We've been saying for a few years that the current Charger and Challenger duo are aging products that need replacing. However, now that Dodge is getting ready to drop them for good, we wish they would've kept them around until after the mid-2020s, at least.
The future is blurry when it comes to these two models, but if anything, we are willing to bet the muscle car will return to Dodge's stable in one way or another. The most logical move would be to launch it with internal combustion power to take one last swing at the latest Ford Mustang, which still turns gasoline into noise.
But an all-electric version is also on the table, previewed by last year's Charger Daytona SRT Concept. And as much as we don't want the mighty Challenger/Charger to go down the all-quiet route, despite the obviously improved straight-line performance over the outgoing Hellcat series, we wouldn't act surprised if it does.
Now, the way this story is going, one might assume it is all about trying to decipher what Dodge has in store when it comes to its next muscle car. Nonetheless, that's not the case because if you paid attention to the title, you know that it revolves around one particular drag race held at the Barona Dragstrip in California, presumably not long ago.
In the white corner (sprinkled with black racing stripes) sits one bad Dodge Charger. It appears to be a 2019 R/T Scat Pack, meaning that it packs a 5.7-liter V8 engine. Mind you, it may not be near as impressive as the Hellcat models, but with 370 hp (375 ps/276 kW) and 395 lb-ft (536 Nm) of torque on tap, it is more than capable of taking on a Honda Accord.
Yep, you read that right, as its ad-hoc opponent on that day was the Honda Accord, which sat in the gray corner. The tenth-gen example seems to be a 2022 model, presumably featuring the optional 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine that was based on the one powering the previous Civic Type R front-wheel drive hot hatch. It has 252 hp (256 ps/188 kW) and 273 lb-ft (370 Nm).
That's nowhere near enough to pose a threat to the Dodge Charger, but there is always the possibility of either model boasting a bit more power than stock courtesy of the tuning world. Was that the case here? Did the underdog really come out victorious, or was the favorite the one that crossed the finish line first? Only one way to find out, and that's by scrolling down to the video and clicking the play button. Before you do that, though, care to place a little blind bet and see if you were right?
After a series of unfortunate events put an end to Cristian's dream of entering a custom built & tuned old-school Dacia into a rally competition, he moved on to drive press cars and write for a living. He's worked for several automotive online journals and now he's back at autoevolution after his first tour in the mid-2000s. Full profile
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