The New Dodge Charger Is Here: Daytona EV Coupe for 2024, Sedan and “Sixpack” Gas Model in 2025

America’s muscle car is entering a new era. This is the 2025 Dodge Charger. You may notice that this hulking two-door looks almost identical to the Charger SRT Daytona concept that broke cover in August 2022. That’s no accident—Dodge head honcho Tim Kuniskis made a conscious effort to put more or less the final design out in the open so it could marinate for 18 months in people’s minds. Now, the steak is ready to sizzle, and it’s coming in a few different cuts—electric, gas, two-door, and four-door.

Kuniskis projected deep confidence in the two new powertrains, which include a 100.5-kW battery with dual electric motors for the EV model and Stellantis’ new 3.0-liter twin-turbo inline-six for the gas model. “They told us we couldn’t sell Hemis,” Kuniskis said in a promotional video, shown to journalists at a Detroit location requested we keep secret, “but they never said they had to be boring and slow.”

Though there is no V-8 anywhere in the product plan, Kuniskis stands behind the new powertrains as a way “not to comply, but to compete.”

We had the chance to walk around and sit inside the new Charger coupe. It’s a great-looking machine with an imposing presence, differing from the concept car only in the side mirrors, door handles, B-pillar treatment, and wheels.

New Charger, New “Multienergy” Platform

Planned from the outset as both a pure EV and a traditional combustion-engine vehicle, the new Dodge Charger is the first-ever production model to use the STLA Large platform of parent company Stellantis. The platform supports both 400-volt and 800-volt architectures, with each electric drive module (EDM) consisting of a three-in-one motor, inverter, and gear reduction hardware.

The initial run of Charger Daytona models will exclusively use a 400-volt system, but the forthcoming Banshee model—which the SRT Daytona Concept previewed—will employ the more powerful 800-volt system. All new Chargers will be built in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, with Samsung battery modules. They will initially be sourced from South Korea, though production is expected to move to the United States within a couple of years.

These same underpinnings will support six other new Stellantis vehicles under the Jeep, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati umbrellas.

The overall footprint is 1.5 inches wider and a meaningful 8.7 inches longer than the outgoing Challenger Scat Pack Widebody, which means the new car is a sizable thing, indeed. Still, it doesn’t look ungainly. And Dodge designers did a remarkable job of integrating classic and modern design cues that both respect and evolve the outgoing design—arguably the most effective and enduring automotive design of the 21st century thus far. The full-width taillights, thick C-pillar, and squared-off front end read as recognizable Dodge cues, but with a futuristic treatment to replace the retro language. That the new car looks so good and also offers the utility of a liftback and a large trunk (22 cubic feet with the seats up, 33.3 with the rear seats folded) is a major achievement.

2024 Charger Daytona: Power, Suspension, Brakes

As expected, this new Charger will launch first with a pure-electric powertrain. That car, known as the Charger Daytona, will begin production in mid-2024 as a two-door coupe with a liftback-style rear hatch and seating for five.

Two models will appear at launch—the base R/T with 496 hp and the high-performance Scat Pack with 670. Max torque totals 404 lb-ft for the R/T and 627 for the Scat Pack. All-wheel drive is standard, courtesy of two identical electric drive modules (EDM), one for each axle, and independently capable of 250 kW (335 hp) and 314 lb-ft of torque. A standard mechanical limited-slip differential sits on the rear axle. Drivers will have the option to deactivate the front axle motor, enabling burnouts and donuts.

These initial Daytonas will come factory-equipped with Direct Connection upgrades. The standard Stage 1 kit for the R/T adds 40 hp (456 hp otherwise) and the standard Stage 2 kit for the Scat Pack adds 80 hp (590 hp otherwise). Later on, customers will need to buy these upgrade kits via Dodge’s Direct Connection performance catalog to unlock said power.

Drivers can experience maximum output from the twin electric motors but pushing the “Power Shot” button on the bottom right of the steering wheel. Power Shot adds 40 hp and lasts for 15 seconds, after which you’ll need to wait another 30 seconds to activate it again.

Dodge says the 0-to-60 sprint for the R/T Stage 1 model is over in 4.7 seconds, with a quarter-mile time of 13.1 seconds and a top speed of 137 mph. Scat Pack Charger Daytonas can do the same deeds in 3.3 and 11.5 seconds, on the way to a top speed of 134 mph.

2024 Charger Daytonas—both the R/T and Scat Pack—will also come with standard Track Pack stopping power: Brembo’s 16-inch, two-piece, vented front rotors with six-piston calipers and 16-inch, one-piece, vented rear rotors with four-piston calipers. Later Scat Pack models without the Track Pack will come with 15-inch brakes up front and 14s in the rear. Scat Pack Track Pack models feature 20-inch wheels and Dodge’s largest-ever tire package on a production model: Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar 3s sized 305/35ZR20 up front and 325/35ZR20 out back.

All new Chargers come with multilink suspension all around. Daytona R/T models wear fixed monotube shocks, and Scat Pack models utilize the same setup with a higher spring rate. Those opting for the Track Pack version of the Scat Pack can expect dual-valve adaptive dampers on all four corners. Dodge was proud to point out that, compared with the outgoing Charger Scat Pack, there are three times as many accelerometers, four times as many ride height sensors, and four times as many wheel-hub accelerometers to monitor body position and handle various road conditions across all of the available drive modes.

Those drive modes include Auto, Eco, Sport, Wet/Snow, Track, and Drag (the last exclusive to Daytona Scat Pack). Within the Race Options menu there are a handful of special modes, such as Donut, Drift, Line Lock, and Launch Control. Race Prep mode sets an optimal battery temperature for the given conditions—cooler for road course lapping to allow the battery to heat up, and hotter for short bursts on drag strips.

