There are some basic rules all the latest battery-electric vehicles are supposed to follow: they use skateboard-like platforms with their motors and packs mounted under the load floor, for one thing. They’re virtually silent. And since electric motors can rev to speeds a Formula One team would envy, they rely on single-speed transmissions.
Okay, the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT does play by the first rule. But then it goes by its own playbook, as the automaker demonstrated during a media sneak peek at a concept version of the muscle car last week. The all-electric coupe is anything but silent, thanks to what the Stellantis performance brand has dubbed its “fratzonic chambered exhaust.”
Punch the “Launch” button on the Daytona’s center console and it lights up with a menacing roar that, reaches an ear-splitting 126 decibels. Now, put it in “Drive” and prepare to get bounced hard as its multi-speed eRupt transmission runs through the gears.
“We’re not going to do what everyone else is doing. We’d get lost,” said Tim Kuniskis, the Dodge brand boss, ahead of Thursday’s formal introduction of the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT. “We’re going to do something people won’t see coming — though they’ll hear it coming.”
No science project
Like the rest of the industry, the Stellantis performance division has to cope with the dramatic changes sweeping through the auto industry. During what the brand dubbed Dodge Speed Week, we’ve gotten a look at some of the changes in store. On Monday, the automaker announced that the long-lived Charger and Challenger muscle cars will wrap up their runs at the end of the 2023 model year. The following day, it unveiled a new compact crossover, the Dodge Hornet.
It saved the big news for last. At the moment, the Daytona EV is just a concept vehicle. But “(t)his is not a science project,” stressed Kuniskis “Some concept cars are. This is not.” Dodge previously confirmed it will enter the battery-electric vehicle market in 2024 and, with relatively modest changes, this is what we’re going to get.
For now, the automaker is cherry-picking the details it’s ready to reveal, but what we know is quite enticing.
Powertrain plans
Expect to see the production version of the Daytona use multiple motors and deliver power to all four wheels through that multi-speed eRupt transmission. Currently, the Porsche Panamera is the only other battery-electric vehicle to use a multi-speed gearbox, a two-speed. It appears the Dodge coupe will use at least four speeds — or more.
Why that approach? Asked if there were any advantages, Kuniskis replied, “None,” during a Q&A session. He later went a little deeper, explaining that at high speeds, especially when used on a track, a multi-speed gearbox should prove a bit more efficient. And, perhaps more importantly for traditional muscle car buyers, he added, eRupt will give that punch that even the quickest EVs currently don’t offer with their linear acceleration.
Upping the driving experience
“It’s all about the driving experience,” the brand boss added, following the formal presentation, and that explains why the Daytona concept — and the production model that follows — will introduce the patented “fratzonic chambered exhaust.”
In a news release, the automaker explained, “The industry-first Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust pushes its one-of-a-kind performance sound through an amplifier and tuning chamber located at the rear of the vehicle. The Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust represents the next generation of tactile, bone-shaking, muscle attitude, creating a visceral ‘Dark Matter’ sound profile experience.”
There are other BEVs that have introduced artificial sounds, though primarily through the cabin speaker system. The Dodge technology blasts it out for the world to hear — and it’s just as loud as the familiar Dodge Charger Hellcat.
Multiple configurations
We’ll have to wait to learn more details about the drivetrain itself. Kuniskis did confirm there will be multiple configurations, much as the automaker offers today with the Charger and Challenger. In this case, however, it will include at least two different-sized lithium-ion battery packs. And, while the coupe will debut with a 400-volt electrical architecture, the brand boss confirmed it will subsequently offer both 400 and 800-volt systems. The higher voltage will have a number of advantages — among other things boosting charge speeds — though it will also be more expensive.
How much power the Daytona will deliver remains a secret, though Kuniskis cautioned it may not match some of the current champs, such as the 1,111-hp Lucid Air Dream Performance edition, or the 1,020-hp Tesla Model S Plaid. Nor is Dodge necessarily planning to challenge their 2.0-second 0-60 launch times.
Besting them in the quarter-mile is another matter, he hinted, adding Dodge intends to make the 2024 Charger Daytona a track-worthy vehicle. With rare exception, most of the current BEVs that fall into the muscle car category can only deliver maximum power for a limited time before dialing back performance.
If anything, Dodge will let Daytona owners kick in a little extra by pressing the PowerShot button it says is designed to make it easier to pass — whether on the street or the track.
Downloadable performance upgrades
When the production model rolls out, Dodge plans to offer three performance levels. But muscle car fans are a fussy lot. They have a propensity to upgrade their vehicles. It’s not quite as easy to do that with an electric drivetrain since most upgrades are done through software. So, the automaker plans to add another six performance levels — for nine in total — Daytona owners able to upgrade through Direct Connection.
The Dodge e-commerce site will also offer a variety of other options and upgrades, much as it does for today’s Charger and Challenger models. Many of those features will be available for installation at the dealership when you take delivery.
The bottom line is that while the Daytona concept has been gussied up for maximum visual impact, what you see is largely what you are going to get.
Déjà vu all over again
If the name rings a bell that’s because it was used for one of the most compelling products in Dodge history, the high-winged 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. And, indeed, the EV concept pays homage to that classic with its extended nose. And it returns to Charger’s roots as a coupe, rather than a four-door. But while its low, wide stance gives it a certain “brutality” as designer Jeff Gale describes it, this is no retromobile.
There are the expected EV details meant to improve aerodynamics and boost range, such as the flush, pop-out door handles and sealed grille. The low R-Wing up front both cheats the wind and improves handling at speed.
In concept form, at least, Daytona gets the front light bar seemingly requisite for EVs today. Both the front and right light bars frame the triangular Dodge logo. But there are backlit “Banshee” logos, as well, on each front fender.
Inside the Daytona
The cabin, likewise, strikes a balance between classic muscle car looks and the high-tech feel of an EV. There’s a huge 16-inch customizable gauge cluster, visible through a flat-bottomed steering wheel, as well as a 12.3-inch infotainment screen. Daytona also features a large head-up display.
Driver and front passenger sit in thin but enveloping sport seats. There are two more buckets in back, both able to fold to expand the hatchback’s usable cargo space. And one of the advantages of moving the batteries and motors below the cabin is that Daytona has a far more roomy cabin than offered by Dodge’s current muscle cars.
If past is prologue, expect the automaker to start dropping more details about the Charger Daytona SRT during the next year, especially the drivetrain system. As for its pricing, well, that’s also “TBD,” said Kuniskis. Same for the launch of the production model which, we’re told, is due out sometime in 2024.
