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Next-Generation Dodge Charger, Challenger Will Get Electric Assistance

Instead of a two-door hardtop with a 426 HEMI under the hood, the Charger was revived in 2005 for the 2006 model year as a four-door sedan with Mercedes-Benz connections and a 5.7-liter HEMI shared with the Ram 1500. The Challenger came back as well, and over the years, both of them were upgraded with a 6.2-liter V8 mill that FCA calls the Hellcat.
Dodge Hellcat Engine 43 photos
Photo: SpeedKore via Bring a Trailer
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Long before Fiat Chrysler Automobiles entered the merger with Groupe PSA to form Stellantis, the Charger and Challenger faced criticism over their aging underpinnings. The LX vehicle architecture was redesigned once for the 2015 model year with the introduction of the Hellcat, which is praiseworthy but not enough to keep the muscle cars relevant in the future.

Back in 2018, the late Sergio Marchionne stated that Dodge won’t switch to the Giorgio platform of the Alfa Romeo Giulia because American muscle cars and European sports sedans are very different animals. He’s right, but many things may have changed since then. Last time we heard anything about the Charger and Challenger, Stellantis struck a three-year labor agreement with Unifor in October 2020 that includes three new derivates.

Reading between the lines, the ground-up redesign will roll out in 2024 at the earliest. As for what’s in the pipeline for the next-generation Charger and Challenger, we already know that a change is coming to the HEMI family of pushrod V8s. After the mild-hybrid eTorque system, the next update of the 5.7-, 6.4-, and 6.2-liter engines includes an electric motor.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ordered lots and lots of hybridized transmissions from ZF Friedrichshafen in July 2019. According to the German supplier, those are eight-speed transmissions compatible with conventional, mild-hybrid, and plug-in applications. The most interesting of the lot is the 8HP80PH in P2 configuration, which provides up to 160 kW and 450 Nm (215 horsepower and 332 pound-feet) of torque under hard acceleration.

Speaking to Muscle Cars & Trucks, head of sales operations Matt McAlear describes the current Charger and Challenger as a “bachelor party.” He told the cited publication, “This is the last hurrah. Everybody knows electrification is coming, and we’ll reinvent the muscle car as far as Dodge is concerned.”
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Editor's note: SpeedKore Dodge Demon pictured in the gallery.

About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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