All-new Dodge Charger launches the muscle car into the electric age

The all-new Dodge Charger has been revealed to the world, with the latest incarnation of the iconic muscle car to be offered with a choice of two-door coupe and four-door saloon body styles, but controversially, no V8. Instead, the new Charger gets either a twin-turbo straight-six petrol engine or pure-electric power.

The new Charger is the first car revealed on the STLA Large platform from Dodge’s parent company Stellantis. It’s the same architecture that’s underpinning the Jeep Wagoneer S flagship SUV, next-generation Maserati Quattroporte and plenty more models besides. 

Three variants of the all-electric Charger Daytona will eventually be available. Arriving first are the 496bhp R/T and 670bhp Scat Pack. Dodge is targeting a 0-60mph time of 3.3 seconds for the latter – that’s quicker than Dodge’s 808bhp Hellcat Redeye, supercharged V8-powered cars.

The gargantuan 100.5kWh battery featured in the Charger Daytona EVs has a peak discharge rate of 550kW in order to maximise acceleration by allowing the motors to draw as much energy as the battery can provide over the span of a quarter mile, which Dodge estimates the Scat Pack will complete in just 11.5 seconds. 

However, there’s an even more powerful Daytona Charger SRT Banshee version still to come. Performance stats for this particular model are still under wraps for now, but it will use an 800-volt propulsion system, rather than the 400-volt setup in the R/T and Scat Pack cars.

Range figures for Charger Daytona are yet to be finalised, but Dodge expects the R/T to deliver more than 317 miles on a single charge, while the faster Scat Pack will cover closer to 260 miles before the enormous battery is out of juice. Speaking of which, the right ultra-rapid charging point will allow for a 20 to 80 per cent top-up in just 27 minutes. 

The Charger Daytona R/T and Scat Pack use two electric motors for all-wheel drive. The front motor can be disconnected to improve range and efficiency when needed, while the rear motor incorporates a mechanical limited slip differential to increase traction and performance.

Despite the near-silent nature of most EVs, the Charger Daytona will make its presence known with a ‘Fratzonic