, no L-Body, no care.
Electric door handles, your car is irrelevant.
As with all concepts, I’m nervous to see how it translates to a true production spec. In this case the charge port door on the back drivers fender is already going to do some less than desirable things to the body lines, so I’ll have to reserve judgement for when the full fat production models land, but the rest of the body in white looks promising.