Listen to the Dodge Charger Daytona EV’s Fratzonic Exhaust
When the new Charger was revealed in March of this year, we learned of Dodge’s grand plan to offer two significantly different powertrains beneath the same shape. You’ll be able to have the new Charger with a gas-burning, twin-turbocharged straight-six, or you can go the all-electric route with the Charger Daytona EV.
The latter promised a simulated exhaust note, something the company announced at a preview of the concept back in 2022 but then quietly skipped over at the debut in March. When Dodge explained its “fratzonic” chambered exhaust, it said the system would utilize a real exhaust chamber to resonate sounds played through speakers that together would mimic the tenor of a Hemi V-8.
Yesterday, we finally got our first sample of the Fratzonic exhaust, courtesy of a short reel on Instagram. The clip shows a silver Charger Daytona EV accelerating through a tunnel, and you can hear the distinct whine of an electric motor (or a few) at the beginning of the clip, followed by the rising baritone thump of a Hemi V-8—although not a real one.
Dodge reportedly went through “hundreds” of iterations before picking the sound we assume to be the winner. We’d say the result is pleasant, if a bit sterile. Of course, we’d all love to hear an actual Hemi under the hood of Charger, but as we know, that’s not likely to happen.
How does the new Fratzonic exhaust note sound to you? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
I want a Challenger with a naturally aspirated V6, no AWD, no touchscreens, and especially no wide band telemetry, for $30K. Maybe add another 5 for a gas guzzler tax. I bought this 10 years ago for $22K, and I would buy it again adjusted for inflation.
Look around and 30K buys you nothing and even then there is no money in it for the MFG.
Sadly the loaded up small CUV models are where the money is. It is not about just making money but making the most on investment as it is tough making money on new cars today.
Hopefully the new one would have more power the V6 not enough for the heavy weight of that car. Plus the torque was too low also.
Re” “a simulated exhaust note”. What a joke. Reminds me of when I was a kid & put cardboard so it would flap on my bicycle spokes. Just buy the Car with a real engine.
May as well add the fake dual exhaust pipes.
New design is terrible reminds of a polit bureau car in Russia
Good idea in theory, but in practice, I see no redeeming qualities in creating a fake exhaust note on an EV. Either embrace that it is an EV or make a petrol powered car. I mean Dodge probably paid no notice when people were up in arms when BMW was piping fake exhaust noise in their cabins…
Good idea in therory, how?
Two problems.
#1 it is still electric. It is just a fake sound like a playing card in the spoke of a bike.
#2 Odds are good places like NY and CA will make the sound illegal or they will make it toned down. They are busting loud cars even with facrtory exhaust today if it is performance mode.
The exhaust is only heard inside the cabin, so the states don’t care.
The video shows otherwise. One is not correct.
The other part is most people want the car to sound outside not inside so if you doing this put the sound out side.
Borla already made a system for the Mach E that puts a speaker on the outside with a Coyote sound.
Wow, if that sound is emitting from the inside of vehicle ??? Just think how neat it must sound !!
I would order it radio delete.
DUH
How does it sound to me? Canned. Maybe I’m just showing a bias here, but I couldn’t make myself believe it sounded real. Did it sound better than some other examples I’ve heard? Yes. But as Joe King has pointed out – what’s the point, really? It’s an EV – own it, or don’t. But quit trying to fake people out.
It’s like vegetarian food made to look and taste like meat.
Perfect analogy
Here is how they explained it before. I think they have it wrong in this story or they are using both,.
“Fratzonic system then generates a synthetic sound based on the “cadence of a Hemi V-8,” as one spokesperson told The Drive. It then goes into an amplifier and out of a more or less familiar exhaust system, which essentially acts in part as a kind of resonator.”
It’s not the First of April, is it?
This is absurd.
Synthetic sound added to an EV should be to alert others to its approach; for safety’s sake.
Is this ersatz exhaust heard outside the car? If not, then just play sounds from mp3’s.
This is faker then the chrome exhaust tips BMW or is it Audi puts on there cars bumpers and then directs the pipes down away before the bumper! Total silliness! The whole part of hearing the exhaust is that you are experiencing the actual power of the engine. If its fake so is the car! If you want to experience a EV they should have straight gears in the gear box that will whine and sound like a jet! A least it a real mechanical sound!
I like the car from what I know of it. The pick your poison power options is something of a step in the right direction. Also a bit of a slap in the face to the, I don’t quite understand this , anti- Stellantis movement. However piping in a hemi through the stereo is just plain silly. I’d buy an E.V. version but instead of phony engine sounds crank up Samantha Fox doing ‘Bulletproof’ ( preferably on her cigar box guitar ) or, if you feel the need for a nostalgic muscle car oldie but a goody trip… Judas Priest doing ‘Breaking the Law’ will get your blood pumping at speed.
oops -correction- Samantha Fish
I think Harley Davidson had a better idea when they tuned the LiveWire gear train to make a sexy electric sound. Faux is faux.
It is an EV. They are quiet. I do not like fake things on performance cars. If you want a car with soul, buy a well engineered ICE sport car or GT. The new Dodge straight six looks interesting.
There are two lows I hope I don’t hit in my car buying experience;
1) driving an electric car that doesn’t have golf clubs on the back
2) driving a car that makes fake engine noises
Well said!
I’m glad there is some recognizable noise to alert people that a car is approaching. I have been startled in a parking lot by a silent ev. This one : Sounds fake but has a function. But. I would never buy anything other than a 100 % ICE powered car.
When my kids were little, they made a noise to alert people that they were approaching in their toy cars (or trikes). It was Vroom-vroom-vroom. I propose that EVs be prohibited from trying to sound like they have real engines, and instead have speakers that constantly go “Vroom-vroom-vroom” whenever they are in motion. There, problem solved…
I heard a Tesla once that was making the Jetsons car sound effect… that seemed a lot more appropriate
If one is trying to impersonate a cartoon spaceship, yes. But the featured car is trying to impersonate a, well, a real car.
Tree falling in a forest. Hope these rot on the lots. Hate what Tavares has done to these brands. Can’t wait to see them fail.
Well it was expected. You see the merger of two companies that are struggling and the our come is not much better. Studebaker and Packard etc.
Dodge may have built cool cars but they ignored the volume profit models they need to support the company. Trucks were spun off and the mini vans are not what they used to be sales wise.