Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept Previews Brand’s Electrified Future
The future of electrified muscle: Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept
· Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept drives like a Dodge, looks like a Dodge and feels like Dodge – and just happens to be a battery electric vehicle (BEV)
· Three game-changing, patent-pending features make up the core of the Charger Daytona SRT Concept:
o R-Wing: Front aerodynamic wing retains Dodge profile while achieving aerodynamic efficiencies
o Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust: Industry-first exhaust system for an electric vehicle delivers a performance sound that rivals the SRT Hellcat
o eRupt: Multi-speed transmission with an electro-mechanical shifting experience that’s pure Dodge
· Charger Daytona SRT Concept powered by new 800V Banshee propulsion system
· Concept design revolutionizes the look of a BEV while offering subtle nods to Dodge brand’s muscle car legacy
· Illuminated Fratzog badges on front grille and taillamp symbolize electrified future of Dodge while also signifying the brand’s commitment to its performance heritage
· Vertical exterior grille details add texture while evoking style of iconic 1968 Dodge Charger
· Concept’s interior is modern, lightweight and provides a signature Dodge driver-centric cockpit
· Interior parametric texture, also inspired by 1968 Charger grille detail, unites interior elements while providing connection to the exterior
· Centre console includes a unique jet-fighter-inspired cap that flips up to allow engagement of the start button and a pistol-grip shifter design inspired by the past but with a modern execution
· Panoramic glass roof gives an open-air feel, helping to include rear passengers in the vehicle experience
· Rear hatch and fold-flat rear seats provide unmatched storage capacity for a muscle car
· Cockpit immerses the driver’s sensory experience through performance sounds, lighting features and vehicle displays
· With a touch of a steering wheel button the driver can engage Auto, Sport, Track and Drag modes, instantly changing the driving dynamics, display graphics, sound and interior lighting, enhancing the driver experience
· For complete information on Dodge and the brand’s Never Lift plan, which provides a 24-month road map to Dodge’s performance future, visit Dodge.ca and DodgeGarage.com
August 17, 2022, Windsor, Ontario – Dodge is taking a giant step forward on the performance brand’s road to an electrified future, revealing the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT, a perception-shattering concept that reimagines what a battery electric vehicle (BEV) can be. The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept offers a glimpse at the brand’s electric future through a vehicle that drives like a Dodge, looks like a Dodge and sounds like Dodge.
The two-door Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept was unveiled today at M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan, during the third day of the three-day Dodge Speed Week event series, which featured announcements and reveals of Dodge performance products.
The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept muscles aside the boring BEV paradigm and replaces it with an electrified vehicle unlike any on the road today. A new propulsion system drives the Charger Daytona SRT Concept with performance that exceeds the Dodge brand’s famed SRT Hellcat engine, accompanied by an industry-first BEV exhaust sound.
The concept’s modern exterior styling incorporates subtle Dodge heritage cues while also exceeding aerodynamic targets. Interior design elements connect to create a driver-centric, immersive experience through sounds, displays and lighting features that change inside and out at the push of a button.
Core to the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept are three game-changing, patent-pending features that will rewrite the rules of the BEV segment:
- R-Wing: A unique aerodynamic pass-through design feature that connects the concept with its iconic Dodge Daytona namesake
- Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust: Industry-first BEV exhaust, can reach 126 dB, making it as loud as a Hellcat-powered Dodge
- eRupt: Multi-speed transmission with an electro-mechanical shifting experience that’s pure Dodge
“The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept exists because performance made us do it,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge Brand Chief Executive Officer – Stellantis. “Dodge is about muscle, attitude and performance, and the brand carries that chip on its shoulder and into the BEV segment through a concept loaded with patents, innovations, and performance features that embody the electrified muscle of tomorrow. The Charger Daytona SRT Concept can do more than run the car show circuit; it can run a blazing quarter-mile. And when it comes to product cycles, it outruns Darwin. Charger Daytona does more than define where Dodge is headed, it will redefine American muscle in the process.
“One day ago, the brand’s first-ever electrified performance vehicle was unveiled, the all-new 2023 Dodge Hornet. Today, we revealed a peek at our eMuscle future with the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept. When we said it was going to be an electric summer for Dodge, we meant it.”
Brotherhood, Meet Banshee
Dodge has built a unique reputation as America’s muscle car brand. In the race to be faster, quicker and more powerful, Dodge is turning the page to a new chapter. The brand’s first-ever electric car isn’t called the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept by coincidence — like the famed Charger Daytona model that was the first vehicle to break 322 km/h (200 mph) on a NASCAR track in 1970, the Charger Daytona SRT Concept packs a performance punch.
It does so courtesy of a new propulsion system that joins high-horsepower household names such as HEMI®, Hellcat and Redeye. There’s a new pinnacle of performance in the Brotherhood of Muscle: Banshee.
