We all know Dodge has been selling the ancient Charger and Challenger for what seems like forever. But if this new concept is any indication of what the brand’s future electric muscle plans are, this EV performance future may be something to look forward to. Take a look at the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept.
It’s pure muscle. There are clear design cues that harken back to the brand’s past all over it. From the front, there’s a blend of past Chargers and the current Challenger, with hidden headlights. This gets surrounded by an illuminated light bar that runs the width of the car. It’s centered by something we were teased with before: the Fratzog badge. It gets illuminated here and is an important part of Dodge’s EV plans. While the badge literally meant nothing before, it’s to be the symbol for Dodge performance EVs going forward.
There’s also functional performance up front. Carbon air intakes and a Dodge patented R-Wing. A blast from the past, this aerodynamic part of the hood helps with downforce and airflow.
The side and rear views are what’s surprising here. While the roofline is old-school second-gen Charger, from the door to the back seems to take influence from the 2011-’15 Charger with how squared off it is. The rear tail lights are of a similar racetrack design that was in use on the Charger then and the Durango currently. Dark painted 21-inch diamond-cut wheels with the Fratzong logo and new Banshee fender emblems round everything out. I’ll get to that Banshee in a bit. Out back is something special. Dodge has actually fitted an exhaust to an EV.
They call it Fratzonic chambered exhaust. With its ability to reach a cop attracting 126 decibels, Dodge says it’s as loud as a Hellcat. Awesome.
Inside is a more futuristic departure from the old-school muscle exterior. It’s an EV, so you know they had to throw some screens inside. Dodge says they’ve fitted the largest screen they have ever put into a vehicle in the Charger Daytona. At 12.3-inches, it, along with a 16-inch curved instrument cluster, is angled towards the driver. Another 8.3-inches of HUD display shows vital info in front of the driver. There’s blue plasma and silver stitching throughout that Dodge says reminds you of the electricity that powers this thing.
There are also excellent-looking carbon-backed seats, a full glass roof, and a pistol grip shifter. And surprise, surprise, the damn thing is a liftback with seats that fold down.
While the design is great, what you want to know about is the performance. While Dodge isn’t talking specifics yet, there’s likely something good here. Those Banshee badges on the front fenders denote an all-new electric powertrain. The Charger Daytona SRT gets powered by what Dodge says is an 800-volt Banshee propulsion system. That gets routed to an all-wheel drive system with an actual transmission. Dodge calls it eRupt and its multi-speed and electro-mechanical. That’s all just fancy engineering speak for it actually has some feel to it. It also comes equipped with a power boost feature called PowerShot. When pressed, an unknown amount of extra horsepower is provided for a bit more go.
While the head of Dodge admitted that he received death threats when he announced that the brand was going electric, if this is what Dodge going eclectic looks like they need to bring this thing to market asap. And with the Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep penchant for bringing concepts to production nearly unchanged I’m willing to bet that this is what you’ll see on dealer lots in a couple of years. I need to get my bank account ready.
