2024 Dodge Charger EV Promises to Eclipse the Gas-Burning Hellcat

From the May 2023 issue of Car and Driver.

WHAT IT IS

Does an electric muscle car still sound shocking? Well, Dodge appears to be making one. The next Charger is a muscular two-door with styling cues from its second-generation ’60s namesake and a powertrain from the future—or at least, the leading edge of the present.

WHY IT MATTERS

We would have bet that Dodge would be the last gas-burning holdout, striping 11s on internal-combustion island as the automotive market quietly whirred and recharged around it. Instead, Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis declared the “brotherhood of muscle,” going forward, will be battery-powered.

PLATFORM

Beneath the Charger’s bulked-up body is Stellantis’s STLA Large platform.

POWERTRAIN

The entry-level Charger 340 gets a 400-volt propulsion system and 455 horsepower, while the midrange 440 (the electric Scat Pack, if you will) boasts 590 horsepower. Both models can receive over-the-air horsepower bumps through Dodge Direct Connection, and a multi-speed transmission is promised.

The top Banshee model will have an 800-volt architecture, and we predict that if the lesser models don’t have two motors, the Banshee will. The horsepower rating is a secret, but Dodge promises the Banshee will eclipse the gas-powered Hellcat in all performance metrics. That includes sound, with the Charger EV’s amplifying chamber “exhaust” tuned to 126 decibels.

COMPETITION

Nothing on the market hits the same pressure points as the Charger EV. The Mustang Mach-E is quick, domestic, and wears a muscle-car name, but its SUV body puts it in a different category.

WHAT MIGHT GO WRONG

The Mopar faithful might come carrying pitchforks and torches and burn the Stellantis castle to the ground before they accept an electric muscle car.

ESTIMATED ARRIVAL AND PRICE

If the stars align, we could see the Charger EV in 2024 with a starting price somewhere around that of a current 392 Hemi model; expect to pay at least $50K.