Photo: Dodge
Dodge has unveiled its next-generation Charger, with an electric variant for the first time. While electrifying the muscle car is a commendable initiative, this might be as futile as the muscle car category itself. Even without considering the flagrant contradiction between "muscle car" and "electric propulsion" terms, the Charger Daytona EV might already be doomed.
For quite some time, the fate of a successor to the Dodge Charger/Challenger duo has been hanging in the air. Many thought Stellantis would scrap its entire muscle car lineup. However, with the unveiling of the Dodge Daytona SRT concept in August 2022, the carmaker indicated it's willing to reinvent the muscle car concept. Many thought the combustion variants would be history, but alas, Dodge offered them alongside the electric-powered Charger Daytona.
While offering an electric variant of the Dodge Charger sounds exciting, calling it a "muscle car" is another thing altogether. This category has been abused in more ways than I can count. Still, the consensus is that a muscle car is a powerful yet affordable sports car with a fat V8 engine under the hood and rear-wheel drive, and it's obviously made in the US. The 2024 Dodge Charger, regardless of its propulsion system, has neither characteristic.
However, the ICE-powered Dodge Charger Sixpack variants can still be redeemed as muscle cars, which is why they might continue a successful career for another generation. They have enough power to boot, and I'm sure tuners will push the engine power to the moon to make them an absolute menace on the drag strip. That's actually the whole appeal of buying a muscle car. You can turn it into a monster with little effort, even if you have to swap the engine or resort to more complicated solutions.
More than this, electric vehicles are not exactly popular among muscle car lovers. Stellantis made sure of this by refusing to launch an electric car earlier. Sure, now we have the Ram 1500 REV and the Jeep Wagoneer S in the block starts, but the EV market already appears saturated. There aren't many customers left to buy a big, heavy, and expensive electric model with few practical benefits besides its iconic design and heritage.
Dodge touts it as still being "the world's quickest and most powerful muscle car," but that's just because there aren't other electric muscle cars. Anyone following drag races in the past few years knows that electric vehicles eat combustion cars at breakfast when it comes to drag races. The Dodge Charger Daytona, especially in its 670-hp Scat Pack guise, has this advantage, which holds as long as we only count stock vehicles.
Dodge promised to unlock more performance with future Direct Connect Stage upgrade kits, but the truth is that there's not much power left to unlock in an electric powertrain. The ceiling is the maximum performance the battery and the drive units are rated. Upgrading the Charger EV beyond what Dodge offers will be costly and not worth it, considering the illusory results. This raises the question of whether the Dodge Charger Daytona is worth buying for someone looking for a muscle car.
The Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack will get easily smoked by a nimbler Tesla Model 3 Performance, which only needs 3.1 seconds to reach 60 mph. Any Model S variant is capable of comparable or better performance, with the Model S Plaid needing less than 2 seconds for the same performance. Even the Cybertruck, the biggest and heaviest model in the Tesla lineup, only needs 2.6 seconds to reach 60 mph.
Outside the Tesla world, the relatively inexpensive Kia EV6 GT also shames the Charger Daytona. The 576-horsepower Korean needs 3.2 seconds to rocket from 0-60 mph and finishes the quarter-mile in 11.4 seconds. Ouch! Going in the opposite direction, the Porsche Taycan will also teach it a lesson, albeit for triple the price.
Fortunately, Dodge makes the choice much easier since it continues to offer a combustion variant. The Sixpack Chargers might not have V8 engines anymore, but they are powerful and quick enough to still count as muscle cars. This will help the Stellantis brand to remain relevant in this segment for another generation. However, keeping muscle cars alive in the inevitable EV era will take more than installing an electric drivetrain in a heavy sportscar.
While offering an electric variant of the Dodge Charger sounds exciting, calling it a "muscle car" is another thing altogether. This category has been abused in more ways than I can count. Still, the consensus is that a muscle car is a powerful yet affordable sports car with a fat V8 engine under the hood and rear-wheel drive, and it's obviously made in the US. The 2024 Dodge Charger, regardless of its propulsion system, has neither characteristic.
However, the ICE-powered Dodge Charger Sixpack variants can still be redeemed as muscle cars, which is why they might continue a successful career for another generation. They have enough power to boot, and I'm sure tuners will push the engine power to the moon to make them an absolute menace on the drag strip. That's actually the whole appeal of buying a muscle car. You can turn it into a monster with little effort, even if you have to swap the engine or resort to more complicated solutions.
"Electric muscle car" is a contradiction in terms
Nothing of the sort is on the table for the battery-powered Charger Daytona. Although Dodge has said nothing about its price, it will surely be more expensive than even seasoned variants of the 2023 Dodge Charger. The initial estimates indicate a starting price of around $50k. However, considering all the technology and upgrades, a Scat Pack Daytona will not sell below $80K. Keep in mind that this is not a volume model, and Stellantis doesn't have many EVs to leverage the economy of scale.More than this, electric vehicles are not exactly popular among muscle car lovers. Stellantis made sure of this by refusing to launch an electric car earlier. Sure, now we have the Ram 1500 REV and the Jeep Wagoneer S in the block starts, but the EV market already appears saturated. There aren't many customers left to buy a big, heavy, and expensive electric model with few practical benefits besides its iconic design and heritage.
Dodge touts it as still being "the world's quickest and most powerful muscle car," but that's just because there aren't other electric muscle cars. Anyone following drag races in the past few years knows that electric vehicles eat combustion cars at breakfast when it comes to drag races. The Dodge Charger Daytona, especially in its 670-hp Scat Pack guise, has this advantage, which holds as long as we only count stock vehicles.
Dodge promised to unlock more performance with future Direct Connect Stage upgrade kits, but the truth is that there's not much power left to unlock in an electric powertrain. The ceiling is the maximum performance the battery and the drive units are rated. Upgrading the Charger EV beyond what Dodge offers will be costly and not worth it, considering the illusory results. This raises the question of whether the Dodge Charger Daytona is worth buying for someone looking for a muscle car.
The electric Charger needs more oomph
The electric Charger puts out a decent effort, but 3.3 seconds for a 0-60 mph time is something that many electric vehicles do for a living without calling themselves muscle cars. The thing is, the Charger Daytona is a heavy car, and this means it wastes a lot of power just to start moving. It may close in on its rivals once it gets up to speed, but the drag strip is only so long.The Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack will get easily smoked by a nimbler Tesla Model 3 Performance, which only needs 3.1 seconds to reach 60 mph. Any Model S variant is capable of comparable or better performance, with the Model S Plaid needing less than 2 seconds for the same performance. Even the Cybertruck, the biggest and heaviest model in the Tesla lineup, only needs 2.6 seconds to reach 60 mph.
Outside the Tesla world, the relatively inexpensive Kia EV6 GT also shames the Charger Daytona. The 576-horsepower Korean needs 3.2 seconds to rocket from 0-60 mph and finishes the quarter-mile in 11.4 seconds. Ouch! Going in the opposite direction, the Porsche Taycan will also teach it a lesson, albeit for triple the price.
Fortunately, Dodge makes the choice much easier since it continues to offer a combustion variant. The Sixpack Chargers might not have V8 engines anymore, but they are powerful and quick enough to still count as muscle cars. This will help the Stellantis brand to remain relevant in this segment for another generation. However, keeping muscle cars alive in the inevitable EV era will take more than installing an electric drivetrain in a heavy sportscar.
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