A sad truth is beginning to come to light and it's all becoming so clear. If nostalgia doesn't Kill Mopar, the EPA will. This battle is either going to end with the death of the muscle cars or the end of the brand or both. It doesn't seem like Stellantis is interesting in offering any more V8s. While ICE engines may continue on, What we currently have from Mopar will be the last of this dying American breed of engines. While I personally love the design of the next-gen Charger and the potential that it may bring with both Hurricane and EV powertrains, it may truly be time for the brand to retire it's muscle car names and stylings and go with something that would be more appropriate for the changing times. Personally, I love SRT from the SRT4 all the way up to SRT10 and everything in between but the writing is on the wall. Dodge is the only company out there offering 6+ liter V8s and it's killing them. The Camaro just bowed out and this is the Mustang's last V8 ever. It's time to realize that the days of the big cubic inch pushrod V8 is DEAD!!!!! and honestly and sadly, maybe it is time for the Charger and Challenger to follow suit. I love this brand and the cars they make. But maybe it is time to let the past die and this is coming from a Charger owner. I've had two of them and I loved both of them and personally, I want the brand to come out with a next-gen retro Charger inspired 4-door performance machine wth a coke bottle shape, scalloped doors, and all of the awesomeness that a Charger has with the 2.0L Hybrids and 3.0L Hurricane powertrains. Why? because I realize that a tuned twin turbo SRT-6 Charger would be an amazing car! All-wheel drive on a rear-biased drivetrain, a lighter much more balanced powertrain, a tuned exhaust system and everything else that the Hurricane powertrain has to offer will stomp all over it's V8 predecessors and has the potential to sound really good. Will it sound like a V8, No! Could it sound like an RB26 or a 2JZ-GTE? More than likely. Would I prefer to have something with a decent amount of street-usable power that could save me money on gas? ABSOLUTELY!!!!!! If Hurricanes and Hybrids will keep the brand alive and allow Mopar performance to continue into the future then it works for me! I'm not 100% sold on EVs and I think that Hybrids are a much better way to go especially if the Stellantis brand can tune these hybrids to make 800+hp on the high end of things. I'd say within the next 5-10 years, there won't be any V8 powered cars in the market at all. Not Ford, not GM, not Dodge, or anyone. Ford is literally going to drop the 5.0L and replace it with the 3.5L Ecoboost and the 3.0L Ecoboost with hybrid powertrains. Why? Because the 3.0L hybrid already makes 494hp/630tq in an SUV. The 3.5L makes 450hp/500tq in the raptor and over 600hp in the GT Supercar and it would better round out the sports car image the mustang has. If GM survives Barra (which will be a miracle in itself) their V8s aren't going to last much longer either. You're going to see them move to turbo-6 inline engines and hybrids as well. We may also see trucks shrink back down to normal size as well.
