Dodge Charger Daytona EV launches electric muscle car era

Muscle cars enjoy enormous popularity not only in the USA. The cars are beefy, heavily motorized and… not exactly economical in terms of fuel consumption. Stellantis now wants to eliminate at least the last point and is launching the Dodge Charger Daytona EV, a muscle car with an electric motor. However, it is questionable whether this will boost the declining sales figures for electric cars in this country.

Stellantis presents the Dodge Charger Daytona EV

Last September, Dodge caused a stir in the USA with the announcement that the popular Charger and Challenger muscle cars would be discontinued after the 2023 model year. In January 2024, several photos of a pre-production model of the new Charger were then shown on social media, but no further information was provided. Until now.

Because now Dodge parent company Stellantis has unveiled the Dodge Charger Daytona EV, an all-electric new edition of the classic, which is intended to usher in “a new era of muscle cars”. The Charger is the first muscle car to be powered exclusively by an electric motor.

Or rather: the first muscle cars, as the new Charger is offered in two variants. The 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona R/T comes with 496 hp, while the 2024 Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack combines a whopping 670 horses under the hood and is designed to accelerate from a standstill to 100 km/h in just 3.3 seconds.

Both models rely on all-wheel drive with an output of 400 volts, which should catapult the electric Charger to the performance level of a V8 engine. The full torque should be available immediately. Both variants are available either as a two-door coupé or with four doors.

Large battery, good range

The e-muscle car is based on the STLA Large platform from Stellantis, the flagship platform that is primarily intended for SUVs and large vehicles.

Dodge has equipped the new Charger with a 100.5 kWh battery, of which only 93.9 kWh can be used. Nevertheless, in terms of capacity, it is on a par with other electric cars of this size, such as the BMW i7.

According to Stellantis, the Dodge Charger Daytona will achieve a range of up to 317 miles (around 510 km) for the R/T model and 260 miles (almost 418 km) for the more powerful Scat Pack version. That would undoubtedly be impressive. For comparison: the newly announced Hyundai Ioniq 5 Facelift has a range of up to 485 kilometers.

The Charger is charged with a maximum of 183 kW, whereby charging from 20 percent to 80 percent should take just 27 minutes with a Level 3 DC CCS charger.

Purist exterior, interior with attitude

No question: in terms of design, the new Dodge Charger Daytona remains largely true to the classic muscle car look. There are a few rounder edges here and there, but the new edition is unmistakably reminiscent of its predecessors.

Common to all electric Chargers is the unmistakable white LED lighting at the front, which extends across the entire width of the vehicle. At the rear, the “ring of fire” LED lights dominate the appearance. In combination with the newly designed Fratzog logo, which is to be used on all Dodge models of the coming generations, on the car and the rims, a beefy look is achieved.

The new Charger is available in eight colors: After Dark, Bludicrous, Destroyer Grey, Diamond Black, Peel Out, Redeye, Triple Nickel and White Knuckle. Stellantis transfers the purist exterior design to the interior, which is designed to put the driver at the center of attention.

A 10.25-inch or 16-inch instrument cluster, together with a 12.3-inch central display, dominate the scene. The modern look is combined with references to the 1968 Dodge Charger, as well as interior lighting in 64 colors, which reacts to various things (such as opening a door or pressing the start button).

A combination of fabric and artificial leather is used for the seats as standard, while heated Nappa leather is available as an optional premium feature.

Nine Alpine loudspeakers with a 506-watt stereo subwoofer are responsible for the background music, while an 18-speaker combination with 914 watts of power is available as an option. The rear seats can be folded down completely flat, allowing a maximum trunk volume of around 1,090 liters.

Price and availability

Production of the new Dodge Charger Daytona is scheduled to start in mid-2024, at least for the two-door coupé model in both variants. The four-door sedans are to follow in the first quarter of 2025. However, Stellantis did not provide any details on availability or pricing. So far, the muscle car has only been announced for the USA.

However, it was revealed that, in addition to the electric muscle cars, there will also be two petrol models called Charger SIXPACK H.O and Charger SIXPACK S.O, which will be produced from 2025.