I want to touch on something I said in my comment about about a 4-cylinder hybrid GT trim level entry level model for the next Generation Dodge Charger. With most of us being partial to the sound of a V8 engine, there is still a potential way of getting that awesome sound without having 8-cylinders. Very different from what most owners of V6 cars that try to make their cars sound as close to a V8 as possible, there is a configuration of an inline-4 cylinder engine that actually produces that same type of sound that a V8 does. Although very rarely used in the automotive industry (although Fiat did use this type of I-4 in Brazil back in the 70's in the Fiat 147), the crossplane-crank variant of an inline-4 has a nearly identical sound to that of a pushrod V8 engine and they're known for being torquey. Currently used in motorcycles such as the Yamaha YZF-R1, they actually do sound pretty good. Dodge is not above making a fast 4-cylinder turbo car. It's last SRT-4 vehicle was a 285hp Dodge Caliber SRT4 with a 2.4L turbocharger 4-cylinder that while unpopular, was still a very powerful entry in the American 4-cylinder sport compact scene and really the only one to outdo the SRT4 Caliber was Ford with the 2.3L Turbo Focus RS. Now, the thought for me is this, take a 2.4L Turbocharged inline-4 cylinder engine, give it a cross-plane crankshaft, engineer the cylinder head-manifold to allow for separate exhaust pulses (meaning having separate tubing inside of the exhaust port that leads to the turbo) and have it mated to the hybrid ZF 8-speed Gen-4 transmission, give it all wheel drive and then you can have a powertrain that satisfies the people who can't get enough of that sound while still being emissions friendly with a small engine. With the engine making just under 300hp, that gives enough room for the electrified ZF Gen-4 to bridge the gap to make a 395hp with anywhere between 430-450lb-ft of torque which gives it a comfortable gap between it and the 420hp/468tq 3.0L Hurricane standard output powertrain, or Dodge can do what Ford did and have the smaller engine out torque some of it's larger counterparts and bring that torque number to 480hp, which is slightly more than what the 2.0L 4Xe has currently and would make sense with the size of the engine and configuration of the hybrid powertrain. Having this as a 2-door and 4-door coupe puts it in direct competition with the Ford Mustang but offering alot more than the Mustang by having AWD, more passenger and cargo space, more power and more factory backed options and a killer sound. Marketing this car with a laundry list of Direct connection upgrades like what the SRT4 Neon and SRT4 Caliber has such as the incredible stage kits and ACR packages, some GLH stuff, styling/Aero upgrades, etc. and now there's an entry level car that offers the best of all worlds because it brings customization back to the market and it allows Stellantis to increase profitability across the board. No borrowing emissions credits from Tesla, no EPA fines, customer interests, after-sale purchases, factory support, etc. It brings everything right to FCA's doorstep. It would be an absolute giant killer and would pay homage to the SRT4 days in a major way.
