Vellum Venom Vignette: Dodge ad cheers new Challenger, due in ’24
Them Dodge Boys sure know how to market themselves. They always lean into the fun aspects of their designs, ensuring there’s no doubt as to what differentiates a Dodge from the boring cars made by Toyota and Ford Tesla. Their designs (and the powertrains underneath) are all about muscular performance, ensuring the bold branding statements cannot oversell what the customer sees in the showroom.
These days Dodge is straddling the line between EV and ICE muscle car performance. And it is doing a good job, complete with a Christmas-themed commercial promoting its rear-wheel-drive offerings. But what do we behold before seeing acceptable alternatives to a Camry?
Oh yeah, that’s gotta be a fresh look at the Charger EV concept. The holiday-themed rendering, wearing a festive shade of red, proves that key elements of the Charger Daytona SRT Concept are coming to production. First up are the headlights and the R-wing front fascia:
Every EV (and some ICE vehicles) has a light bar on the front end these days, so the rendered round headlight with a distinct beam pattern is noteworthy. The lights look much like those of a Plymouth Barracuda, especially the 1970 model. This should be cause for celebration, because the EV concept car we saw last year was a bit too minimalist and undefined for the Dodge brand.
The R-wing above those headlights is most certainly making production, though it isn’t innovative if you consider the “bridge” fascia of the 2019 Ferrari 488 Pista. But the Pista cost over $300,000, and the Charger EV is gonna be deep in the five-figure range. Nice.
Now let’s put the holiday rendering’s greenhouse next to that of a current Challenger and the concept Charger EV. Check out the length and height of the quarter window: The Charger appears to have a more accommodating back seat than the Challenger it (presumably) replaces. While the new Challenger’s doors could be longer, the length of the quarter window suggests there’s still a chance that more real estate is dedicated to rear-seat legroom in the upcoming Charger.
And it’s about damn time someone re-created the Lincoln Mark VIII, as it was the last (best?) coupe designed for adult-sized rear seat occupants and their fully grown legs. While this holiday rendering is still just a teaser, we’ve learned more about the production model due in late 2024. And this holiday season is clearly going worse for another performance EV product.
It’s a shame, but aspirational designs with no backstory or context can be hard to move off the lot. BMW and Lexus are never this forthcoming in their holiday promotions, and I suspect the Charger EV will follow their trajectory in our slowly electrifying world. The car will have a built-in following of folks hungry for muscular styling and the rush of effortless torque.
I suspect the faithful will gladly seek out charging stations for their next hit of Mopar-infused electric torque … especially if those ‘cuda-inspired eyeballs become their guiding light.
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For what it is worth, the lines on this car have looked very odd and it will only be an inline 6. Plenty of power but sound wise ehh.
Maybe it’s just the rendering, but there’s some vintage Javelin in those front fenders to my eyes.
I have seen the body shell and the rear is a bit short.
Wake me up when the real deal appears. If it’s an EV I don’t care.
I really dislike everything about this. If it’s going to be electric only, I want nothing to do with it. If they put the new I6 in it, then it will be very appealing to me.
I don’t care how much torque an EV produces, I love the sound and fury of a gas engine screaming away.
I’ll get off my soapbox now.
Totally agree. I will never buy or drive electric.
Well then you might be getting your fuel on the black market!
I doubt that. This whole ginned up fantasy will eventually implode. It’s not sustainable. Ironic, eh?
I’m hopeful. The ‘Cuda lights would be a great idea.
Dodge will have a real challenge on their hands if they think big EV horsepower will win buyers over, as ALL EVs will have plenty of power.
Thrilled to hear positive mention of the Lincoln MK VIII. I had three of them and loved them all until I discovered that the HID headlight assemblies they had cost $1000 apiece but, worse yet, weren’t available to purchase anywhere. I had to fabricate a halogen system for my last one. These were the only grownup cars I have ever owned, i e backseat and trunk, as I always have two seat sports cars, pickups, and motorcycles. Maybe I should have kept my last MK.
RE the comments: Dinosaurs gonna dinosaur.
Yeah, and EVs handle like dinosaurs too. Lots of fun in a straight line.
Pulled up to a red light the other day in my 16 Gt350 and my golf partner pulled next to me in his Tesla plaid edition moon car, yes he blew me away when the light turned green but my flat plane V8 sounded glorious and the Shelby looked so much better!
⛽️ forever!!
About the only thing the 2008 and on Challengers had going for them was they resembled the 70/71’s from a distance. They were too big, too heavy, too desperate to cling to a 50 year old design and just simply lacked the charm of the half a century earlier Challengers. When your best ideas are 50 years old you might be in the wrong business. It would be a little different if there hadn’t been a 45 year absence between the two versions.
Considering how many Challengers were sold, Dodge obviously was not in the wrong business.
So many dopes complaining about the LX based Challenger and the new replacement vwhicla that has not been seen complete, by the general public, in real life, as of today.
As with most modern opinions, the majority as based on ‘Internet Facts’ touted by ‘Experts’
As others have said, big yawn if this turns out to be an(other) EV, but make it a performance hybrid with 160+ hp of EV boost combined with a turbo version of their new I-6 and I think you have something that appeals to a much broader audience. As for the sound of the I-6, allow me to introduce you to the BMW M88/1: https://youtu.be/LcltyN8KUh0?si=mqW8-PpOGQm3kK_R
Skip ahead to 3:20 or so.
Regarding the R-Wing front end, I think you meant to reference the influence of Yamaha’s OX-99/11 which predated the Ferrari by almost 30 years: https://www.carscoops.com/2019/05/rare-yamaha-ox99-11-is-the-f1-powered-supercar-you-probably-didnt-know-existed/
Wow, didn’t know this car existed. Too bad it never made production.
Goodbye challenger sales. Dodge will figure this out like Ford did eventually.
Don’t want an EV. But I am still waiting on my Jetson Mobil!
It’s still too soon to either accept or reject electric vehicles, but surely internal combustion engines will always be with us in one form or another.