Photo: Joao Kleber Amaral for autoevolution
As far as we know, soon, there will be only one pony/muscle car nameplate that upholds the ICE-powered tradition – the 2024 Ford Mustang S650. The rest are either going into retirement or morphing into something else entirely.
The Blue Oval company dared to swim against the current with the seventh-generation Mustang, and right now, there's not even an electrified version. Instead, all S650 models are either EcoBoost or Coyote V8s – and a few will even go for supercharging in Mustang GTD and Mustang GT FP800S form in the near future (hopefully).
Meanwhile, General Motors has announced the impending retirement of the sixth-generation Chevy Camaro after the 2024 model year production concludes sometime in January 2024 or even sooner if the rumor mill is to be trusted. Sadly, there was no perspective for a new iteration during the announcement, whether ICE-powered or ready to join the EV lifestyle.
Moving to the Mopar world, Stellantis has ordained that Chrysler will reinvent itself into an EV maker. At the same time, Dodge has to say goodbye to the Hellcat and Hemi-powered Charger, and Challenger V8s. Following the end of the 2023 model year production and the departure of the seven 'Last Call' special editions, everyone eagerly expects the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT to enter series production.
However, there's a conundrum – the concept is a two-door coupe, signaling the return of the Charger nameplate to its traditional body style. Interestingly, the rumor mill has also found out the next-gen Charger may not be exclusively sold as an EV; rather, there will be inline-six Hurricane options, too. But that leaves us with one interesting question – what will happen to the Challenger sibling?
Some say it will bite the dust, just like the Chevrolet Camaro – especially since reports also claim the Chrysler 300 will return as an EV based on the STLA Large platform shared with the Charger Daytona SRT EVs. However, we always like to dream of different scenarios, which is why we asked our virtual artist friend, Joao Kleber Amaral, for some imaginative renderings of a potential Dodge Challenger EV sporting the body style of a traditional muscle sedan!
Frankly, with EV platforms being a lot easier to adapt to many body styles, giving Dodge both the Charger EV in two-door form and the Challenger EV as a sedan would be a no-brainer if you ask me. The modular STLA Large EV platform can accommodate a wide variety of configurable drivetrains, and the Charger Daytona SRT is officially pegged to arrive with no less than nine power outputs – from 455 hp to a hypercar level of 1,320 horsepower!
As such, it would not be hard to imagine that there is ample space in the field of EVs for a Challenger sedan with all the 'base' and intermediate options plus something above 800 hp to beat the Hellcats and also stay clear of the Charger EV flagship. Of course, all this is also merely wishful thinking on our behalf, so do take these renderings with a grain of salt until we have something official from Stellantis or Dodge on the matter.
However, the modern Charger EV's design sure looks excellent with four doors, too – right? And maybe that's the proper way to stand out – Ford has the Mustang Mach-E crossover, Chevrolet will soon have the Equinox and Blazer EVs, and, of course, Tesla is currently unbeatable with the best-selling Model Y. So, probably choosing a different path will help Dodge avoid trying to catch up to the current sales leader.
Meanwhile, General Motors has announced the impending retirement of the sixth-generation Chevy Camaro after the 2024 model year production concludes sometime in January 2024 or even sooner if the rumor mill is to be trusted. Sadly, there was no perspective for a new iteration during the announcement, whether ICE-powered or ready to join the EV lifestyle.
Moving to the Mopar world, Stellantis has ordained that Chrysler will reinvent itself into an EV maker. At the same time, Dodge has to say goodbye to the Hellcat and Hemi-powered Charger, and Challenger V8s. Following the end of the 2023 model year production and the departure of the seven 'Last Call' special editions, everyone eagerly expects the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT to enter series production.
However, there's a conundrum – the concept is a two-door coupe, signaling the return of the Charger nameplate to its traditional body style. Interestingly, the rumor mill has also found out the next-gen Charger may not be exclusively sold as an EV; rather, there will be inline-six Hurricane options, too. But that leaves us with one interesting question – what will happen to the Challenger sibling?
Some say it will bite the dust, just like the Chevrolet Camaro – especially since reports also claim the Chrysler 300 will return as an EV based on the STLA Large platform shared with the Charger Daytona SRT EVs. However, we always like to dream of different scenarios, which is why we asked our virtual artist friend, Joao Kleber Amaral, for some imaginative renderings of a potential Dodge Challenger EV sporting the body style of a traditional muscle sedan!
Frankly, with EV platforms being a lot easier to adapt to many body styles, giving Dodge both the Charger EV in two-door form and the Challenger EV as a sedan would be a no-brainer if you ask me. The modular STLA Large EV platform can accommodate a wide variety of configurable drivetrains, and the Charger Daytona SRT is officially pegged to arrive with no less than nine power outputs – from 455 hp to a hypercar level of 1,320 horsepower!
As such, it would not be hard to imagine that there is ample space in the field of EVs for a Challenger sedan with all the 'base' and intermediate options plus something above 800 hp to beat the Hellcats and also stay clear of the Charger EV flagship. Of course, all this is also merely wishful thinking on our behalf, so do take these renderings with a grain of salt until we have something official from Stellantis or Dodge on the matter.
However, the modern Charger EV's design sure looks excellent with four doors, too – right? And maybe that's the proper way to stand out – Ford has the Mustang Mach-E crossover, Chevrolet will soon have the Equinox and Blazer EVs, and, of course, Tesla is currently unbeatable with the best-selling Model Y. So, probably choosing a different path will help Dodge avoid trying to catch up to the current sales leader.
Google News