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Next-Generation Dodge Charger Rendered by FCA Designer, Experiment Looks Amazing

As you are reading this, Dodge is cooking up the next generation of its muscle cars. And since it's still too early for official details, we can always rely on clues such as the rendering sitting before us - this is presented as an effort a Fiat Chrysler designer has completed in his spare time rather than an official teaser image.
Next-Generation Dodge Charger Rendered by FCA Designer Ibra Kallas 6 photos
Photo: ibra kallas/instagram
Next-Generation Dodge Charger Rendered by FCA Designer Ibra Kallas (personal experiment)Next-Generation Dodge Charger Rendered by FCA Designer Ibra Kallas (personal experiment)Next-Generation Dodge Charger Rendered by FCA Designer Ibra Kallas (personal experiment)Next-Generation Dodge Charger Rendered by FCA Designer Ibra Kallas (personal experiment)Next-Generation Dodge Charger Rendered by FCA Designer Ibra Kallas (personal experiment)
The mind behind these pixels belongs to Ibrahim Kallás, a young Brazilian designer whose experience involves an eleven-month internship at Volkswagen Brazil in 2019, as well as a car designer role with FCA Brazil, starting from March this year.

This proposal surfaced on Instagram, where Kallás describes it using labels such as "Free Sketch" and "Dodge Studies" (you'll find a pair of posts at the bottom of the page). And this sort of initiative might just be a glimpse into the carmaker's development efforts.

For instance, March 2020 was also the month when FCA Head Designer and former SRT CEO Ralph Gilles shared a somehat similar image on his Instagram account. The rendering came from another designer working for the company, namely Jack Liu, and focused on the Charger, as highlighted by its lower front apron.

And we can probably say the same about the pixels that sit on our screen right now. For one, the front grille, with its metallic look and its center divider, reminds one of the 1969 Charger.

Retro nods aside, the mesh pattern that fills the said grille, as well as the air scoop adorning the muscular hood and the lower air intakes, is borrowed from Dodge's current muscle car lineup. And you might get the same feeling of familiarity by looking at the wheels of the machine.

Now, as the aging Dodge Challenger outselling the Chevrolet Camaro last year has proven, a sharp-looking greenhouse that plays the chopped styling card, a treat of the Chevy, isn't enough to win the muscle sales race. So, we must look past the similar approach featured on this unofficial concept and wonder about the firepower of the next-gen Dodge muscle cars.

Well, here's what FCA CEO Mike Manley told The Detroit News in December last year: "I think that electrification will certainly be part of the formula that says what is American muscle in the future," the head honcho explained. "What it isn’t going to be is a V-8, supercharged, 700-horsepower engine,"

Now, before you start frowning, such ideas can change en route to production, while the most likely form of electrification should be a 48V mild-hybrid approach. For the record, the latest rumors talk about the current Challenger and Charger set to soldier on until the 2023 model year.

Besides, the scale-unfriendly nature of the current Challenger and Charger, which is owed to their platforms (think: mid-2000s development with integration of 1990s Mercedes hardware), means the next generation will be considerably more efficient simply by shedding weight. As such, there might not be a need for radical engine output limitations, in spite of the ever-stricter emission standards.

Meanwhile, we're looking forward to just-around-the-corner Dodge muscle developments like the Charger Hellcat Redeye and even the Hellcat-animated Durango, with both expected to land by the end of the year.


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About the author: Andrei Tutu
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In his quest to bring you the most impressive automotive creations, Andrei relies on learning as a superpower. There's quite a bit of room in the garage that is this aficionado's heart, so factory-condition classics and widebody contraptions with turbos poking through the hood can peacefully coexist.
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