By Edward A. Sanchez — Aug. 17, 2022
There are some companies that have a masterful awareness of their own self-image and leverage it to the max. Among those is Dodge. And in the press release for the new Charger Daytona SRT EV Concept, it did not disappoint with its liberal use of action-packed adjectives. For anyone afraid that the Dodge brand will lose its rebellious image in the transition to electrification, fear not.
First of all, for those who fear that EVs will usher in an era of silent, soulless performance, Dodge has you covered with the Charger Daytona SRT Concept’s “Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust.” Okay, okay – I know what you’re thinking – “EVs don’t need an exhaust!” Well, most EVs don’t need an exhaust. But a Dodge SRT EV does.
And it ain’t gonna be quiet.
How about an ear-splitting 126 dB of noise coming from that EV’s exhaust? But that’s not the end of the hit parade of bells and whistles on the concept. It also features an “e-Rupt” multi-speed transmission with an “electro-mechanical shifting experience that’s ‘full Dodge.’
Is your mullet growing out yet?
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Perhaps one of the craftiest visual illusions on the Charger Daytona SRT Concept is the “R-Wing” front aerodynamic wing. Although front aero is typically lower on the fascia, Dodge wears its aero higher up on this EV, effectively mimicking the frontal edge of a squared-off grille. But when you look closer, you realize the Daytona SRT Concept’s hood is actually steeply sloped. The R-Wing is an upper spoiler, maintaining the blocky, aggressive visage of the outgoing Challenger, while in reality being aerodynamically efficient. Clever.
In terms of actual performance stats, Dodge didn’t reveal much with this initial debut, other than to say the Charger Daytona SRT Concept will be “faster than a Hellcat in all key performance measures.” Dodge didn’t specify which variation of the Hellcat they were talking about (which range from 707 to 840 hp), but as the Model S Plaid, Lucid Air Grand Touring, Porsche Taycan Turbo, and other performance EVs have demonstrated, it’s not hard to make an EV fast.
The challenge will be to make it also somewhat affordable.
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Oh yeah – it also has an 800V charging architecture, assuring it will be able to gulp down the kilowatts to deliver the tire-shredding performance promised by its in-your-face styling and the Fratzonic “exhaust.”
But the feature both myself and Phil Royle (my co-host on The Watt Car’s podcast) were most enthused and intrigued about ironically has nothing to do with the performance or bad-boy attitude. It’s the fact that the concept is a liftback, and all the associated versatility and practicality that comes with it. Somewhat ironic in a vehicle that flips the proverbial middle finger to the establishment in almost all other areas, that it make a concession to practicality in this area. Admittedly, my daily driver is not a liftback, although I wish it were.
All in all, I’m a huge fan of this concept, and hope that 90% of the features shown in this concept make it to production. It’s not a Tesla, a Leaf, or even a Taycan. And thank goodness it’s not.
It will take EVs like this, and more to come from Ford, GM, and other “bad-boy” OEMs, to get enthusiasts on-board with EVs. EVs’ objective advantages in efficiency and performance (excessive weight aside) are indisputable. But as we alluded to in Episode 22 of our podcast, EVs are seen by many as “sterile.” The Charger Daytona SRT Concept is neither sterile or soulless. It positively oozes the proverbial Dodge bad-boy Alpha charisma. It boisterously boasts, “OK, I’ll go EV – but I’m gonna do it my way, suckas!”
(Images courtesy Dodge)
