Dodge Previews the Charger Daytona SRT Concept, an All-Electric Muscle Car

[stein_325i]

Performance Made Us Do It: Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept Previews Brand’s Electrified Future

Originally Posted by Stellantis Media

• The future of electrified muscle: Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept
• Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept drives like a Dodge, looks like a Dodge and feels like Dodge – and just happens to be a battery-electric vehicle (BEV)
• Three game-changing, patent-pending features make up the core of the Charger Daytona SRT Concept:
• R-Wing: Front aerodynamic wing retains Dodge profile while achieving aerodynamic efficiencies
• Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust: Industry-first exhaust system for an electric vehicle delivers a performance sound that rivals the SRT Hellcat
• eRupt: Multi-speed transmission with an electro-mechanical shifting experience that’s pure Dodge
• Charger Daytona SRT Concept powered by new 800V Banshee propulsion system
• Concept design revolutionizes the look of a BEV while offering subtle nods to Dodge brand’s muscle car legacy
• Illuminated Fratzog badges on front grille and taillamp symbolize electrified future of Dodge while also signifying the brand’s commitment to its performance heritage
• Vertical exterior grille details add texture while evoking style of iconic 1968 Dodge Charger
• Concept’s interior is modern, lightweight and provides a signature Dodge driver-centric cockpit
• Interior parametric texture, also inspired by 1968 Charger grille detail, unites interior elements while providing connection to the exterior
• Center console includes a unique jet-fighter-inspired cap that flips up to allow engagement of the start button and a pistol-grip shifter design inspired by the past, but with a modern execution
• Panoramic glass roof gives an open-air feel, helping to include rear passengers in the vehicle experience
• Rear hatch and fold-flat rear seats provide unmatched storage capacity for a muscle car
• Cockpit immerses the driver’s sensory experience through performance sounds, lighting features and vehicle displays
• With a touch of a steering wheel button the driver can engage Auto, Sport, Track and Drag modes, instantly changing the driving dynamics, display graphics, sound and interior lighting, enhancing the driver experience
• For complete information on Dodge and the brand's Never Lift plan, which provides a 24-month road map to Dodge's performance future, visit Dodge.com and DodgeGarage.com

August 17, 2022 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Dodge is taking a giant step forward on the performance brand’s road to an electrified future, revealing the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT, a perception-shattering concept that reimagines what a battery-electric vehicle (BEV) can be. The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept offers a glimpse at the brand’s electric future through a vehicle that drives like a Dodge, looks like a Dodge and sounds like Dodge.

The two-door Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept was unveiled today at M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan, during the third day of the three-day Dodge Speed Week event series, which featured announcements and reveals of Dodge performance products.

The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept muscles aside the boring BEV paradigm and replaces it with an electrified vehicle unlike any on the road today. A new propulsion system drives the Charger Daytona SRT Concept with performance that exceeds the Dodge brand’s famed SRT Hellcat engine, accompanied by an industry-first BEV exhaust sound.

The concept’s modern exterior styling incorporates subtle Dodge heritage cues while also exceeding aerodynamic targets. Interior design elements connect to create a driver-centric, immersive experience through sounds, displays and lighting features that change inside and out at the push of a button.

Core to the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept are three game-changing, patent-pending features that will rewrite the rules of the BEV segment:

• R-Wing: A unique aerodynamic pass-through design feature that connects the concept with its iconic Dodge Daytona namesake
• Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust: Industry-first BEV exhaust, can reach 126 dB, making it as loud as a Hellcat-powered Dodge
• eRupt: Multi-speed transmission with an electro-mechanical shifting experience that’s pure Dodge

“The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept exists because performance made us do it,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge brand chief executive officer – Stellantis. “Dodge is about muscle, attitude and performance, and the brand carries that chip on its shoulder and into the BEV segment through a concept loaded with patents, innovations, and pertformance features that embody the electrified muscle of tomorrow. The Charger Daytona SRT Concept can do more than run the car show circuit; it can run a blazing quarter-mile. And when it comes to product cycles, it outruns Darwin. Charger Daytona does more than define where Dodge is headed, it will redefine American muscle in the process.

“One day ago, the brand’s first-ever electrified performance vehicle was unveiled, the all-new 2023 Dodge Hornet. Today, we revealed a peek at our eMuscle future with the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept. When we said it was going to be an electric summer for Dodge, we meant it.”

