Month: February 2024

I am now officially confused. I was absolutely certain that the Banshee trim of the Dodge Charger Daytona EV would come in at 880 horsepower. But I may have been wrong. That beast may be churning out closer to 1,000 ponies. And this time, I’m getting my info from a leak in Italy.

Let’s back up a bit. Dodge shocked the world when it announced it was killing the V8 Charger to make room for an “eMuscle” lineup. It is working on a Charger to introduce in late 2024 which will have both hybrid gasoline and fully electric powertrains. I suspect the gasoline Chargers will share the new Ram truck’s turbocharged I6 which makes up to 520 horsepower. But Dodge’s true Hellcat replacements will be electric.

As part of its electric vehicle plan, Stellantis revealed that the new Charger will ride on the shared “STLA Large” chassis. The electric version of this chassis is AWD, with capacity for one engine at both ends of the vehicle. So far so good. Stellantis has also revealed that it has three levels of electric motors. The smallest makes up to 93 horsepower. The largest tops out at 440 horsepower.

Why 440 horsepower? I suspect Dodge requested Stellantis build that motor. Not only is 440 an important number to Dodge muscle cars (both a historic engine size and trim level), but so is 880. The “Custom 880” was a full-size Dodge built from 1962-65. And Dodge is leaning on old names to make its EV transition seem more legit. It’s first prototype is the Dodge Charger Daytona for goodness-sake.

What’s more, 880 puts the new Banshee trim of Dodge’s EVs comfortably ahead of the 808-horsepower “Redeye” tune of the Hellcat V8. Obviously, with maximum torque at zero rpm and AWD, a humble 600 horsepower EV would be able to put a lot more power down on a drag strip than a Hellcat. But hey, a higher number still makes for good marketing.

I thought I had it all figured out. But hey, you know what they say about assuming, and making a donkey out of you and me both.

In a 2023 Top Gear interview, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato let slip that the Quadrifoglio trim of the Giulia EV would make 1,000 horsepower. Here’s the kicker: the Giulia is the Charger’s Stellantis cousin and they’ll be sharing that “STLA Large” platform. What the hey?

I see several possibilities. I suppose Stellantis could be planning to make a more powerful Alfa Romeo Giulia than anything Dodge builds. But I can’t believe that’s true. Our second option is that Imparato was making up numbers. Perhaps he saw the Tesla Model S Plaid makes 1,020 horsepower and hopes this claim will push Stellantis to one-up it. But if you read the whole interview, it seems he has a plan and knows it well.

That leaves us with a third possibility: All the top-trim STLA Large EVs will have 1,000 horsepower and Imparato just inadvertently revealed the max horsepower number Dodge has been so tight-lipped about.

How will Stellantis pull this off? I suppose they could be working on a much more powerful electric motor. But Imparato said something else interesting: the mid-trim Giulia will make 800 horsepower. My money is on a tri-motor chassis that’s been kept under tight wraps. The two-motor Charger and Giulia EVs will make 800 and the Banshee/Quadrifoglio trim will take a page out of the Model S Plaid’s book and have two motors at the back. And this makes some sense: if Dodge is going electric, it will want to show up even Tesla.

Shouldn’t three 440-horsepower motors make a bit more than 1,000 horsepower? That depends on how much electricity it can put out to three motors simultaneously. It may truly top out at 1,000 ponies. Alternatively, Stellantis may just under rate this thing, having rightfully decided that 1,000 horses is plenty.

So there you have it: a pretty good chance the Dodge Charger Daytona EV claims 1,000 horsepower. But until Dodge announces it for sure, I’ll be the last to assume anything.