Dodge just unveiled its electric muscle car concept with an exhaust system that mimics the roar of a
Publish date: 2024-07-18
2022-08-18T13:35:43Z 
- Dodge on Wednesday unveiled the Charger Daytona SRT, a fully-electric concept muscle car.
- The automaker is dropping its gas-powered Charger and Challenger models as it transitions to EVs.
- Take a look at the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT, a version of which could be in production by 2024.
Dodge, long known for its high-horsepower, gas-powered muscle cars, is eyeing an electric future. On Wednesday, the automaker unveiled the Charger Daytona SRT, a fully-electric concept muscle car.
Dodge's iconic gas-powered Challenger and Charger muscle cars are set to be discontinued in 2023 as the firm transitions to EVs.
The Charger Daytona SRT concept "looks like a Dodge, sounds like a Dodge, and drives like a Dodge," CEO Tim Kuniskis said at a launch event in Pontiac, Michigan.
Concept cars are usually unveiled to gauge driver interest. However, Kuniskis said many of the Charger Daytona SRT's features could make it into a production version slated for 2024.
Automakers can struggle to recreate the driving characteristics of gas-powered cars. Dodge says it's trying to retain the design, feel, and power of gas-powered models in electric form.
One way is through technology that mimics the tell-tale exhaust note of a gas-powered muscle car.
The "Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust," as Dodge calls it, pushes sound through an amplifier at the rear of the Charger Daytona SRT, creating a "126-decibel roar" akin to its famed gas-powered Hellcat.
EVs don't need gearboxes — but for the Charger SRT Daytona, an "eRupt" transmission system mimics gear shifts.
Dodge hopes an aerodynamic R-wing on the hood of the electric Charger Daytona SRT — which pays homage to the 1970s model of the same name — will appeal to nostalgia.
In another nod to nostalgia, the electric concept car sees the return of Dodge's three-pointed "Fratzog" badge used between 1962 and 1976. It's intended to distinguish Dodge's EVs from non-electric models.
The Charger Daytona SRT will be powered by an 800-volt "Banshee" propulsion system. Dodge didn't comment on its expected range.
The interior features a 12.3-inch dash screen and a 3 inch-by-10 inch heads up display.
Dodge's shift to electrifying its muscle cars is part of parent company Stellantis' $3.5 billion investment in EVs through 2030.
Dodge sold more than 54,000 units of its gas-powered Challenger in the US in 2021, making it the best-selling muscle car that year. Kuniskis has said previously he wants vehicles like the Charger Daytona SRT to usher in a new era of the American muscle car.
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