The eMuscle electric hot rod that Dodge previously announced will bring the death of the automaker’s Hellcat V8-powered Challenger and Charger,.
Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis confirmed that the potent coupe and sedan’s final year will be 2023 in an interview with Motor Authority cited by CNET’s Roadshow. The decision to end the hellacious era was made to avoid paying large compliance fees in order to meet emissions regulations.
“[The Hellcat] powertrain as we know it will be built through 2023 (calendar year). In 2024, we’re moving on. The new Dodge cars will be electrified.” Kuniskis said in a statement.
In the meantime, there are three developments to anticipate. The first is the aforementioned eMuscle, featuring the old-school Fratzog logo found on 60s and 70s-era Dodge models. The second is a plug-in hybrid vehicle that Roadshow predicts could be an SUV. The third is totally unknown, but a Hellcat swan song would be nice.
This news comes shortly after the 2022 Charger and Challenger “Jailbreak” package (pictured) was announced. In addition to a slew of aesthetic bits, the upgrade includes a powertrain recalibration that “unlocks” an extra 10 hp in the supercharged 6.2-liter V8, pumping total output to 807 hp.
As Car and Driver notes, that’s a mere 1 horse shy of the discontinued Demon (though the top-tier tuning saw the limited-edition model achieved up to 840 hp).
Best of all, the Jailbreak option will cost just shy of $1,000 at $995 when it goes on sale late in 2021.
