The all-electric 2024 Dodge Daytona Charger debuted Tuesday as the Detroit brand’s first-ever electric vehicle.
The Daytona Charger — which Dodge purports is also the world’s first electric muscle car — has a 400-volt system and a 100.5kWH battery capable of hitting up to 670 horsepower. In just 3.3 seconds, the muscle car can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour; plus, it can cover a quarter of a mile in just 11.5 seconds.
That makes it the “world’s quickest and most powerful muscle car,” according to Dodge.
The fate of the Daytona Charger — first launched in the 1960s — has been in flux since late 2022, when Dodge said production of the Charger and Dodge Challenger would be discontinued by the end of 2023. At the time, the company had said an EV would replace both models and had declined to elaborate on whether a gas-powered version would ever make a return.
But on Tuesday, Dodge said it would offer a traditional internal combustion engine model alongside its EV variants. Selling both an EV and a gas-powered model allows Dodge flexibility with production, especially as demand for all-electric vehicles begins to slow.
The automaker is also expected to reveal additional models in the future, including a higher-performance variant of the Charger Daytona named the “Banshee.” The new EVs are part of Dodge-parent Stellantis’s “Dare Forward” campaign, which aims to achieve net carbon zero by 2038 by moving toward electrified and efficient propulsion systems.
“The next generation of Dodge muscle has arrived,” Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis said in a statement.
The first two models will be the Daytona Scat Pack — with 670 horsepower and 260 miles of range — and the Daytona R/T, with 496 horsepower and 317 miles of range. Two-door coupe versions of the EVs will begin production in mid-2024, while four-door models will enter production in the first quarter of 2025.
The company will also make two gas-powered models: the 550 horsepower- two-door Dodge Charger Sixpack H.O. and the 420-horsepower four-door Dodge Charger Sixpack S.O. Both will enter production in the first quarter of 2025.
All models will be built at Stellantis’ Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada. Prices for the Charger models have not yet been disclosed.
The Charger’s design closely resembles the concept car Dodge revealed in August 2022. The front end features a large opening for air to pass through, which Dodge has labeled an “R-Wing,” exclusive to Daytona models.
Kuniskis told reporters Tuesday that Dodge has “distilled the brand down” over the past decade to focus on American muscle and performance vehicles, but knew the EV transition was inevitable. With the Charger, Dodge wants to ensure its transition adheres to its identity.
“Most people think electric cars are supposed to save the planet,” Kuniskis said in a promotional video for the Charger, which features him time-traveling to meet Dodge’s founders in the early 1900s.“Electric cars are supposed to be green and politically correct. So this thing must be super efficient and environmentally friendly, right?”
“I don’t know, maybe. But that was never the point. The point was that they told us we couldn’t sell Hemis. But they never told us that we had to be boring and slow,” he added.