2024 Dodge Charger EV Debuts, ICE model to Follow

After a number of appearances on various auto show floors, probably in the background of a Fast and the Furious movie or two and burning brightly (for some; somewhat nervously for others, we suppose) in the imaginations of car enthusiasts – and more specifically, muscle car enthusiasts and even more specifically still, Mopar muscle enthusiasts – Dodge pulled the wraps off the full-electric Dodge Charger at an event in the Connor Center/Connor Assembly, the selfsame spot where the famous, fire-breathing V10-powered Dodge Viper was once built. In honour of the Charger’s original form, it will arrive as a hatchback coupe in ‘24, with a sedan coming in ‘25.

Of course, there will be none of that here; no Viper, no V10 and actually, no breathing, really, because EVs don’t have engine and don’t actually need the air required for internal combustion.

There is power, though, to the tune of 670 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque in Charger Daytona Scat Pack trim, which is enough to propel the big coupe from 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds, which is faster to the mark than most any V8-powered Charger to come before.  A note of caution: in order to get that full slug of power you have to make use of a button-activated Powershot feature that unlocks an additional 40 hp for 15 seconds. What it allows Dodge to say – which they proudly do – is that makes it the world’s first and only electric muscle car and try as we might, we can’t argue with them.

Of course, if you’re going to call something a muscle car, well, it has to look like one and usually, that means two doors and a long hood, both of which the new Charger does have. It also gets neat stuff like headlights that are deeply recessed and get thin wraparound DRLs, providing a bit of a truc d’oeil in that it kind of looks like this latest Charger gets the flip-out headlight that the 1970 car did. It doesn’t, but it remains a very cool look.

That’s echoed by the taillight, which is one long, wraparound affair that is almost a spitting image of the classic. Rounding it all out when it comes to linking the exterior styling across generations is the emblem; the “Dodge” scripting we’ve come to know and love is gone, gone, gone, replaced by a modernized take on the “Fratzog” emblem used from ’62 to ’81. It doesn’t sound like this is going to be like special EV-only thing, either, but the emblem all Dodges are going to sport going forward.

Speaking of “Fratzog”; Dodge is a firm believer that in addition to looking like a muscle car and going like one, a proper muscle car has to sound like one, too. So, what they’ve done is installed a couple of speakers within a chamber that would normally house an exhaust system and pumped what they say are “Hellcat levels of sound intensity” and calling it a “Fratzotic” exhaust. I don’t know who Fratz is, but I don’t really care and nor should you; if it sounds the business, then this certified V8-head is happy. The noise, of course, can be switched off if you don’t fancy waking the neighbours.

Speaking of: the high-output Scat Pack will be available at launch, but it won’t be your only choice – the base model gets the R/T moniker, and it’s good for 496 hp. Either way; if you listen to Dodge boss Tim Kuniskis, “It’s ‘go’ time for the next generation of Dodge muscle.”

Inside, Dodge has fitted what it calls a “driver-focused interior” punctuated by a 12.3” central widescreen display that’s tilted toward the driver. That’s complimented by a 10” instrument cluster as standard, but one that can be blown up to 16” if you tick that option box. With a single button press, meanwhile, the 64-colour ambient lighting and the gauge style will change to better suit the driver’s – and the car’s – mood.

The fun doesn’t stop there; there are of course a number of drive modes ranging from the classic eco, wet/snow, normal and so on but there is a sub-menu as well that provides stuff like line lock – that’s a burnout helper – launch control and two newbies that we’re sure many are going to want to try: drift and donut – yes, donut – that will meter out power, apply brakes and so on to help you do all manner of muscle car-y stuff. There’s also optional semi-active suspension, 16” front brakes and tires measuring 305 mm at the front and a colossal 325 mm at the rear that come stretched around standard 20” wheels. I don’t know about you, but there’s just something to the fact that with this new Charger, you’ll be injecting more particulate matter into the atmosphere by spinning the tires than you would by actually testing that 0-60 claim. Wild.

Unfortunately, those waiting for the eRupt (these guys and their names – sheesh) quasi-manual transmission are going to have to wait for the “Banshee” version of the Charger, which we probably won’t be seeing until 2025.

Otherwise, Dodge has opted for a deep multi-tiered dash and “pistol grip” automatic shifter to evoke Chargers of old, while modernization takes the form of sweeping flared surfaces on the doors, a squared-off steering wheel for an unencumbered view of the gauges and the road ahead and some properly plump seats with wingback-like shoulders and pass-throughs. You know, if you were to ever entertain the idea of installing a five-point harness for track work. Which, if you listen to Dodge, folks will want to do, so much so that they’re going to be offering a “Drive Experience Recorder” that uses the on-board GPS to record lap data from braking habits, to turn-in points, to lap times.

If that all sounds far-fetched for an electric car with about 430 km of range (don’t think you’ll be hitting that if you plan on caning your Charger all day at the track), then perhaps going the good ol’ fashioned gas-powered route is the way to go. Yes; there will be a gas-powered Charger in ’25, which will come powered by Stellantis group’s new Hurricane twin-turbo 3.0-litre six, called “Sixpack” here – we like that – and good for 420 hp in standard output form and 550 hp in high-output form; there is no plug-in hybrid or V8 in the plans. There’s also no word on whether a manual transmission will be offered with this powertrain, but a person can dream…

No word yet on pricing – which, in turn, means no word on whether or not it will be eligible for the country’s various EV rebates – expect that closer to launch late this year.

The Charger is dead…long love the Charger!