Last week, images emerged online displaying the body shell of a pre-production Dodge Charger Daytona SRT, which is the highly anticipated all-electric coupe successor to the current Challenger. What caught the attention was the obvious presence of a transmission tunnel, leading to speculation that an internal combustion engine (ICE) variant might be introduced alongside the electric vehicle (EV).
Well, if a new report is to be believed, it appears that Dodge is indeed considering such a move, despite the numerous conflicting statements, including outright denials from Stellantis officials in recent years.
An anonymous supplier source with purported insider knowledge of Dodge’s plan has revealed that the next-generation Charger, due to be released next year either as a 2024MY or 2025MY, will be offered with a combustion engine. It won’t be one of the firm’s beloved Hemi V8s but instead the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged Hurricane inline-six which was first used in the 2023 Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. The Drive spoke to and verified the source’s credentials, describing the individual as “a source connected to a supplier with firsthand information of Dodge’s production plans.”
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“They’re keeping gasoline engines,” the source said. “The official designation for the vehicle platform is LB and it will have the new GME-T6 Hurricane inline-six in RWD and AWD. It will be using the Stellantis Gen 4 transmission that’s also rolling out to Mack Assembly, Jefferson North Assembly, and Toledo North.”
Jeep currently offers two versions of this engine. The entry-level variant delivers 420 hp and 468 lb-ft (634 Nm) while the flagship version has 510 hp and 500 lb-ft (678 Nm). The source only confirmed that the lesser of these two engines will be present in the new Charger but said there’s no reason why the 510 hp version can’t be added as well. If both engines are available, this would fall in line with a report we published back in August.
Interestingly, Dodge had consistently maintained that the next-generation Charger would be available exclusively as an electric vehicle (EV). They had conveyed this stance to various media outlets, including Carscoops back in 2021. In a bid to farewell to their combustion-powered muscle cars, Dodge even introduced the Challenger SRT Demon 170 and the ‘Last Call’ series. Additionally, Dodge’s CEO, Tim Kuniskis, has been actively promoting the upcoming EV model ever since it was introduced in concept guise.
In November last year, Kuniskis acknowledged that the platform architecture of the new Charger is modular and that the firm could “put an ICE engine in it,” but cautioned “it doesn’t mean we’re going to.” When quizzed directly about the possibility of the Hurricane engine being offered, he said “We’re certainly not launching with anything like that. We’re launching full battery electric.”
According to our colleagues at The Drive, it’s understood that both internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric versions of the new Charger will be manufactured at Dodge’s Windsor Assembly site in Canada. The source mentioned a Stellantis Gen 4 transmission, which is an eight-speed automatic, and at the moment, there are no indications that a stick shift option will be available.
While there may not be a manual, we’re just glad that a combustion model is sticking around.
