Forget About Electric Muscle Cars, the Dodge Charger Is a Gas

You have to hand it to Dodge. When the brass at the European headquarters of its parent company Stellantis told it to make an electric vehicle, it did it the only way it knew how.The Charger Daytona was the first EV to adopt the guise of a classic American muscle car. Its styling is a 21st-century take on the 1968 Dodge Charger, and it is equipped with two electric motors that produce an impressive 670 horsepower. Dodge even developed a simulated exhaust system that blasts fake engine noises out of the rear bumper and vibrates the car to create the full effect of having a V8 engine on board.The full-size car delivers plenty of thrills and is very nice to drive, but ultimately unsatisfying in the same way plant-based meats usually are to carnivores. Its short driving range and lengthly charging times don’t do much to move the needle in the right direction for traditional muscle car fans, and just more than 7,000 were sold in 2025.The Dodge Charger Scat Pack can function as all all-wheel drive car or a rear-wheel drive car. DodgeHowever, like the hustlers that drive muscle cars in movies, Dodge had an ace up its sleeve. The model was designed on what it refers to as a “multi-energy platform,” which means it was engineered from the start to accommodate electric or internal combustion engine powertrains.The new Dodge Charger drops the Daytona name and swaps the electric motors for a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six-cylinder engine. Purists will complain that it should have a V8, but Dodge tried to give them up for good during its short green period and hasn’t yet brought them back for the Charger. Its friends at the Stellantis-owned Ram truck division were first to the V8s, when production was revived after government efficiency regulations were rolled back last year. It can’t make enough of them to meet demand.Dodge calls the engine the Sixpack and is offering it in 550-horsepower and 420-horsepower versions. The brand’s last V8 engines were rated at 485 hp and 370 hp, so the Sixpacks leave little to be desired, if you can live without the sound and fury of a V8. The turbocharged engine is turbine-smooth and its exhaust slightly muted, but still much louder than any electric motor.The Charger is available in two-door and four-door versions. DodgeThe Charger is now available in a Scat Pack trim with the 550-horsepower engine for $56,990, but it will be followed later this year by an R/T trim with the 420-horsepower engine for $51,990. Both can be ordered with two or four passenger doors and have large cargo areas under convenient hatchbacks. Aside from bulging hoods to accommodate internal combustion engines that take up more space than electric motors, the bodies are identical to the Charger Daytona’s.The interior is trimmed in premium materials and features dual table-style digital displays for the instrument cluster and infotainment system’s touchscreen interface. A decorative bar of “Attitude Adjustment Lightning” runs from door to door over the top of the dashboard and can be toggled through 64 different colors.The Charger retains the long wheelbase needed to accommodate Charger Daytona’s battery pack, and it pays dividends to passengers. The roomy cabin can comfortably fit six-foot-tall passengers in both rows with legroom to spare. Rear passengers will prefer the four-door model for its ease of entry.The Sixpack is a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-six-cylinder engine. DodgeIn another departure from the muscle car playbook, the Charger comes standard with all-wheel drive, but with a twist. The drivetrain has a mode that disconnects the front axle to turn it into a rear-wheel-drive vehicle. The only reason anyone would want to do this is perform smoky tire burnouts or donuts, but that’s the point of a silly car like the Charger.I had the opportunity to test it in the aftermath of Winter Storm Fern, and it was as sure-footed as a reindeer in the snow, even with all-season tires rather than dedicated snow rubber. The Charger Scat Pack can accelerate to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds on dry pavement and never lacks for power. I can’t vouch for how it handles on a race track or curvy mountain road, but it will do figure eights in a snowy parking lot with the ease and grace of an Olympic skater, if not their silence.Perhaps most importantly for a muscle car, it constantly turns heads and attracts admirers. I even overheard some Manhattan teens remarking about how cool it is as they passed by, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find somewhere cars are held in less regard among youths than in New York.Attitude Adjustment Lighting illuminates the Charger’s interior. DodgeSome things just never go out of style.

Forget About Electric Muscle Cars, the Dodge Charger Is a Gas

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