Brotherhood, Meet Banshee
Dodge has built a unique reputation as America’s muscle car brand. In the race to be faster, quicker and more powerful, Dodge is turning the page to a new chapter. The brand’s first-ever electric car isn’t called the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept by coincidence — like the famed Charger Daytona model that was the first vehicle to break 200 mph on a NASCAR track in 1970, the Charger Daytona SRT Concept packs a performance punch.

It does so courtesy of a new propulsion system that joins high-horsepower household names such as HEMI®, Hellcat and Redeye. There’s a new pinnacle of performance in the Brotherhood of Muscle: Banshee.

The 800V Banshee propulsion system powers the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept car and screams performance, making Dodge’s first electric vehicle faster than a Hellcat in all key performance measures. The standard all-wheel-drive system is key to pushing beyond Hellcat performance while also improving all-weather capability.

eRupt Transmission
Unlike typical BEVs, the Dodge brand’s eRupt multi-speed transmission with electro-mechanical shifting delivers distinctive shift points, throwing shoulders into seatbacks in true Dodge style. The Charger Daytona SRT Concept also boasts a PowerShot push-to-pass feature. Activated by the push of a button on the steering wheel, PowerShot delivers an adrenaline jolt of increased horsepower for a quick burst of acceleration.

Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust
While most BEVs embrace their virtually silent electric motors, that just wouldn’t do for Dodge. The Charger Daytona SRT Concept voices a 126 dB roar that equals the SRT Hellcat, generated through a new, patent-pending Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust system. Yes, Dodge added an exhaust to an electric vehicle.

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 in concert with the eRupt transmission.

Dodge Design, First and Foremost
The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept features inspired design that takes on the challenge of revolutionizing the look of a BEV while offering subtle nods to the brand’s muscle car past.

That design principle begins to unfold up front, where the Charger Daytona SRT Concept’s patent-pending R-Wing redefines the typical Dodge front end, maintaining the characteristically blunt Dodge profile while developing a more aerodynamic vehicle.

The R-Wing, an homage to the original Charger Daytona design and to a key figure behind development of the original vehicle, allows air to flow through the front opening, enhancing downforce. Incorporated into this functional performance hood, the front R-Wing holds true to the brand’s dramatic exterior themes while delivering an aerodynamically improved pass-through design. Carbon-fiber intakes tucked into both sides of the front and rear lower fascias provide an air curtain to assist in aerodynamic performance.

The Charger Daytona SRT Concept combines modern looks with a long, wide and confident road presence. The front grille stands out with cross-car illuminated lighting centered by a white illuminated Fratzog badge, a symbol teased last year by the Dodge brand. The three-pointed Fratzog badge, originally featured on Dodge muscle cars from 1962 through 1976, was previously used without any meaning or context — until now. The return of the Fratzog logo represents the electrified future of Dodge and signifies the brand’s unwavering commitment to its performance heritage, but with new technology capable of pushing limits well beyond the cars of today.

Simple, vertical details on the front grille add texture while calling back to the brand’s heritage, specifically the iconic 1968 Dodge Charger. The concept distills performance to its simplest form, enhanced by a typically playful Dodge exterior color name, Greys of Thunder, that gives a high-gloss graphite feel with deep textures. The concept’s “waterline” tracks around the sides and gives a planted look while emphasizing the upper portion, keeping the visual weight up high. Subtle, muscular shaping of the wheel fenders accent the body styling.

The vehicle avoids excess decoration — headlights almost disappear, hidden underneath the R-Wing and integrated seamlessly into the aerodynamic surface providing just the functional elements needed for forward lighting. Both the front and rear lighting feature a full width design centered by a 3D illuminated Fratzog badge. The exterior lighting elements are truly unique – even in the dark, you’ll know the Charger Daytona SRT Concept’s silhouette. Flush door handles continue the minimalist design. Brushed aluminum “screaming” Banshee fender badges announce the new propulsion system that drives the concept.

Painted-pocket 21-inch wheels with diamond-cut faces continue the aerodynamic efficiencies with a turbine-like design, and a red Fratzog logo embellishes the wheel center locks. Grey six-piston brakes provide the stopping power.

A new hatchback design is highly functional, giving the concept a dual personality: a beast at the track that can still meet every day needs. The design, along with rear seats that fold flat, offer unexpected utility and storage capacity from a muscle car.

Connected, Driver-centric Interior
The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept’s interior is modern, lightweight and athletic, providing a driver-centric cockpit with all essentials cohesively packaged.

