√New Dodge Charger muscle car to keep petrol engine alive alongside electric power

Electric power will be the star of the new Dodge Charger muscle car range – but twin-turbo inline-six petrol propulsion may remain an option, according to a new report.

V8 power in the Dodge Charger will disappear from US showrooms by the end of this year – but the new model due next year may not ditch petrol propulsion completely just yet.

As reported previously, the current Dodge Challenger coupe and Charger sedan are due to end production this year – taking ‘Hemi’ V8 power with them – ahead of an electric replacement sometime next year.

While Dodge has only confirmed electric power for the new car, Drive was among the publications last year to report on the possibility of the option of 3.0-litre twin-turbo six-cylinder power, alongside batteries.

Now a new report out of the US has added evidence to the theory the new Charger will offer six-cylinder petrol and electric options – as well as a choice of two or four doors.

MORE: 2024 Dodge Charger may offer turbo six-cylinder beside electric power (August 2022)

A now-deleted post on Reddit by a user claiming to have attended an official event in Las Vegas for Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Chrysler dealers alleges the new Charger will offer a broad range of power options.

According to the social media post, the electric Charger will be joined by ‘standard output’ and ‘high output’ versions of the Stellantis group’s new 3.0-litre twin-turbo inline six-cylinder ‘Hurricane’ petrol engine.

In Jeep SUVs, the standard-output version develops 313kW and 635Nm, while the high-output version quotes 380kW and 678Nm – on par with the 362 kW and 644Nm of today’s mid-grade 6.4-litre V8 Charger Scat Pack.

However, buyers looking for more power will be directed to electric versions, which may offer up to nine stages of performance – with levels of power beating the 594kW of today’s 6.2-litre supercharged V8-powered Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye.

The nine stages are split up into three base variants, each available with two performance upgrade packages purchasable through Dodge dealers to boost power and torque outputs.

The Reddit user claims all-wheel drive will be standard on all models – petrol and electric – with the option to “turn off power to the front wheels so you can still do a burnout”.

Two- and four-door body styles will be available, according to the social media post – with both indicated to carry the Charger name, rather than splitting the two-door off as the Challenger, as per the current model.

MORE: Dodge Charger name set for production electric muscle car, new details revealed

The report claiming plans for a six-cylinder next-generation Charger appears to go against comments given by Dodge boss Tim Kuniskis to car news website Carscoops last year:

“I’ve been very transparent… that our next cars are built on the STLA Large platform, the STLA Large is a multi-energy platform.”

“I can put a [petrol] engine in there. Doesn’t mean we’re going to. We’re certainly not launching with anything like that.

“We’re launching with full battery electric and we think that by the time we get to that point, the offering we’re going to have is going to be really attractive in the market place.

“If some day we wanted to add [petrol] to that car, could we? It’s totally [possible]. But we’ll maybe never get there,” Mr Kuniskis said.

However, Drive has seen planning documents to show Dodge has conducted development work to fit the inline-six engine under the bonnet of the new Charger range, though it may not surface until shortly after launch.

For more details on the new Dodge Charger muscle-car range – which is unlikely to come to Australia given Dodge cars haven’t been sold here since 2016 – click the links below to read our past coverage.

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The post New Dodge Charger muscle car to keep petrol engine alive alongside electric power – report appeared first on Drive.