2029 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat / Banshee / Demon / Redeye: Dodge’s Wildest Car Is Getting Wilder

Whatever you call it, it absolutely needs to be a drag-strip monster.
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FUTURE Dodge Charger Hellcat Demon

What It Is In July, Stellantis announced the revival of its Street and Racing Technology (SRT) performance division. Its task: unify high-performance efforts across the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram brands with a new batch of adrenaline-inducing vehicles. Among the most exciting Dodges in recent memory was the Challenger SRT Demon 170, and adrenaline junkie Tim Kuniskis will oversee SRT, so it makes sense he would reprise a dragstrip-ready Demon for the modern age. As for the name: Charger Daytona SRT Banshee, Demon, Hellcat, Redeye—any of them could work.

Because the relatively new electric Dodge Charger Daytona in Scat Pack–spec is tuned to make 670 horsepower with the Power Shot boost and 627 lb-ft of torque, and the previous Demon with its Hellcat 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 engine with E85 fuel cranked out 1,025 hp and 945 lb-ft, a new Demon will need serious specs to be worth creating. It must arrive with outrageous power, crazy marketing stunts, and smoky donuts. Dodge has hinted at a Daytona SRT Banshee making close to 900 hp. A Demon would take it a step further.

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Expect SRT to build on the look of the Charger Daytona, which is some of the finest work by Stellantis design chief—and a former head of SRT—Ralph Gilles, who created a modern muscle car that stopped short of being cartoonish. Maybe we’ll get some flared wheel arches and secret details Mopar nerds will appreciate. Expect items from Direct Connection’s tuner catalog, as well.

FUTURE Dodge Charger Hellcat Demon rearquarter

Why It Matters Chargers, Hellcats, Demons, and Redeyes are the Dodge brand’s essence; they’re the reason it continues to exist today as a niche maker that caters to a group that calls itself the Brotherhood of Muscle. While many companies add performance variants to augment their image, at Dodge, performance is the brand. Hellcats and Demons were Hemi V-8 legends, serving as halo vehicles to sell the regular muscle cars—and while the new Chargers look great, they need all the sales help they can get. Dodge no longer has Challengers in its lineup to assist; the business case is based on relatively low volume, and Dodge makes no apologies for not trying to become more mainstream to broaden its appeal.

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Platform and Powertrain The beauty of the STLA platforms at Stellantis is that they were designed to accommodate all drivetrains: internal combustion engines, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, extended-range hybrids, and battery electric vehicles. STLA Large supports 400- and 800-volt architectures, all-wheel drive, and electric driving ranges up to 400 miles. A pure EV is the easiest way to get big performance numbers, but enthusiasts have gravitated more to the Charger Sixpack with its Hurricane I-6 engine than to the Daytona EV. Demon buyers probably want the sound and vibrations that only come realistically from an internal combustion engine. The rub: Stellantis is bringing back the Hemi V-8 as an option on the Ram 1500, but only the 5.7-liter at this point, so it would need some electric boost to achieve the kind of performance numbers worthy of a Demon.

Estimated Price $110,000

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Expected On-Sale Date Fall 2028

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