It’s part of Stellantis’ overall shift from its American performance vehicle division, the Dodge, to electric vehicles. The brand’s current gas-powered muscle cars, the Charger and Challenger, will end production next year. The muscle car concept called the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT It is similar to the model that will go on sale in 2024, according to executives. It will be available as a plug-in he hybrid and will join a new small SUV called the Hornet that will be launched later this year.
The Charger Daytona has a noisy exhaust pipe and a transmission that shifts gears. Of course, electric cars don’t need that, but Dodge assumes its target customers aren’t looking for exactly what they need. Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis said these customers are looking for excitement.
“We think we’re going to bring to market a car that customers have never seen before,” he said. “But they’re definitely going to hear this coming.”
The Charger Daytona makes a low, loud ramming sound that sounds like high-voltage electrical equipment. The sound is not produced by a speaker like most electric car sounds, but by air pulses passing through pipes with baffles and chambers inside.
The air pulse, like the air pulse produced by an internal combustion engine, varies in speed and force depending on the speed of the car and the amount of depression of the accelerator. According to Dodge, the sound it produces can be up to 126 decibels. This is the level at which your ears begin to hurt, according to the National Hearing Protection Association, and well above the level at which sustained exposure can cause hearing loss.
Unlike most electric vehicles, the Charger Daytona has a one or more speed transmission. Most electric vehicles only have one speed transmission. This is because, unlike petrol engines, electric motors provide maximum tractive power even at very low speeds and continue to deliver that power at very high rotational speeds. In contrast, gas engines have a relatively narrow range of operating speeds in which they can deliver full power, requiring transmissions with various gears to keep the engine within its “power band” when the car moves slowly and quickly. is.
However, Dodge designers and engineers felt that electric vehicle drivers might miss the sound and feel of a transmission shift, so while not really necessary, the Charger Daytona has a multi-speed transmission. is installed. Kuniskis did not disclose the number of gears in the transmission. His petrol-powered 717-horsepower Dodge Challenger Hellcat has an eight-speed transmission. Classic Dodge Charger muscle cars, like those EV modeled, had 3 or 4 speed transmissions.
Dodge has yet to announce how much power the all-wheel-drive electric motor will produce, but promises it will be faster than the Dodge Challenger Hellcat “in all key performance measures.” According to Car and Driver, the Hellcat, a supercharged, petrol-powered, rear-wheel drive vehicle, can go from stop to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds.
The elongated rectangular nose and dark Charger Daytona EV resembles the late 1968 Charger. With its dark paint color, it looks a lot like the Dodge Charger used in the famous chase scene in the movie Bullitt. This scene features Steve McQueen’s Ford chasing and being chased by his Mustang.
The front of the Charger Daytona EV has hidden wings that run just above the ‘grill’. Wings allow air to pass underneath them, improving the car’s aerodynamic efficiency. Air vents cut into the front and rear sides of the vehicle also help improve the aerodynamics of the almost square body.
Dodge has not disclosed pricing when the production version of the car goes on sale.
Source: www.cnn.com
