This story contains illustrations by Carscoops that are not affiliated with or endorsed by Dodge
Dodge has spent much of the last 20 years building an image around its powerful V8 engines, but with those engines about to take their last gasp of air the brand is pivoting to electric and electrified power, and it’s resurrecting the name of a 1990s hero to help it do it.
That’s according to Motor Trend and Alisa Priddle, which reiterates a rumor heard in March at a Stellantis dealer event that Dodge is bringing back the Stealth badge. The name has lain dormant since Chrysler axed its version of the Mitsubishi 3000 GT in 1996, but the new Stealth won’t look anything like the old one. That was a two-door coupe but the new one will be a three-row SUV marketed as a replacement for the elderly Durango.
While MT says the Durango name itself could live on by moving up to the same body-on frame platform as the Jeep Wagoneer duo, becoming a more affordable XXL SUV to rival machines like the Chevy Tahoe, the Stealth will go the unibody route, either via Stellantis’s new STLA Large platform that can accommodate both electric and hybrid powertrains, or the WL platform currently found under the Jeep Grand Cherokee L.
You won’t find a V8 nestling between the front wheels whichever chassis route Dodge takes, but the combination of hybrid assistance and the new Hurricane 3.0-liter, twin-turbo, inline six should provide plenty of muscle with the option to complete at least part of a journey purely on electric power. Jeep will probably give us our first look at this powertrain setup when the Wagoneer 4xe goes on sale next year, but we’ll have to wait a little longer to see it under a Dodge hood.
MT estimates that the new Stealth will go on sale in late 2024 for the ’25 model year where it will join the brand’s subcompact Hornet, a rebadged Alfa Romeo Tonale which has been helping introduce Dodge buyers to the idea of hybrid performance cars.
Source: Motor Trend