Proof the Next-Gen Dodge Charger Won't Only Be Electric?
A triplet of surreptitious factory floor photos show an apparently internal-combustion Charger variant.
While Stellantis will continue to convert all its products to EVs, it seems as though the first batch of brand-new Dodge Chargers won't go all the way, at least at first. We've previously reported that Dodge's transition from gas-fed muscle to the all-electric variety would be gentler than the automaker lets on, and were early to the idea that the next-generation Charger coupe wouldn't necessarily be an EV-only product, despite Dodge's strong hints to the contrary. Now, photos have started appearing online—namely at the daytonaowners.com forum—and on X offering proof.
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We said, they said—it's somewhat hard to know what Dodge and Stellantis have planned for the Charger, but these photos from within a production facility confirm that at least some of these new Chargers won't be all-electric. How can we tell from some stripped-down bodies-in-white? Check out that transmission tunnel and the firewall clearance for a bellhousing visible on the bodies in the X post above. It sure looks like the traditional provisions for an internal-combustion engine between the strut towers. We also see evidence of a fuel filler that wasn't present on the concept shown a few years ago, though it could be a shared opening with the EV variants' charge ports.
Another interesting bit we can take from these images is that the new Charger might also come as a hatchback, as there doesn't appear to be any separation between where the bottom of the rear glass would be and a trunk lid—nor is there a bulkhead beneath the expected terminus of the rear window. Regardless, it looks like the new Charger will be very close in shape to the EV concept.
To be clear, this does not rule out an electric option for the Charger. Instead, it bolsters our earlier assertion that the new Charger's flexible STLA Large architecture will support both gas- and electric powertrains. Don't be surprised to see a gas-electric hybrid option on the Charger, either, much like the Jeep 4xe lineup, but we hope they find a way to use DC Fast Charging over AC Level 2 charging. We also still have sources telling us that there will be a new-generation V-8 under the hood and it certainly looks like there is more than enough room for it between the frame rails of this body-in-white. It's also a safe bet that under that V-8 Dodge will offer the new Hurricane Twin Turbo I-6 as an option as, again, there is more than enough room to fit lengthwise.
