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2025 Dodge Charger SIX PACK H/O Coupe Ready To Take On Mustang

The muscle car wars are back on with the introduction of the next-generation Dodge Charger. While the Charger is moving past its HEMI® V8 lineup in favor of a new twin-turbocharged inline-six-cylinder engine, the new Charger two-door coupe looks to take on Ford’s new Mustang Dark Horse head-on in early 2025. While Ford has vowed that a V8 will be under the hood of its S650 Mustang for as long as possible, the boys at the blue oval upped their game for 2024 with the introduction of the Dark Horse – a 500 horsepower Coyote V8-powered performance machine with some … (read full article...)

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I can not see a way forward without new product that pushes the envelope. First it was the Avenger and then the Fiat 500 that brought gas engines back in a face saving effort by Stellantis to acknowledge that their 2030 plan is a bust. Arrogance and hubris might infect the corporate elite, but the result of their excess and foolishness is being inflicted on 400 plus engineers at headquarters in North America. What a shame. Time to eat crow and bring the stuff people want and will buy. Lots full of electric paper weights is all the proof these guys should need. Dodge needs gas powered performance compacts and a next generation Challenger. Get going Dodge.
It would have been cool to get the original Scat Pack back together with the Dart, the Charger and the Coronet. The Coronet could have been the Sedan while the Charger would have been the coupe and having a Dart as a Mustang destroyer. But then again, (personally) I don't see any real point in paying the Mustang any attention when the Pony cars honestly a dying breed. I think (just my opinion), if Dodge does this right with this upcoming Charger, they can really hurt the mustang's sales even with this car not being a direct competitor. Simply versatility alone wins over the Mustang being that the car is usable and it can be driven in all four seasons without issue. The real thing here is to make this car as customizable from the factory as possible. Direct connection, jailbreak, special packages, etc. all need to be available for this vehicle for EVERY TRIM LEVEL! Both the ICE coupe and sedan need to have Standard output and High Output options and there needs to be an entry level model with the 375hp 2.0L Hybrid powertrain setup with AWD and all of the performance bells and whistles available for it as well. We're already seeing that Dodge basically took the Cat-1 Hurricane and called it the S/0 for the six pack and the Cat-2 Hurricane 550hp and put that in as the Hurricane H/O which potentially means that the Cat-X Hurricane could come as an ICE-variant SRT powertrain which would really be interesting as that variant is slated for 1,000+ hp. Granted I don't think that Dodge is going to have it at that kind of power in street tune, but taking that powertrain and having it in an 850hp Street tune put that above the 840hp Demon and something like that with AWD would definitely make it one of the fastest Street Mopars on the planet. A Direct Connection package that could allow that motor to reach it's full 1,000+hp rating with a factory set of drag radials and wheel, a weight reduction package, a parachute and some other SRT Demon/CD170-style goodies would definitely push this car past the CD170 as the most powerful and fastest production car on the planet. Now add a hybrid electric transmission behind that and you really have something insane! While the full EV Chargers and Ram Trucks may have been a way for Stellantis to save itself momentarily with the EPA and all of that stuff, electrification (not full EV) could seriously be a game changer in the way of performance for Mopar with that new ZF hybrid 8-Speed. I've mentioned elsewhere before that this new transmission technology is essentially a power adder itself and used in conjunction with the Hurricane engines, Dodge, and all of Mopar could really see a huge jump in performance over the now-gone Hemi powertrains, even more so that what is already here. Jeep just introduced the Hurricane-500 4Xe in a Wrangler, which would be a naturally successor to the Wrangler-392. Throw that in a Grand Cherokee and a Gladiator and you've got a great powertrain setup right there. I believe the Ram RHO (Rebel High Output) will probably get the High Output Hurricane engine with 550hp so taking some variant of a high output 3.0L Hurricane and a hybrid ZF transmission and Ram could easily produce a 740hp TRX to stomp the new Raptor into the mud, sand or rocks, whichever it prefers. Same thing with a new Durango, Cherokee, Recon and a new STLA: Large pickup truck.
Honestly though, IF Dodge were to bring out a smaller performance vehicle, a Dart on the STLA Medium platform might not be the worst idea. While the Hornet is a bit awkward, the GLH idea was actually quite sound. Let's just say Stellantis were to revisit the 285hp 2.4L SRT engine from the Caliber SRT4 modernize it and tweak it to a solid 300hp and put a slightly beefed up 9-speed next to it and mount it transversely and then put a 180hp EDM at the rear of the car, Give it a power shot option, alot of SRT parts, Give it four doors, a hatch, some Domestic sport compact styling inside and out and bring us the reincarnation of the SRT4 Dart Demon and have that go after the Mustang, then I could see that being a bit more logical. A bunch of different drive modes and all of that kind of stuff would give the Dart alot of purpose and it would absolutely devour the Mustang in sales being that it's a useable car that can beat it on the drag strip, on the track and everywhere else while being way more fuel efficient than even the ecoboost mustang, holds four adults comfortably with actual seating for five, more cargo space, AWD capability and Retro 70's Dart Demon styling. Offer a GTS version with a smaller EDM pushing about 100hp, just to keep it more powerful than the Ecoboost, a non-hybrid 300hp conventional AWD GT base variant and if need be an all electric variant. Offer a bunch of Direct Connection and Jailbreak upgrades for that vehicle as well and the Mustang is history!
 
