When the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT electric concept car was revealed last year, Dodge made it clear that it was not just some highly optimistic styling exercise. It is meant to preview new electric Dodge muscle cars. Now there are photos (shown at top) circulating on internet forums and social media of some prototype chassis of, presumably, the next Charger (unless these will actually be badged Challenger), and it looks almost exactly like the concept, down to the two passenger doors.
We’re not entirely sure who took the photos or where they originated, as no one has seemed to take credit. Honestly, whoever took them probably doesn’t want credit considering they were probably either directly or indirectly employed by Stellantis and would probably not be employed if the photos were traced back to them. Anyway, on to the chassis in the photos.
Obviously, they’re two-door bodies, just like the Daytona SRT. Assuming this will be badged as a Charger, that will be a big shift for the product that’s been a four-door sedan since 2005. There’s a thick B-pillar here that wasn’t on the concept, but that was likely unavoidable for safety reasons. The good news is that it appears to be designed to hide behind the rear quarter window to maintain the clean hardtop appearance. We can also see that there’s an enormous hole in the back of the shell, which suggests that, just like the concept, it will have a big lift back that will make it surprisingly practical.
And of course being a unibody, we get a good look at the rear fenders that have the same second-generation Charger-inspired rising shoulder line and generally uncluttered sheetmetal.
Focusing more on the front, we can’t see the fenders that will be bolted onto the car, but the parts they will bolt to look fairly high and would fit the upright look of the concept’s nose. The front frame rails look rather burly, and there’s a surprisingly large center tunnel in the firewall that goes into the cabin area. All of the preview images we’ve seen of STLA products both small and large have suggested a flat, skateboard battery pack and transversely mounted electric motors. So we’re wondering what this tunnel is for, if there have been some changes to battery and component layout, or if this is to allow for an internal-combustion powertrain option early on. Tim Kuniskis, the head of Dodge, said it would be possible to put a Hurricane six-cylinder in the new STLA Large platform, which should be the basis of the new muscle cars. But he also pushed back on the likelihood of that possibility.
We’ll likely know more about this new Charger (or Challenger) next year. Dodge said it would reveal the first production model based on the Daytona SRT concept in 2024. The STLA Large platform that it probably rides on supports battery capacities of between 101 and 118 kWh. Multiple battery and motor combinations will be available based on announcements at SEMA last year. The base systems will use 400-volt battery architecture and provide either 456 horsepower or 590. An extra-high-performance 800-volt powertrain will also be available with an unannounced power output. The two 400-volt powertrains will also have upgrades, with the 456-horsepower version topping out at 535, and the 590-horsepower version maxing out at 670.
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