Even Dodge Couldn't Dodge The Electric Bullet

If we are talking about muscle, one of the cars that comes to mind is the Dodge Challenger. First off, the car looks absolutely handsome. I use the words handsome because the car gives off serious macho man vibes, probably why Dominic Teretto from The Fast and Furious loves the car brand so much. The American's also love their Dodge as they have a very large following. I feel like there are three set of American Car Enthusiasts, the ones who love Mustang, then those who love Chevrolet and last but not least, the Dodge lovers. 

2023 Dodge Challenger

Dodge is popular for their supercharged V8 engines which produce crazy amount of horsepower and torque for cars that are street legal. Too bad the V8 engines are getting the boot as this is probably the last year of production for the combustion engine in the Challenger. Top Gear recently posted an article confirming Dodge would soon go electric and I am absolutely devasted. I am very sure my friend, Akpesiri feels even worse because he is a die hard Dodge fan. The future of automobiles is inevitably electric! For this episode we will briefly look into the past, present and likely future of Dodge.

PAST

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T

The legendary Dodge brothers, John and Horace Dodge started what is today a multimillion dollar company back in the 1800's. They started off by building bicycles before moving on to cars, opening up what would become Detroit's largest machine shop. The start of the 1970s brought the release of the Dodge Challenger, which is the most successful of Dodge's vehicle line up until date. Aside the Challenger, there are other reputable Dodge vehicles like the Dodge Ram trucks and the star of show, the Dodge Viper which also began production in the 1900's. 

PRESENT

The Brotherhood of Muscle

Present day Dodge cars are mind blowing. The Challenger holds the current record for the fastest muscle car. The 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 generates a frightening 1,011bhp (break horsepower) at 6,500rpm (revolutions per minute) and 945lb ft (pound feet of torque) and claims 0-60mph in 1.66s. As we all know, Dodge is best at devouring quarter-mile times at the drag strip and the 2023 Challenger does so in 8.91 seconds at 151.17mph.

Left (red) - Challenger, Center (grey) - Durango, Right (white) - Charger

The non-car people are probably wondering what all these numbers mean but for the gearheads, I'm sure you are also salivating at these outrageous numbers because these are rocket car figures. Aside the Challenger, there is also the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat which is top 5 fastest SUV's in the World and last but not least the Dodge Charger Sedan which is the perfect car for a muscle car enthusiast who happens to have 4 kids.

FUTURE

Fully Electric Charger Daytona SRT

With the whole electric car craze and Government policies forcing car companies to go electric, Dodge has finally succumbed. Dodge's CEO has confirmed that the Challenger and Charger are going electric. Truly a devastating news but there is an interesting plot twist. We all know electric cars are known to be fast, so we trust Dodge to do justice in that respect but electric cars are also very quiet, an attribute which is not synonymous with the screaming V8's of Dodge vehicles. To ease fans into this new era of Dodge, the company has opted to mimic some muscle car sensations — including shifting gears and a loud exhaust in an electric concept car that was revealed.

Who said electric cars can't be loud?

The Charger Daytona has exhaust pipes that make noise and a transmission that shifts gears. It can never be like the real thing but at least, it is a suitable replacement for loud supercharged V8 engines. I'm just glad my son would know what a combustion engine sounds like. The future of Dodge seems bright and I personally can not wait to see what they have in stall for us.

Thank you for reading and don't forget to Turbo that engine!