At the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 reveal in Las Vegas on Monday, Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis didn’t mince words when asked if an internet report stating the automaker is developing a new V-8 engine is true. “No,” he said.
But there will be a V-8 under the hood of the Dodge Durango for the immediate future. When talking about the V-8 dying Kuniskis said, “Hang on, not in that (the Durango) car.” This likely means the Durango will have a V-8 option for the 2024 model year, though it’s unclear if the V-8 would continue beyond that. The executive said he couldn’t comment on future product.
Both the 5.7-liter V-8 and the 6.4-liter V-8 in the SRT-badged Durango will continue.
Kuniskis once again confirmed the Hellcats will die at the end of 2023, and the Charger and Challenger replacement will not get a V-8. However, when the new electric muscle car’s STLA Large platform was revealed the company said it will be able to accommodate a gas engine.
Despite the fact that the Durango Hellcat came back from the dead after mechanical changes were made to meet emissions, it will be dead at the end of 2023. Its lights out come Dec. 31 and like the other Hellcats, it won’t come back. The V-8 lives in the Durango, but it won’t be supercharged from the factory or bear the Hellcat badge.
The Durango continues to ride on an older platform previously shared with the last-generation (WK2) Jeep Grand Cherokee. The current Grand Cherokee moved onto a clean-sheet WL platform, and Jeep already killed off the V-8 engine in the two-row model.
Kuniskis wouldn’t comment on when the Durango might be updated or whether it will move onto the Jeep Grand Cherokee’s WL platform. He did note that it will live on because it carves out its own niche and suggested it will continue into its next generation. When asked if the Durango nameplate is strong enough to live on beyond this current model, Kuniskis said, “Yes, absolutely.”
