A topless Challenger, a pumped up Durango and a buzzing Hornet mark some of Dodge’s Power Week options, not to mention the future of the muscle car…but that’s a different story.
This was a big week for Dodge — on the back of a successful Roadkill Nights, the OEM powered into Power Week with some spectacular announcements including the end of the V8 muscle car and a look ahead to the future of power and performance.
Several special editions to mark end of muscle era; Hellcat Durango also back for 2023
We all knew it was going to have to happen at some point. This upcoming model year will be the last for Dodge’s V8 Charger and Challenger. The advent and allure of EVs -and the serious performance they can offer- has turned many automakers’ attention to a battery-powered future (including Dodge itself, but that’s for another story). Until then, Dodge has penned a love letter to internal combustion in the form of seven special edition models and some throwback colors.
Challenger Goes Topless
It finally happened. No longer are internet photoshops necessary to visualize what many have pined for: the Challenger convertible. It is the last of the “pony cars” to lose its top, behind the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. Whether you like this wild variant of the Challenger, we are excited that customers will have a convertible option with a backseat that can actually seat adults; the Challenger has always been the largest, but most spacious, of the current-day pony cars. One interesting bit about the production of these convertibles is that Dodge isn’t actually producing them — it is outsourcing the conversion to Florida-based Drop Top Customs
Pak-ing the Heat
Not much gets Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis more fired up than drag racing (more specifically, watching his Dodge production vehicles racing). Cloaked in white, Dodge is offering its Dragpak as both a complete car and a rolling chassis, the latter of which could be had for just under $8,000.
Highway to Hellcat
The anti-soccer mom vehicle is back as Dodge announced the return of the Durango Hellcat for the 2023 model year. Dodge had skipped its ‘Cat treatment MY22, but back is the outrageous 6.2 liter supercharged V8. Did you think Dodge was really going to lay to rest the family vehicle with a sub-4 0-60 and nearly 6500 lb.-ft. of torque?
The Hornet goes Buzz Buzz Buzz
Leave it to Dodge to offer a crossover as a gateway to the muscle car. The 2023 Dodge Hornet will be offered with two powertrains in 2023 — the plug-in hybrid electric Dodge Hornet R/T featuring 285-plus horsepower and 383 lb.-ft. of torque and the Hurricane4-powered Dodge Hornet, a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four cylinder, debuts as the segment’s most powerful gas engine at 265-plus horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque.
Last But Not Least, Hello Electric Muscle
We have a whole story on the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT concept, Dodge’s answer to the electric muscle car void: The Future of the Muscle Car is Here: Dodge’s Charger Daytona SRT Concept. Needless to say, if something is going to replace the V8 muscle shaped whole in our heart, this baby stands a solid chance.
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