Dodge Might Be Putting an Engine in the New Charger After All

• The Drive reported that the next-generation Dodge Charger would be available with an inline-six engine as well as an electric powertrain.
• The internal combustin engine is expected to be the 3.0-liter Hurricane inline-six Dodge's parent company, Stellantis, debuted last year.
• Stellantis will build the Charger at its Windsor Assembly plant in Canada.

While it may seem that the entire industry is putting all of its eggs into the EV basket, industry insiders are noticing a slowdown in EV purchases. Automakers have been shoring up charging options, range, and battery technology for the upswing, but it’s kind of like the awkward phase when you’re trying to grow out an unfortunate set of bangs.

Leave it to the powerful-engine fanatics at Dodge to buck the trend. According to a report from The Drive, “the next-generation Dodge Charger will offer both a full-electric version and a gas version powered by the company's 3.0-liter 'Hurricane' twin-turbo inline-six engine.” That’s right: The Dodge Charger is not going to go quietly into a fully electric future. Yes, the SRT Daytona Concept pictured here is meant to preview the next Challenger (the Charger's two-door sibling), but we're sure future iterations of both will take design cues from the concept.

"They're keeping gasoline engines. The official designation for the vehicle platform is LB and it will have the new GME-T6 Hurricane inline-six in RWD and AWD," a source (who spoke under the cover of anonymity) told The Drive. "It will be using the Stellantis Gen 4 transmission that's also rolling out to Mack Assembly, Jefferson North Assembly and Toledo North."

Ford hasn’t gone all-in on EVs yet either, and its Mustang Dark Horse tops out at 500 horsepower with a Coyote V8 under the hood. While details are still slim on the incoming Charger, we’d guess that Dodge won’t launch a car that doesn’t at least come close to that.

It's worth keeping in mind that Dodge launched the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 as a "last call for petrol" model earlier this year. Plus, the automaker unveiled its Charger Daytona SRT concept in 2022 as an EV, complete with manufactured engine sounds. But, here's why the decision makes sense for this four-door muscle car — people generally don’t buy the Charger to be a sleek EV butterfly. Its muscular haunches and stance scream that it's built for power, plus the turbocharged six-cylinder engine delivers the visceral thrill of an internal-combustion experience.

The next-generation Charger will be built at the Stellantis Windsor Assembly plant on the Canadian side. The Drive reported that retooling is “well underway,” according to the source, sharing a line with the next-gen Chrysler Pacifica.

Edmunds says

Don't count out the ICE legacy at Dodge just yet. There are plenty of buyers who aren't ready to make the switch to EVs and the automaker is smart to angle toward customer demand.