The Dodge Charger. It’s a name that, to the car-loving tragics amongst us, brings to mind images of a classic American muscle car and a series of fire-breathing, V8-powered monsters that have has been burning through tyres since first appearing way back in 1966.
However, this new Dodge Charger is a Dodge Charger Daytona and something quite radically different. For this Dodge Charger is fully electric.
Kicking off the electric revolution here will be two models – the Charger Daytona Scat Pack and the Charger Daytona R/T. Built on the STLA large electric vehicle platform from Stellantis, both electric variants have all-wheel drive, dual motor set ups, with the Scat Pack variant delivering up to a whopping 500kW while the R/T versions gets a still juicy 370kW.
The Scat Pack will get you to 100km/h in about 3.3 seconds and cover the quarter-mile – one of those ‘must-be-measured’ metrics for any muscle car – in 11.5 seconds.
The all-electric, all-wheel-drive Dodge Charger Daytona models have a 400-volt electric architecture. The system incorporates a 100.5kWh battery pack, a dual integrated charge module and both a front and rear electric drive module (EDM). The front EDM employs front wheel end disconnect for range and efficiency, while the rear EDM includes a mechanical limited slip differential. Charger Daytona models also have adjustable regenerative braking.
Features of the Charger Daytona are pretty much geared to bettering performance and include a PowerShot mode which adds an extra 30kW of grunt for 15 seconds. A Track Package option for the Scat Pack includes 16-inch Brembo vented rotors and six-piston front/four-piston rear calipers. That Track Package also includes Adaptive Damping suspension.
There are a range of drive modes – Auto, Eco, Sport, Wet/Snow, and Track & Drag – that are standard on the Scat Pack, and exclusive to that model are race options including Race Prep – which prepares the car and battery for drag or track racing – and Donut Mode and Drift Mode (no explanation necessary there!).
The Track Package also includes a Drive Experience Recorder enabling drivers to capture and analyse a day at the track.
Both the Charger Daytona Scat Pack and R/T models – and presumably any other future EV variants – have something called a Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust, which is designed to artificially produce a sound comparable to the V8s one might usually associate with a Charger. Sound intensity is tied to higher performance, with a stealth sound mode also available.
Inside, the panel and console of the Charge Daytona are home to a 10.25-inch instrument cluster in the R/T and 16-inch in the Scat Pack. A 12.3-inch central touchscreen offers access to the infotainment and connected services. There’s also a pistol grip shifter. An optional augmented head-up display (HUD) is available.
When Dodge revealed the new Charger line-up, the electric Scat Pack and R/T versions grabbed the headlines, but the company has not completely given up on combustion engine variants . . . yet. Also unveiled were a 410kW Charger SIXPACK H.O. powered by a 3-litre Twin Turbo Hurricane High Output engine, and the 313kW Charger SIXPACK S.O. powered by a 3-litre Twin Turbo Hurricane Standard Output engine.
Dodge says that two-door coupe versions of the all-electric Daytona Scat Pack and Daytona R/T will begin production in mid-2024, and production of all-electric four-door Daytona Scat Pack and R/T models will begin in the first quarter of 2025. Petrol-powered two-door Dodge Charger SIXPACK H.O. and four-door Dodge Charger SIXPACK S.O. models are also scheduled to begin production in the first quarter of 2025.
Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (April 2024)
23 April 2024