Clearly the future is to eliminate the Parasitic Torque converter, and Power up with the ZF Hybrid. EVEN if the battery is just big enough Hybrid operation. Now personally I think EVERYTHING should have a plug but just this middle step would be fantastic.

For Mid StLA should all have offer the motor in the rear to achieve the same effect. DODGE has done a horrible Job marketing this in the Hornet, while Tonale scoops up all the EU awards know one here really knows what the Hornet is, it is not a small Charger BTW.
 
Honestly though, IF Dodge were to bring out a smaller performance vehicle, a Dart on the STLA Medium platform might not be the worst idea. While the Hornet is a bit awkward, the GLH idea was actually quite sound. Let's just say Stellantis were to revisit the 285hp 2.4L SRT engine from the Caliber SRT4 modernize it and tweak it to a solid 300hp and put a slightly beefed up 9-speed next to it and mount it transversely and then put a 180hp EDM at the rear of the car ...
Toyota is already doing this. The latest Prius and Corolla Cross hybrid models have managed to recreate the Dodge Omni / Charger (024) formula for this decade. While the Cross only has a hair under 200hp the Prius Prime has 220hp with a larger electric motor in the system. The Prius Prime is faster than the 1980's Shelby built GHLS specialty models and gets 60 mpg when running the ICE. The Dart you propose would have to go against thoroughly revised 2025 Camry. First of all Toyota Camry is hybrid only starting this summer. There are rumors of a sportier trim with the RAV4 Prime's 300hp power train. BTW, none of the Prime models have turbos. Toyota's Hybrid Max system does use a Turbo four cylinder. It launches the two-ton Crown sedan into muscle car territory. Just imagine what it could do in a Camry. The small / midsize sedan market is not done shaking out, I don't think Dodge has the resources to play in this arena.

A modern interpretation of the Caliber SRT4 would be nice, but I don't think Stellantis wants or needs to take a step backwards and dredge up the WGE four cylinder. They're getting 340 hp out of the 2.0 GME-T used in some of the recent Jeep concepts. You need to watch the Autoline interview with Micky Bly, the head of Stellantis Global power train. There is a thread with a link to the video which Alex B has posted. The reason I bring this up is he states they are already at 300hp with the GME, and there is 2/3s of a Hurricane four cylinder in the pipeline.

The Pacifica PHEV model use a hybrid transmission designed to fit into any space where the 9-speed automatic transmission goes. I would use that along with an e-axle in the rear to built a modern Caliber SRT4.

