Dodge Claims a Straight Six Will Fit in Next-Gen Charger
The Dodge Charger is going electric, but that doesn't it couldn't have an internal-combustion engine.
That doesn't mean it will -- just that it's possible. Dodge brand chief Tim Kuniskis said the next-gen Charger could support an internal-combustion engine.
"I've been very transparent that our next cars are built on the STLA Large platform, and the STLA Large is a multi-energy platform," Kuniskis told Carscoops. That means it could handle ICE or hybrid setups, as well as electric.
Stellantis also just introduced the Hurricane straight-six in the Jeep Grand Wagoneer. Oh, and 500+ horsepower is possible with that engine.
That doesn't mean it will happen -- just that Kuniskis didn't completely shut the door to the idea. This could, of course, be a case of wishful thinking -- "he didn't totally say no, so it could happen" -- on the part of journalists and enthusiasts.
A lot of factors are at play here. There could be cost issues, or regulatory obstacles, or the market could shift to EVs faster than we've anticipated to this point. Perhaps when the EV Charger launches in 2024, buyers will find that electric power is just fine and there's no need for a hybrid or ICE version.
A Hurricane straight-six version of the next Charger does sound enticing. Imagine that power with fuel economy that would be much better than what's on tap from the current V8s.
That said, some dreams are possible but unlikely. We'll file this one under that category.
[Image: Dodge]
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Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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Democrats of Green New Deal say "No ICE for you!"
I predict EV Challenger will base price at $69,995
"Perhaps when the EV Charger launches in 2024, buyers will find that electric power is just fine and there's no need for a hybrid or ICE version."
Until the incentives and economics of EV charging stations changes, this is unlikely. Many municipal EV chargers have little economic incentive to keep them maintained:
https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/17/23308612/ev-charging-broken-unreliable-survey-jd-power
Gas station owners have enormous financial incentives to keep their pumps working. Tesla is successful, in part, due to the availability and reliability of their charging network. Government provided chargers will never be as good as ones maintained by private companies.
Cool, choice is good.
Wait till we find out Stellantis *will* put in the straight-six in the next gen Charger, but only as a generator for the series hybrid version.