Dodge has lifted the lid on its all-new Charger, an icon in the American Muscle scene that has controversially shed its equally notorious Hemi V8 in favor of a straight-six combustion engine or an EV powertrain.
It is arguably the first muscle car to turn to battery packs and electric motors for power, but Dodge promises Charger Daytona, to give it its full title, will "retain its title as the world's quickest and most powerful muscle car", despite a lack of snarling V8 engine.
Instead, Dodge says its range-topping 'Scat Pack' electric Charger features dual electric motors that send power to both axles for all-wheel-drive, with a combined power output of 630bhp promised. In addition to this, the American marque has added a PowerShot button on the steering wheel that delivers an additional 40bhp for 15 seconds.
To satisfy traditional Dodge owners' penchant for drag racing, this Powershot feature sees the electric Charger dispatch a 0-60mph sprint in just 3.3 seconds and go on to a top speed of 134mph.
However, it remains relatively practical, too, with a 400V electrical architecture providing a range of 260 miles in the high performance Scat Pack models and 317 miles in the standard cars.
Fast charging rates of up to 183kWh means a standard 20-80 per cent charge takes around 27 minutes. This high performance architecture also ensures the battery pack can discharge at rates of up to 550kW, which is above and beyond the 500kW drawn by Scat Pack models, hinting that Dodge customers will be able to satisfy their appetite for tuning with even more powerful models in the future.
On the subject of tuning, Dodge will offer a number of packs and add-ons at point of sale, allowing owners to set their vehicle up for whatever punishment they wish to subject their cars to.
A Track Pack, for example, stiffens the springs and adds adaptive dampers for increased corning performance, while Brembo brakes are added for more potent stopping power.
A sound performance
In order to fill the audible void left by deleting the iconic V8 burble, Dodge has added what it refers to as a "Fratzonic exterior sound generator", which is similar to the external speaker system found on the Abarth 500e.
According to the American marque, it emits a raucous 126db 'engine note', which is mapped to the accelerator for realistic blips of the throttle. Like the Abarth 500e, it’s possible to switch this off should customers wish to silently cruise.
Aside from that, the electric Charger and its V6-powered ICE sibling are indistinguishable, as both will be offered in two-door and four-door variants, while both get the option of a 10.25in or 16in digital instrument panel that is bolstered by a next-gen 12.3in infotainment display.
There is still no word on pricing, but Dodge says the first cars will be hitting US showrooms before the end of the year. However, we are still waiting to see whether the world's first electric muscle car is destined for markets beyond American shores.
