2025 Dodge Charger: Everything We Know About the All-New Muscle Car That's Coming in 2024

The muscle car's future remains shrouded in secrecy when it comes to the Chevy Camaro and Dodge Charger/Challenger, albeit more for the former than the latter. You see, GM has promised that the moniker will return, though it declined to reveal in what shape, form, and when. Stellantis, on the other hand, continues working on the development of its upcoming Ford Mustang rival.

Familiar Exterior Design

Word on the street is that the Challenger name will be dropped, and Dodge will stick to the Charger moniker when it comes to its upcoming muscle car. The model made a cameo appearance in a Christmas advert right before the Winter Holidays, looking pretty much like the Charger Daytona SRT Concept, save for a few adjustments.

For one, it has round headlamps and a much bigger air intake in the redesigned front bumper. The lines running across its profile are more angular compared to the study, and the hood is just as aggressive. The greenhouse looks about the same, and it has a rakish windshield. It is worth noting that pictures of an empty shell taken in the factory a couple of months ago revealed a similar silhouette. And that's not all they revealed.

Powertrains – Both Electric and Gasoline + Manual Option?

It was initially believed that Dodge's upcoming Charger would feature battery-electric power solely. But that's not the case, as the aforementioned pictures also reveal a transmission tunnel, indicating the presence of gasoline-fed powertrains, too. This is in line with the latest reports speaking about at least two versions of the Hurricane straight-six lump.

The entry-level model is expected to have 420 horsepower on tap, whereas the higher output variant should reportedly put 510 horses under the driver's right foot. Mind you, that's anything but exciting in today's industry, especially when thinking about the ultra-punchy Hellcat models of the recent past and that insane Demon 170 with its jaw-dropping amount of oomph. However, this could be just the start, and the Stellantis-owned brand might eventually expand the family with faster and more powerful versions.

In addition to the rumor that it will still offer gasoline-powered mills, another supposed good news is the alleged decision to keep the manual transmission alive. If this report turns out to be correct, then you will be able to change gears by hand in certain versions of the next Charger. And you shouldn't worry about the soundtrack either, as a clever exhaust system is said to replicate the noise produced by the Hellcat models.

As for the electric family, it is understood to feature a 400-volt architecture. The most affordable configuration of the muscle car is expected to feature a rear-mounted motor that might generate a little over 400 horsepower, driving the rear wheels solely. There is a second option supposedly in the pipeline, which will allegedly add a front motor for a combined output of roughly 670 horsepower. As for the Banshee range-topper, it is expected to use the 800V tech and could yank out 885 horsepower.

Platform and Launch Date

Word on the street is that Stellantis has utilized the STLA Large platform, which first debuted on the Alfa Romeo Stelvio and Giulia. The Jeep Grand Cherokee, Maserati Grecale, and GranTurismo also use it. Electric vehicles based on this construction are said to offer up to 500 miles (805 km) of range in their top forms, apparently, yet one should not expect that in the real world, even when it comes to the most frugal version of the car.

But when is the new muscle car due? This answer came straight from auto marque, which claims it will be available in late 2024. This would make it a 2025 model year in our market, where it is rumored to start at around $50,000 once the first copies start arriving at dealers nationwide. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether the presumed MSRP will apply to internal combustion-powered cars, those featuring battery technology, or both.

By comparison, the dead Dodge Challenger had an MSRP of $32,800, whereas its Charger sibling started at $35,325, excluding destination and dealer markups. And speaking of both models, we suspect Dodge will keep playing the four-door muscle car card in the future, too. Therefore, we wouldn't be surprised to learn that a second body style is also in the works. It will be interesting to see what they will name it, considering that the muscle car will reportedly be christened the Charger and not the Challenger. Oh, and you shouldn't hold your breath for a possible new Dodge Magnum, as station wagons are not that popular anymore.

Conclusions

While offering both ICE and EV powertrains, the next-gen Dodge Charger will likely hold the upper ground over Ford's S650 Mustang, which is only offered with a pair of gasoline engines for now. It has the 2.3L EcoBoost four-pot and the naturally aspirated V8 powering the GT and Dark Horse. The insanely powerful Mustang GTD is in the works, and further down the line, the Dearborn automaker is believed to launch a new Shelby GT500 around 2025.

Still, unless Dodge decides to up the ante with punchier motors, regardless if they're fed by dead dinosaurs of feature battery packs, it won't win the game. But something tells us they will. After all, we are looking at the company that gave the car world the magnificent Hellcat 6.2L supercharged V8 at a time when most of the industry was shifting towards a battery-electric future. As a result, we don't think they will let go of this legacy, as muscle cars will probably be EVs only some ten years from now, but they still need to outpace their ICE-powered predecessors in (almost) every aspect, including performance.