The 12.3-inch center screen, the largest featured in a Dodge vehicle, angles nearly ten degrees towards the driver, and the 16-inch instrument cluster is curved, creating a cocooned, driver-focused feel. An 8-by-3-inch Head-up Display (HUD) puts additional vehicle information where the driver needs it. The slim, instrument panel (IP) and mid-bolster in Ultraviolet color with blue and silver accent stitching feature a “waterline” that extends cross car. The upper IP is a step higher, an elevation change that creates a sculptural surface floating above the cluster. The Ultraviolet color also touches multiple interior surfaces, such as the console, doors and seats, creating a halo that works with the Attitude Adjustment Lighting™ to enhance shadows and highlights.

A parametric texture unites the interior and provides a connection to the exterior by continuing the inspiration of the 1968 Charger grille detail on the inside. The parametric pattern adds fluidity and sculpture, spanning from the IP to door appliques, beneath the console and continuing to the rear armrests and rear console. The dynamic interior texture has a three-dimensional quality that bounces light and is reactive to the environment, with lines that radiate as they move rearward.Ambient Attitude Adjustment Lighting™ illuminates the texture from below, playing with depth and dimension.

Circuit-like graphics originate on the carbon fiber floor and are strategically placed to surround occupants, flowing under the seats, moving to the center console and IP, and coming back to the driver, a subtle detail that acts as a circuit board, connecting one to another. A unique lightning bolt shape on the accelerator pedal hints at the concept’s electrified powertrain, as does the dual Blue Plasma and Silver stitching that surrounds the entire interior. Carbon fiber door sills feature illuminated white Daytona lettering, with lighted Daytona lettering also found at the top right of the mid-bezel.

Doors and center console follow the sculptural design theme, including only the needed elements. A pass-through area under the console creates a much lighter feel, and clever center console touches include a jet-fighter inspired cap that flips up when engaging the start button. The unique pistol-grip shifter is inspired by the past but with a modern execution, functioning as a mechanical precision piece that delivers an effortless shift experience when squeezing the pistol grip’s trigger.

A new steering wheel design offers a thinner feel, with a flat top and bottom. The center spoke of the steering wheel is not connected to the rim, giving the steering wheel a floating feel. Paddle shifters are mounted on the steering wheel, with the PowerShot button on the right and drive mode controls on the left. Like the doors, the steering wheel features capacitive touch controls. An illuminated red SRT logo lights up the steering wheel center.

Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept seats are lightweight, race-inspired and slim in design, with an insert that features an abstract, perforated pattern of the Fratzog logo. The unique pattern fades out as it travels down the seat and reappears as it flows toward the center of the seatbacks. The upper seatbacks feature openings and seat bolsters that provide an airy, race-oriented feel, while holding occupants.

The panoramic glass roof gives an open-air feel to the Charger Daytona SRT Concept, helping to include rear passengers in the vehicle experience. The parametric interior texture extends to the headliner surrounding and accentuating the glass area. The carbon fiber “tub” floor and hatch are race-inspired lightweight features, and the large cargo area along with fold-flat rear seats provides more storage space than any previous Dodge muscle car.

Immersive, Electrified User Experience
The Charger Daytona SRT Concept’s cockpit immerses the driver’s sensory experience through performance sounds, lighting features and vehicle displays.

A simple one-button press on the steering wheel lets the driver pick from Auto, Sport, Track and Drag modes, instantly changing the driving dynamics, instrument cluster information, HUD content, performance sound and interior lighting features of the vehicle.

[stein_325i]

[allinon72]

I'd love to be a fly on the wall for these product development meetings. Dodge is going to have an uphill battle to convert their Hellcat target market to electric with no transition period. No hybridization, nothing, 6.2L fire breathing V8 directly to all electric.

Good luck.

[Germanauto]

I suppose we will all have to learn to get used to this. I commend them at least for trying to make a very unique EV here. The fake sounds and gearing at least keep some of that "engagement" around.

Will definitely be one of the most hyped EVs on the market once it arrives.

[AlexFL]

Looks pretty nice actually. Like the interior, too.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by allinon72

I'd love to be a fly on the wall for these product development meetings. Dodge is going to have an uphill battle to convert their Hellcat target market to electric with no transition period. No hybridization, nothing, 6.2L fire breathing V8 directly to all electric.

Good luck.

