Dodge is taking us on an emotional roller coaster during Speed Week. While we were contemplating a world without the Charger and Challenger muscle cars, this thing just came out. It’s the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT concept, and it’s exactly what you think, a preview of an all-electric muscle car.
Large displacement HEMI engines are about to become living legends, but Dodge doesn’t think that’s the end of the muscle car era. While your dad and grandpa went fast using V8s, you are going to put Porsches in their place using “Banshee” power in this retro-styled and named Charger Daytona SRT EV. Suddenly, you’re not interested in a Mustang or Camaro, right?
While we don’t know exactly how much horsepower it makes, we’re willing to bet it’s a frightening amount, since Dodge has promised a Banshee is faster than a Hellcat, partly because this is going to be an AWD car. It also has sound and a transmission, both promising elements that feel new in the EV game.
The Banshee is kind of like the Hellcat of the range. During the reveal event, CEO Tim Kuniskis made it clear that three powertrains will be made available at launch, this one being the highest, kind of like you can get two less powerful HEMI engines with the Challenger. He also spoke about unlockable drift and drag modes, so there will be combinations and variations.
First, let’s talk about how good this looks. It makes Dodge fans even happier than the Challenger because it takes the Charger name back into the world of 2-door coupes. The front end obviously pays homage to the 1968-1970 muscle cars which are some of the coolest vehicles ever made.
But while that front end looks about as aerodynamic as a brick from 50 years back, there’s actually a trick. Dodge calls it the R-Wing, the area right under the top of the nose, channeling air over the hood. So even though this doesn’t have a Daytona rear wing, aero is on the agenda.
The side angle is where the 2024 Charger sets itself apart from the 2023 Challenger. The shoulder line, the crease in the middle, the roof, and the flush door mirrors—still a muscle car, but from a different league. Things really change at the back, though, because this isn’t your typical fastback+trunk layout. It’s got a wide hatch opening to make it more practical and modern. Also at the back, right in the center is the Fratzog badge, which Dodge used in the 60s and 70s. It doesn’t mean anything, but this term will be brought back for marketing in the EV era.
The precise use: Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust, which delivers “performance sound through an amplifier and tuning chamber located at the rear of the vehicle.” That sounds a little like the active exhaust “speakers” that Audi and other German brands have used to hide their diesel sounds, though the thing is shaped like an afterburner on the Dodge. Most of the time, EVs focus on cabin sound to generate excitement, like in the case of Watts To Freedom. The actual sound output will be 126 dB to match that of a Hellcat, and you can get a small sample in the teaser video below.
Yes, we’re getting an EV that’s as loud as a Hellcat. In another muscle car first, the Charger Daytona SRT will feature a transmission called eRupt, which reportedly has multiple speeds and electro-mechanical shifting that replicates the feel of changing gear. It will also get the PowerShot power boost for quick bursts of push-to-pass performance.
Again, the debut is in 2024, so Dodge has plenty of time to tease the exact power output, the range of the battery, or how quick this goes down the quarter-mile. All we know is they used an 800V architecture. We suspect it’s going to be a silly number like 800 hp, and while it might not take down the Plaid, it should match some Ludicrous quarter-mile times.
This 2024 upcoming Dodge Charger Daytona Banshee concept is exceptional like the 1968- 70Charger !!
Chrysler and Dodge will live to see another moment in history reflecting the change in the industry from gas to electric propulsion
It’s sad not to see Plymouth and Pontiac brands not here anymore
I’ve listened to several videos of the new EV Charger Daytona and have a suggestion for its name, based on its sound. Since it is the next progressive thing down the assembly line after the Hellcat, with this new sound I think the perfect name for it would be be Mewkitten.