2024 Charger Daytona: Battery, Range, Weight

Every Charger Daytona has a 100.5-kWh lithium-ion battery with a nickel-cobalt-aluminum chemistry. A big battery in a big coupe means a lot of weight: 5838 pounds for the R/T and Scat Pack alike. That is hundreds of pounds heavier than every starting weight for the 2025 Ram 1500, save the hybrid REV. For reference, the outgoing Challenger SXT tipped the scales at about 3800 pounds, while the Hellcat Redeye Jailbreak Widebody weighed 4445 pounds.

Kuniskis made a big to-do about how Dodge doesn’t care about range and instead optimized performance (because this is a MUSCLE CAR!), but buyers definitely care and want to know when they’ll run out of juice. The R/T Stage 1 is good for 317 miles of range and the Scat Pack Stage 2 for 260. Naturally, those figures will improve for future Daytona models without the standard Stage 1 or 2 kits.

Using shift paddles on the steering wheel, drivers can adjust the regenerative braking force by selecting one of three levels.

Peak charging using a 350-kW DC fast charger is 183 kW, which can take the Daytona from 5 to 80 percent capacity in 32.5 minutes. Level 2 charging comes in at 11 kW. The standard plug is the CCS type, though Kuniskis hinted Dodge would soon reveal plans for an adapter that would permit access to Tesla’s Supercharger network.

Sixpack Power with Two or Four Doors

Combustion engine fans can rejoice, too. Prior rumors of a gas power proved true, and Dodge is calling this 3.0-liter Hurricane twin-turbo straight-six model the Charger Sixpack. When it joins the lineup early next year as a 2025 model, the Sixpack will also come in two states of tune: the base-model S.O. (Standard Output, 420 hp) and the high-performance H.O. (High Output, 550 hp). Every Sixpack comes with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.

Kuniskis was adamant that the new Hurricane motor outperforms the old Hemi in every metric.

Sedans fans can rest easy knowing that the four-door Charger is back, also coming in early 2025, at the same time as the Sixpack. Four-door models will be available both in gas and electric form and the same output options as the two-door.

Slick as the two-door Charger looks, the four-door is even better. We only saw a design prototype, rather than a finished production model, but it has a powerful presence in person. It is somehow both imposing and impressive, though those attributes take nothing away from its elegance and sophistication. For my money, it’s the best-looking design out of Auburn Hills since the modern-era Chrysler 300.

2024 Dodge Charger: Interior and Infotainment

The new Charger’s interior is basically exactly what we saw on the SRT Daytona concept two years ago, minus the full-length center console and dual rear bucket seats. Fans of the vintage Charger may delight to hear that the vertical-slat pattern and texture on the instrument panel are meant to evoke the famous ’68 grille. Another classic touch is a new interpretation of the pistol-grip shifter. We’ll reserve final judgment once we can operate it for real, but after sitting in a very early production prototype at the reveal event, we can confirm it looks the business and feels good in the hand.

The steering wheel is big and fat, with a flat bottom and flat top that frames the optional 16-inch all-digital cluster. (A 10.25-inch screen is standard.) The center screen is a 12.3-inch unit showcasing the fifth generation of Stellantis Uconnect infotainment software. A row of physical buttons below the center display handles climate duties, and there is a knob for music/radio volume.

An electronic mechanism operates the doors of the 2024 Charger. There is a familiar external door handle, but inside the car you operate the mechanism via a button on the door. For those fearing being stuck inside the car with a dead battery, there is a redundant manual lever to disengage the latch that’s located on the bottom of the door card, near the footwell.

The materials in the top-trim, pre-production model (with Nappa leather) we sat in felt about on par with or a little better than those in the current Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio. To be clear, that is a big, big step up from the interior of the outgoing Charger/Challenger. The cabin is not downright luxurious, but the feel is firmly in premium territory, and everything in sight looks fantastic. Our only complaint is that there is no way to fold the rear seats while standing behind the trunk opening—no automatic button or physical lever. Lowering the rear row requires reaching past the front bucket seat into the second row.

“Fratzonic” Chambered Exhaust

Perhaps the most controversial feature of the 2022 SRT Daytona Concept was the Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust. It’s an actual exhaust chamber that functions as a resonator for sound generated by speakers. The noise, Dodge says, will meet or exceed current Hellcat decibel levels and is engineered to mimic the cadence of a Hemi V-8.

We didn’t get to hear it at the Charger’s reveal event, a withholding which felt deliberate given the media’s unfavorable reaction to the initial sound back in 2022. Since then, Kuniskis said, the engineering team has worked through “hundreds” of iterations to get the sound just right. Chief Engineer Audrey Moore told Hagerty that for her it was the most fun part of the Charger project. (The toughest? Minimizing complexity and maximizing shared componentry between the two- and four-door Charger variants.)

The Charger Is Back, Baby

What the 2024 Charger will cost remains to be seen. Kuniskis told journalists that final pricing was still being enthusiastically debated at Dodge, so he refused to give even a shred of information on the subject. Given that all 2024 models will come with standard Track Pack brakes and Direct Connection kits, we expect a relatively high price compared with entry-level models that may trickle in down the road.

For now, it’s simply outstanding to see a new Charger coming our way. With the death of the Camaro, and the Mustang taking on more of a sports car role, Dodge has definitively cornered the market on the modern-day American muscle car. And, it seems wise at this juncture for Dodge to give people two avenues: dive in with both feet on an electric car or stick with a tried-and-true gasser. What’s more American, after all, than the power of choice?

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