This is an interesting comment. I think Ford has the same issue with the Mustang and the purpose of the seemingly confusing choice to use the Mustang Mach E name for Ford's first ground up EV was made in light of the transition of the ICE Mustang platform to EV. I said this at the time the Mach E was announced and I still believe that is the reason.

Ford is boiling the Frog while Dodge is just ripping the band aid off. You are correct, it will be interesting to see who the audience for the Charger EV is. The name ironically sorta fits...

[M-technik-3]

Life expectancy of the battery? You'll end up paying for it twice in ten years. About probably what you use in gas. Interior looks like everyone else's. TV Screen distractions.

[mirob]

I like the interior but the exterior is trying too hard. There's better ways to do homage.

[AlexFL]

The front looks like a mix of the current Challenger and the 2010 Camaro.

[Murf the Surf]

Interesting times, maybe the writing is on the wall and Dodge is just trying to get ahead of the curve. Someone had to build and EV that doesn't look and sound like a Dyson so why not Dodge. The Taycan to date is the only EV that I have had any interest in at all, and it's way out of my price range.

This is coming I guess and finally someone is making something that might appeal to the folks that still like cars and not the latest iPhone.

[GERMAN M3]

Originally Posted by allinon72

I'd love to be a fly on the wall for these product development meetings. Dodge is going to have an uphill battle to convert their Hellcat target market to electric with no transition period. No hybridization, nothing, 6.2L fire breathing V8 directly to all electric.

Good luck.

Totally agree allinon72 ! I think the introduction of a hybrid would have been beneficial here, but I guess Dodge had other ideas. I’m guessing most Challenger / Charger Hellcat owners are going to hold onto their vehicles as prices for these are probably going to trend upwards. Makes me wonder what current Hellcat owners are thinking.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

Life expectancy of the battery? You'll end up paying for it twice in ten years. About probably what you use in gas. Interior looks like everyone else's. TV Screen distractions.

Not really sure EV batteries die early. But if one is doing Hellcat 4-wheel burnouts, maybe so...

[billnchristy]

If they use proper battery management and cooling it will last long enough. Each generation EV is going to be exponentially better, it's already happened, look at gen 1 leafs vs. what is available today.

By the time you need a battery for the charger if it's managed properly, EVs will be doing 600+ miles with 1000hp and you wouldn't want to keep it anyway.

Oh and people have already photoshopped those stupid yellow splitter covers on it.

[CarsAndGuitars]

The last time Dodge debuted an incredible looking Charger concept was at the 1998 NYIAS. I was there. I saw it.

The only thing on that car to make production was its 4 doors.

[stein_325i]

Originally Posted by CarsAndGuitars

The last time Dodge debuted an incredible looking Charger concept was at the 1998 NYIAS. I was there. I saw it.

The only thing on that car to make production was its 4 doors.

I remember that concept, it was cool looking. Had some 4-Door Coupe design cues to it. Sadly that was also an era of Daimler-Chrysler so things were not looking up for either brand. I think this has more potential to go into production though, a lot of it looks ready too, not too many concept design bits.

[billnchristy]

You like the 4 door fisker-maro?

Thing looks odd to me and a lot like it has dodge sebring lineage.

[stein_325i]

Originally Posted by billnchristy

You like the 4 door fisker-maro?

Thing looks odd to me and a lot like it has dodge sebring lineage.

I don't love it, but I kinda like it cause it looks cool and unique, gotta remember for 1998, this thing looks very different than a lot of the cars on the road.

[billnchristy]

Yeah, that's definitely true but I just can't imagine seeing 15 of those a day like I do with what they made.

[dgoldenz]

Looks pretty interesting for an EV, at least they are trying to do something that nobody else has yet....I'm intrigued. Also does anyone realize how loud 126db actually is? For comparison a stock GT3 is 102db. That is incredibly loud.

[Socal_R8]

Originally Posted by dgoldenz

Looks pretty interesting for an EV, at least they are trying to do something that nobody else has yet....I'm intrigued. Also does anyone realize how loud 126db actually is? For comparison a stock GT3 is 102db. That is incredibly loud.

agree.....I can see more automakers copying their lead....

Can see Porsche maybe stealing the exhaust sounds idea with their next gen Cayman that is set to be full electric.

https://www.motor1.com/photo/6165141...on-renderings/

[INTMD8]

Fake sounds from an electric car

[CarsAndGuitars]

Originally Posted by INTMD8

Fake sounds from an electric car

Agree, but am waiting to see who's the highest bidder is for The Jetsons car sound