There’s an electrified surprise on the way to the 2023 SEMA Show from Auburn Hills. Mopar, the global parts department for Stellantis’ American brands, released a teaser image with the caption, “Get Ready for a Jolt: a serious charge is coming.” The image shows a hood similar to a second-generation Dodge Charger modified with a large section of louvers. Peek through one of the vents and you’ll see something in the engine bay giving off the tiniest blue glow. That’s your surprise, which will be on show in Las Vegas from October 31 to November 3. It’s clear it’s electric, the teaser location under the hood making us suspect this is some kind of propulsion unit, perhaps even an electric crate motor.
If this is a crate e-motor, it would mean Stellantis is joining its fellow Big Three OEMs in beginning to populate the electric aftermarket. Ford Performance sells its Eluminator e-crate motor that makes 281 horsepower and 317 pound-feet of torque for $4,340. Chevrolet Performance has been working on a “Connect & Cruise” package centered around its eCrate motor for years; it’s meant to hit the market at any moment. The package includes a motor with 200 hp and 266 lb-ft., a 66-kWh battery, the necessary power electronics, and options to complete a full restomod kit with ancillaries like a power steering pump and brake vacuum pump.
We’re eager to see if the Mopar surprise is an agnostic kit, or — especially because it’s being teased with Charger cues — if it’s keyed in to the coming electric muscle car that arrives next year. A proper kit could be a production version of the 268-hp e-motor that went into the Jeep CJ “Surge” electromod Mopar brought to last year’s SEMA Show. The powertrain was similar to what’s anticipated in the non-SRT versions of the electric Dodge muscle car. We’ll know in a couple of weeks.
