A new Dodge Challenger prototype has been spotted within the company, according to a stellpower source.
Over a year ago, a different source said the “LB” body Challenger would boast a choice of Hurricane straight-six or full-electric power; a “4xe” style setup is also possible, and the Pentastar V6 could well make a comeback as a low-cost entry-level engine to keep the starting price low. Another low-end option would be the Hurricane Four.
The largest changes are reportedly up front, where the Challenger has stuck closely to the 1970 originals; the rear is said to be quite similar to current models. Compared with the poorly rendered model above, we’d expect the hood to slope down more, for aerodynamics, with a smaller bumper area and maybe a smaller grille. The retro looks may stay—or they might not.
Many on social media have assumed that the presence of an all electric Charger Daytona and Challenger means there can be no gasoline powered versions, though the Ram 1500 REV will coexist with gasoline powered Ram 1500s.
Can’t wait for spy photos!
Truly curious to see what the next gen vehicles are going to be like. Definitely want to see a four door Charger with the Banshee style body with the hurricane powertrains. Honestly, just thinking about this all day, even the Standard Output 3.0L Hurricane is going to be plenty potent. 420hp/468lb-ft with all wheel drive is more performance overall than the 6.1L Hemi V8 and that is in truck tune. Another 5hp and 2lb-ft of torque would have the 3.0L equaling the 6.1L in horsepower and the first gen 6.4L in torque in a lighter, more dynamic vehicle. Add a Direct Connection Stage kit and 450hp/500tq isn’t out of the question and definitely puts out numbers that put alot of muscle cars both past and present in the rear view. Same with the 2.0L Hybrid. 375hp/470tq equals the current 5.7L Hemi and the torque is the same as mentioned above with the 3.0 Standard output. A stage kit pushing 400hp/490tq isn’t out of the question there either. Even stock that surpasses the Mustang Ecoboost, which is no slouch. Add in all-wheel drive and Dodge genuinely now has some legitimately good entry level performance options.
There is something that I am glad about and I hope that the rumors and all of the stuff that is being leaked about the upcoming vehicles comes true. It’s nice that even though Dodge is moving away from V8 powered cars, they’re not moving away from performance. It seems as though the next generation performance vehicles are truly going to surpass the performance we have now at every single trim level. One of my biggest hopes is that they lean heavily on Direct Connection and really offer a full list of performance and cosmetic upgrades to really keep the enthusiasts focused on the Dodge brand and really give this next generation alot more than what the current gen has and that goes for the EV variants as well. With the hurricane engines being turbocharged, this opens the door to alot of performance upgrades that can yield substantial performance gains without tearing into the engine. As of now, Garrett offers bolt on turbo upgrades & intercooler upgrades for the 2.7/3.5L Ford Ecoboost engines that are Carb certified sold by Ford Performance which means Direct Connection could offer a Stage kit with upgraded drop in turbos, and intercooler upgrade along with a Direct connection tune and even a catback exhaust system or possibly Turbo-back exhaust system (with higher flow cats from what would go on a Cat-3 Hurricane powertrain) along with a catback system from companies like Borla, ARH, AWE & Magnaflow and a cold air intake, blow off valve and wastegate upgrades right from Garrett. Upgraded axles, differentials, redeye torque converter, suspension and chassis upgrades, different Brembo brake options, several different wheel options (aftermarket through Direct Connection like a set of those HRE similar to what’s on the Hellucination Charger along with some other cool modern retro design wheels), Jailbreak options, graphics, lighting options, hood options, spoiler options (Vicrez would make a great partner with all of the Mopar stuff they currently do for styling and aero!), Recaro seats, Mopar licensed shift knobs (by Barton), McIntosh stereo system and things like that. I feel like if Stellantis came out with this kinds of stuff for the Challenger, Charger, Stealth, Durango, Dakota, Ram 1500, Rampage and Hornet, Dodge would have no problems moving forward into the future without V8s. Especially if they offered upgrades and packages for every single trim level and not just the upper echelon vehicles. Most people are buying vehicles between the GT & Scat Pack range with the current cars, it would make more sense to target that market with a bunch of Direct Connection upgrades and push the market forward where the bulk of the customer base is at. This would definitely help to keep the brand alive and really help push the next-gen performance cars to greatness.