Dodge CEO Mocks Turbo EVs And Reveals Hellcat Destiny

Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis has confirmed that the Hellcat name will be forever associated with muscular supercharged V8s.

Speaking to Road & Track, the charismatic CEO said the famous nameplate won't make a return on battery-electric and Hurricane-powered muscle cars. Why? Because he respects the Hellcat name — and knows fans do too.

«For the last ten years, we've been trying to distill this brand down to, you know, we don't sell Journeys, we don't sell Darts, we're only selling American performance cars,» he said. «The most extreme performance level becomes our marketing, and then we sell from there down.»

In a subtle dig at the all-electric Porsche Taycan Turbo, the CEO remarked, «So if you [...] call it a turbo and it's a BEV, it doesn't fit, right?»

«If I called it a Hellcat, [...] I'd be absolutely killed because that's not what it is,» added Kuniskis.

Perhaps as another comment against automakers who make fortunes from unique specifications and cosmetically enhanced special editions, Kuniskis said, «We sell hardware; we don't sell finishes and leathers and colors. We sell the actual hardware, and therefore, names are very, very important.»

Sadly, we don't expect the Hellcat name to make a return. Dodge has confirmed that it will no longer make V8-powered vehicles anymore, although the V8 will live on in the Durango for a bit longer. While that's a shame, the ICE faithful can still look forward to the Hurricane-powered inline-six engines, and just because the Hellcat name is being retired doesn't mean we won't receive high-performance derivatives of the new Charger, which was revealed recently.

It's worth keeping in mind that Dodge originally promised the Durango Hellcat would be a one-year-only special edition and later brought it back, so there's an outside chance of the Hellcat name coming back someday.

The electric Charger Daytona was launched in R/T form with 496 horsepower and 404 lb-ft of torque. That's respectable enough for a muscle car, but the Scat Pack takes up a notch with up to 670 electric ponies and 627 lb-ft.

Direct Connection upgrade packages will be offered for these models, which utilize 400-volt architecture. Those requiring Hellcat