If a new report is to be believed, we have been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok and flat-out deceived by Dodge. There are now rumors from inside the company that engineers are actively working on bringing the HEMI V8 back to the Charger by 2026, despite the fact they told me a while ago it wasn’t possible and they weren’t interested. Still, the twin-turbo I6-powered Charger Sixpack is scheduled to come first.
Production on the Sixpack is scheduled to start in May, and deliveries will begin this Summer, according to Mopar Insiders. While any internal-combustion-powered version of the Charger is welcome for its most loyal fans, real ones still want a V8 under its long hood. I mean, I get it. The new Charger Daytona is a good electric vehicle, but a V8 would probably take everything up a notch — even if performance suffers.
The outlet also reported that, regardless of the Charger, Hemi production is ramping back up for vehicles like the Ram 1500 and Dodge Durango. In a recent interview with The Drive, Dodge CEO Matt McAlear had this to say:
“If you look back across the last generation, you go through the engines between the Charger and the Challenger and the Magnum. We started out with a 3.5L V6, 6.1L V8, then a 3.6L V6, 5.7L V8, 6.4L, 6.2L, 6.2L Demon, 6.2L Redeye, 6.2L Demon 170. Do you know how many different powertrains, RWD and AWD, we had on those engines? This is a multi-energy platform that can accommodate all of that. This is just the first year, and you’ve got four powertrains that outperform every one that they’re replacing, with standard AWD? We’re just getting started. We’re going to have a lot of fun.”
“We haven’t disclosed that,” McAlear said, when asked directly about a V8’s return. “But one of the things that’s encouraging is that with the change in leadership, you know, V8s are no longer a bad word around the company. But with anything, we still have to be compliant.”
A different Charger
It certainly sounds like Dodge is no stranger to adding powertrain options as vehicles get older. Now, it’s sort of open season as car companies deal with a slower-than-expected EV adoption rate and the fact the U.S. President wants to do away with most of the environmental regulations that called time on those massive V8s in the first place.
From a financial standpoint, I certainly get why Dodge would cram a Hemi V8 under the hood of the Charger, even if it violates the next-generation muscle car ethos it was trying to convey. The simple fact is Charger Daytonas aren’t selling. They’re piling up on dealer lots and getting huge discounts just to get them out the door.
When I asked Dodge engineers about putting a V8 under the hood of a Charger, I was reassured multiple times that it simply wouldn’t fit on Stellantis’ STLA Large architecture. I suppose where there’s a will there’s a way, if this report from Mopar Insiders is to be believed.
In an email statement to Jalopnik, a Dodge spokesperson said “multi-energy options” were always a part of the Charger product plan, but had nothing further to say about potential additions to the lineup beyond the electric Daytona and internal-combustion Sixpack.
