Many loyal customers here at Landmark Dodge of Morrow have asked just what will happen to the powerful Dodge Charger and Challenger as electrification becomes more and more of a reality. The MotorTrend blog is a great source of information regarding anything automotive, and they recently shared some vital information about the world-famous “pair of kings” that have captivated adrenaline junkies for years.
Diehard fans: breathe a sigh of relief! The Charger and Challenger will not ditch gasoline and go fully-EV any time soon. As you probably know, the Charger dates back to 2005, when it was introduced as a 2006 model, and eventually became a worldwide symbol of speed and performance when it achieved some of the highest speeds ever. The equally-impressive Challenger hit the market in 2008 and just three years later both cars saw their first major update.
The drivers who aren’t ready to jump on the electric vehicle bandwagon can rest easy, as the time when electric cars represent the bulk of new vehicle sales in the U.S. is still a ways away. Dodge has officially said that only 50% of its entire portfolio will be BEV by 2030. That means that in 8 years, 50% of their lineup will still use gasoline. Since 2006, more than 2,156,000 Chargers and Challengers have been sold, enjoying a huge jump in 2015 when the Hellcat models were unveiled.
Right now, we expect a new large rear-drive platform from Stellantis that can fit a V8, officially slated to underpin the new Challenger, new Charger, and most likely the new Chrysler 300. The new Charger and Challenger will be lighter than the models they are replacing, and the handling is expected to improve drastically as well. Since this pair’s awesome looks were also instrumental in making them top-sellers for so long, we don’t expect any changes to be too intense on that side of things.
The ZF’s well-performing 8-speed automatic should remain as the transmission, and drivers who deal with the bummer of winters on the harsher side of things will have use for the AWD option. MotorTrend experts expect the new 3.0-liter twin turbo Hurricane inline-6 as a viable engine choice, which tops out at more than 500 horsepower. The Hellcat version is the most likely to brandish the boisterous and amazingly fast V8, and fans of the type of speed urban legends are made of will be happy to hear that it could boast 800 horsepower just as a minimum!
