To preface, I'm not an EV person, but I am a Dodge person. First thing first, this car is beautiful both in two door and four door. The car is priced a bit high so that's really the biggest problem with it along with the fact that the first version has been plagued with issues. I've mentioned before that I feel Stellantis would have done better to have this as a Chrysler but this car is here and honestly, I've seen a few on the road already and I have to say it looks amazing. Here's my outlook on this, The Daytona has potential as an amazing EV performance vehicle. No, at the moment it does not have the Performance of a Tesla, but it has alot more character and it truly stands out in the EV market as something different. No this car isn't for everyone and that's perfectly fine because what this car has done is open up a new spot in the Market for the potential of fun EV cars and EV cars that people will want to customize and will be able to customize in many different ways. I feel like once this car gets the new lighter-weight semi-solid state batteries and the 3-speed gearbox that Stellantis was talking about, the Daytona will be the best performance EV on the market. The new battery technology will give the car longer range and better charging, even on the 400V system. Personally, I'm hoping that the 2026 Daytona Scat Pack will move to an 800V system with the new solid state battery system which will make the car even more efficient and improve performance even more. I've watched a few videos on the current version of the Scat Pack including the race with the Mach and and a few clips of the One Lap of America, which I've read more than watched, trying to understand this car a bit more and see it's strengths and weaknesses. The car lays down power beautifully but has issues when it comes to stopping from high speeds as shown in the video where it races the Mach E GT. Something that would be mitigated by a three-speed gearbox that would actually help reduce power and assist with "engine" braking so to speak. The solid state batteries would also assist with this as they would reduce the amount of weight that the brakes are trying to slow down. The data recorded in one lap of America shows the car as a capable, everyday performance car that can handle itself on the track right from the factory so to me, that's a win for this car. The information obtained during this also makes the case for the 800V system when the author spoke of charging and having to adjust driving techniques to provide a balance between performance, power consumption and thermal management for the battery systems. 800v systems do a better job with this than a 400v system so to me, the car would benefit from the 800v system just because of what it is. I think another big thing this car is going to see is the available aftermarket upgrades. Because it shares so much with the ICE car, whatever aero upgrades the ICE version gets will fit on the the EV Version, minus the front fascia and hood. Same with alot of the suspension upgrades and any brake upgrades the car will receive. I'm looking beyond just the factory graphics that Mopar is offering. I feel like companies that do alot of styling upgrades for the current Mopar vehicles will be doing upgrades for this one as well so spoilers, diffusers, rockers, splitters, fascias, front lips, hoods, fenders, wheels, steering wheels, LED horn cover upgrades, shift knobs, headlights, taillights, etc. will all be available from the aftermarket soon enough. Not to mention lowering kits, sway bar and bushing upgrades, brake upgrades (even if it's just optional caliper colors) or swap kits to upgrade non-brembo cars to brembo spec brakes and even upgrades to the fratzonic system. Borla already has an EV active sound system so it's really not a far-fetched thing to think that they'll be offering something to put their mark on this new entry. Something deeper and louder than what is on there already and more organic feeling than the factory system. As I said, I'm not an EV person, but I can admit I do like this car and I think this car has alot of potential. If the car as it stands can achieve the straight line performance of a redeye, what would it be able to achieve with less weight and a better power delivery system? And if the car does all of that at this level, could the SRT Banshee eclipse the Demon 170 with all-wheel drive performance and more aggressive styling than what the Scat Pack has now? Could Banshee also be a track tuned force like the dearly departed ZL1-1LE Camaro? Could a 496hp Daytona R/T with less weight and a track package be a formidable opponent to the Dark Horse Mustang with customizations that would make it just as loud and aggressive looking? Again, the car has alot of potential. While most other EVs, even the performance oriented ones are, in ways, just commuters, The Charger and the Wagoneer S both present the question of What can the Mopar Brands do with EV performance? The Wagoneer S is touted to have the acceleration characteristics of a Trackhawk, which is a fine statement in and of itself but it doesn't offer the excitement of a Trackhawk. What would the Wagoneer S be like with a Performance package that offers, the 800v system, the full 670hp, a three-speed gearbox, a ground-hugging track pack suspension, 325-series 22" tires at all four corners with 22" performance wheels bolted to huge Brembo brakes with upgraded styling inside and out. Could the new Jeep Recon rival the Land Rover Defender with a 670hp dual-motor system with big Brembo brakes, a dynamic suspension setup and several other all-terrain enhancements and a fratzonic system of it's own? What about an STLA Large mid-size electric pickup truck with a 670hp street performance model and a 600hp off-road performance model? Obviously being an EV and an STLA Large platform vehicle, this wouldn't be used for towing heavy loads so an EV powertrain would make sense here. I'm just looking at the potential of what could be.
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