It is arduous to simply accept the Challenger is not coming again anytime quickly, and it is tougher nonetheless to come back to phrases with the shortage of eight-cylinder powertrain choices for the brand new Charger. Out there in three- and five-door guises, the newcomer will enter manufacturing within the second half of 2024 on the Windsor Meeting Plant in each electrical and six-cylinder flavors.
Dodge’s preliminary specs for the 2024 mannequin point out two lengths: 206.5 or 206.6 inches (5,248 millimeters), with the R/T edging out the punchier Scat Pack. For the 2023 Dodge Challenger, the Auburn Hills-based automaker lists the L-platform coupe with as much as 197.5 inches (5,017 millimeters) to its title. Not accounting for the aspect mirrors, the general width of the Charger coupe is 79.8 inches (2,027.8 millimeters) in comparison with 78.3 inches (1,990 millimeters) for the Challenger Widebody.
Floor clearance? Dodge claims 5.5 and 5.6 inches (141.3 and 142.8 millimeters) for the Charger Daytona, which is the official designation of the all-electric model. The dual-turbocharged inline-six model is dubbed Charger SIXPACK in uppercase letters, as a result of why not? As for the Challenger, its floor clearance is estimated at 4.5 to five.2 inches (115.2 to 130.9 millimeters). In different phrases, the interior combustion-powered Challenger sits nearer to the bottom than the zero-emission 2024 mannequin.
Picture: Dodge / edited
5,838 kilos (2,648 kilograms) for the Charger Daytona R/T is quite a lot of curb weight. Sadly, the estimate for the Charger SIXPACK has but to be printed by the Dodge model. In regard to the Challenger, the curb weight for the US-market specification ranges from 3,841 kilos (1,742 kilograms) to 4,441 kilos (2,014 kilograms).
Chief government officer Tim Kuniskis says that Dodge’s first electrical muscle automotive boasts a near-perfect weight distribution. This additionally applies to the Challenger, whose most evenly distributed configuration is the V6-powered SXT at 52 % over the entrance axle and 48 % out again. The SRT Hellcat, by comparability, is 57% and 43%.
From the standpoint of practicality, it needs to be hardly shocking that the a lot bigger Charger has the higher hand. Take, for example, trunk capability: 16.2 cubic toes (459 liters) for the Challenger versus 22.7 (644 liters) for the three-door liftback. With the rear seats folded, make that 37.39 cubic toes (1,059 liters) for the Charger coupe.
Picture: Dodge / edited
Distinctively retro but totally fashionable on the identical time, the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona sports activities a 100.5-kWh battery with a usable capability of 93.9 kilowatt hours. The third largest automaker of the Detroit Massive Three claims 317 miles (510 kilometers) of driving vary for the R/T, whereas the Scat Pack makes do with 250 miles (418 kilometers). Each are dual-motor affairs by default, and each include Direct Connection Stage improve kits as commonplace.
No gas financial system figures are at the moment obtainable for the Charger SIXPACK, which is due in early 2025 in S.O. (commonplace output) and H.O. (excessive output) tunes. Each are all-wheel drive by default, with each rocking the ZF 8HP eight-speed computerized transmission to the detriment of a stick shift. Dodge claims 420 and 550 horsepower, respectively, whereas the Challenger’s 5.7-liter HEMI and 6.4-liter HEMI are good for 375 and 485 horsepower.
In keeping with the Environmental Safety Company, probably the most and least fuel-efficient Challengers of the bunch are the usual V6 and the Demon 170 at 23 and 13 miles per gallon (10.2 and 18 l/100 km), respectively. Fill ‘er up with E85, and the Demon 170 is rated at 9 miles per gallon (26 l/100 km). Pumping dino juice should not take longer than 5 minutes, however charging the Charger Daytona from 20 to 80 % at 350 kW takes over half an hour.
Picture: Dodge / edited
The Daytona R/T and Daytona Scat Pack flaunt 250-kW electrical drive items fore and aft, however fairly than a spherical 500 kW, their peak outputs are 340 kW and 470 kW. In previous cash, these numbers convert to 456 horsepower and 630 horsepower. The PowerShot characteristic unlocks just a few extra ponies for as much as 15 seconds at a time, leading to 496 horsepower and 670 horsepower, respectively.
Peak torque is finest described as being a blended bag. Versus 410 pound-feet (555 Nm) for the 5.7-liter HEMI, the R/T produces 404 pound-feet (548 Nm). As for the 5.7-liter HEMI and Scat Pack, the scores are 475 and 627 pound-feet (644 and 850 Nm). The Charger Daytona is a 400-volt affair in the interim, however come 2025, the hi-po SRT Banshee shall be geared up with an 800V setup.
Dodge says the Scat Pack is Hellcat Redeye-level quick, though not by way of prime pace. Consider it or not, the Scat Pack tops 134 miles per hour (216 kilometers) in comparison with 137 (220) for the R/T. Then again, acceleration is fairly spectacular for such a heavy automotive. Dodge claims 4.7 and three.3 seconds, respectively, onto 1 / 4 mile of 13.1 and 11.5 seconds, respectively, for the R/T and Scat Pack.
Picture: Dodge / edited
Far nicer inside than the Challenger, the Charger coupe is not for everybody. Challenger house owners particularly might discover the shortage of a V8 engine inexcusable, and who might blame them? Crosstown rival Ford nonetheless makes V8-powered Mustangs, and the no-nonsense GTD is true across the nook with 800 ponies from a supercharged V8.
Along with ever-stringent gas financial system and emission rules, keep in mind that Dodge could not have its personal method. Dodge is a Stellantis group model, with Stellantis placing a much bigger emphasis on EVs than Fiat Chrysler Vehicles. Trying on the glass half full, FCA becoming a member of forces with PSA implies that each halves of the Stellantis group are higher ready for the grim way forward for the car.
Out there in no fewer than eight paint colours, the 2024 Dodge Charger is the first-ever Stellantis manufacturing car to characteristic STLA Massive underpinnings. Going ahead, this platform shall be shared with the Jeep Wagoneer S and Recon, the all-electric successor of the Chrysler 300, the Maserati Levante Folgore, and the Quattroporte Folgore.