DODGE has done a horrible Job marketing this in the Hornet, while Tonale scoops up all the EU awards know one here really knows what the Hornet is, it is not a small Charger BTW.
While Stellantis products dominate the monthly list of days supplies of unsold vehicles, I was surprised to see the BMW X2 on the list as well. I suspect BMW's problem is someone forgot to tell the marketing arm that the new X2 is now available in the USA, and to start an advertising campaign. What really shocks me is that the average transaction price for the BMW X2 is $1,000 USD less than that of the Dodge Hornet.
 
You don't need to do all that fancy stuff you leave the 2.Oliter in the front of a Hornet and you put the E-axle in the back and you have SRT4.

The issue is do Americans even want this type of car anymore, of is it just around bad marketing? I am averaging 75MPG, still can sprint to 0-60 under 6 seconds, Room for 4. Luxury interior and lovely exterior. That is what the Hornet should be sold on instead of a mini-Charger.
 
The reviews I have seen on the Hornet have all been positive, even from those journalists who lean towards the Asian brands. I think the pricing holds it back, but everyone else's plugin hybrid hatchbacks are just as expensive, if not more.
 
The reviews I have seen on the Hornet have all been positive, even from those journalists who lean towards the Asian brands. I think the pricing holds it back, but everyone else's plugin hybrid hatchbacks are just as expensive, if not more.
Hornet seems to come equipped the way the magazines always say an entry level chore appliances should. That leads to rave reviews but doesn't come cheap.
 
If the part of the money went to the Charger, Challenger and Durango marketing and advertisement, goes to the Hornet the average consumer could be aware of the advantages of the Hornet and we could see more of it on the streets.
The way I see it, the NA management doesn’t invest much marketing in what they need to sell to increase their corporate average, while they just keep producing vehicles that could help them.
 
If the part of the money went to the Charger, Challenger and Durango marketing and advertisement, goes to the Hornet the average consumer could be aware of the advantages of the Hornet and we could see more of it on the streets.
The way I see it, the NA management doesn’t invest much marketing in what they need to sell to increase their corporate average, while they just keep producing vehicles that could help them.
I see Ad all the time but I don't recall any talking about it as a Plug in Hybrid or bragging about how Efficient it is, just being followed by cars you can't buy anymore.

So it is ineffective either way.
 
IMO, what Dodge should do is replace the Hornet's badge-engineered import design with a follow on to the Dodge ZEO concept.

The STLA medium platform would be a good foundation for a more practical, production version of the ZEO concept. The Hornet's stance, size and proportions are a good target, because the ZEO concept's low slung dimensions and scissor doors are no longer fashionable.
 
IMO, what Dodge should do is replace the Hornet's badge-engineered import design with a follow on to the Dodge ZEO concept.

The STLA medium platform would be a good foundation for a more practical, production version of the ZEO concept. The Hornet's stance, size and proportions are a good target, because the ZEO concept's low slung dimensions and scissor doors are no longer fashionable.
Anyone that calls the Hornet Badge Engineered has not cross shopped them, if that was the Case I be driving a Hornet.

I would rather have FCA based vehicle than a PSA based vehicle until proven otherwise.
 
I see Ad all the time but I don't recall any talking about it as a Plug in Hybrid or bragging about how Efficient it is, just being followed by cars you can't buy anymore.

So it is ineffective either way.
Truly is awful marketing. They mention almost nothing about it, only the brotherhood and a new breed.
 
it kind of doesn't matter what's under the hood of this thing. at the end of the day, these Chargers are just uninspiring and uninspired boomermobiles.. overweight, overconfident, underdelivering..
the blandest of shapes. the flattest of lines. void of the character or personality that should really define a modern muscle car. it's just a blobby rectangle.

love em or hate em but Corvette, Mustang, and Camaro are still creating chassis which are visually awesome. they still look like [potentially] fire breathing monsters.
meanwhile, the Dodge silhouette is basically a melting popsicle. from virtually every angle.
 
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