The 800V Banshee propulsion system powers the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept car and screams performance, making Dodge’s first electric vehicle faster than a Hellcat in all key performance measures. The standard all-wheel drive system is key to pushing beyond Hellcat performance while also improving all-weather capability.
eRupt Transmission
Unlike typical BEVs, the Dodge brand’s eRupt multi-speed transmission with electro-mechanical shifting delivers distinctive shift points, throwing shoulders into seatbacks in true Dodge style. The Charger Daytona SRT Concept also boasts a PowerShot push-to-pass feature. Activated by the push of a button on the steering wheel, PowerShot delivers an adrenaline jolt of increased horsepower for a quick burst of acceleration.
Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust
While most BEVs embrace their virtually silent electric motors, that just wouldn’t do for Dodge. The Charger Daytona SRT Concept voices a 126 dB roar that equals the SRT Hellcat, generated through a new, patent-pending Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust system. Yes, Dodge added an exhaust to an electric vehicle.
The industry-first Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust pushes its one-of-a-kind performance sound through an amplifier and tuning chamber located at the rear of the vehicle. The Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust represents the next generation of tactile, bone-shaking, muscle attitude, creating a visceral “Dark Matter” sound profile experience in concert with the eRupt transmission.
Dodge Design, First and Foremost
The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept features inspired design that takes on the challenge of revolutionizing the look of a BEV while offering subtle nods to the brand’s muscle car past.
That design principle begins to unfold up front, where the Charger Daytona SRT Concept’s patent-pending R-Wing redefines the typical Dodge front end, maintaining the characteristically blunt Dodge profile while developing a more aerodynamic vehicle.
The R-Wing, an homage to the original Charger Daytona design and to a key figure behind development of the original vehicle, allows air to flow through the front opening, enhancing downforce. Incorporated into this functional performance hood, the front R-Wing holds true to the brand’s dramatic exterior themes while delivering an aerodynamically improved pass-through design.
Carbon-fibre intakes tucked into both sides of the front and rear lower fascias provide an air curtain to assist in aerodynamic performance.
The Charger Daytona SRT Concept combines modern looks with a long, wide and confident road presence. The front grille stands out with cross-car illuminated lighting centred by a white illuminated Fratzog badge, a symbol teased last year by the Dodge brand. The three-pointed Fratzog badge, originally featured on Dodge muscle cars from 1962 through 1976, was previously used without any meaning or context — until now. The return of the Fratzog logo represents the electrified future of Dodge and signifies the brand’s unwavering commitment to its performance heritage, but with new technology capable of pushing limits well beyond the cars of today.
Simple, vertical details on the front grille add texture while calling back to the brand’s heritage, specifically the iconic 1968 Dodge Charger. The concept distills performance to its simplest form, enhanced by a typically playful Dodge exterior colour name, Greys of Thunder, that gives a high-gloss graphite feel with deep textures. The concept’s “waterline” tracks around the sides and gives a planted look while emphasizing the upper portion, keeping the visual weight up high. Subtle, muscular shaping of the wheel fenders accent the body styling.
The vehicle avoids excess decoration — headlights almost disappear, hidden underneath the R-Wing and integrated seamlessly into the aerodynamic surface providing just the functional elements needed for forward lighting. Both the front and rear lighting feature a full width design centred by a 3D illuminated Fratzog badge. The exterior lighting elements are truly unique – even in the dark, you’ll know the Charger Daytona SRT Concept’s silhouette. Flush door handles continue the minimalist design. Brushed aluminum “screaming” Banshee fender badges announce the new propulsion system that drives the concept.
Painted-pocket 21-inch wheels with diamond-cut faces continue the aerodynamic efficiencies with a turbine-like design, and a red Fratzog logo embellishes the wheel centre locks. Grey six-piston brakes provide the stopping power.
A new hatchback design is highly functional, giving the concept a dual personality: a beast at the track that can still meet every day needs. The design, along with rear seats that fold flat, offer unexpected utility and storage capacity from a muscle car.
Connected, Driver-centric Interior
The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept’s interior is modern, lightweight and athletic, providing a driver-centric cockpit with all essentials cohesively packaged.
The 12.3-inch centre screen, the largest featured in a Dodge vehicle, angles nearly ten degrees towards the driver, and the 16-inch instrument cluster is curved, creating a cocooned, driver-focused feel. An 8-in.x 3-in. Heads-up display (HUD) puts additional vehicle information where the driver needs it. The slim, instrument panel (IP) and mid-bolster in Ultraviolet colour with blue and silver accent stitching feature a “waterline” that extends cross car. The upper IP is a step higher, an elevation change that creates a sculptural surface floating above the cluster. The Ultraviolet colour also touches multiple interior surfaces such as the console, doors and seats, creating a halo that works with the Attitude Adjustment Lighting TM to enhance shadows and highlights.
A parametric texture unites the interior and provides a connection to the exterior by continuing the inspiration of the 1968 Charger grille detail on the inside. The parametric pattern adds fluidity and shine, spanning from the IP to door appliques, beneath the console and continuing to the rear armrests and rear console. The dynamic interior texture has a three-dimensional quality that bounces light and is reactive to the environment, with lines that radiate as they move rearward. Ambient Attitude Adjustment Lighting illuminates the texture from below, playing with depth and dimension.
Circuit-like graphics originate on the carbon fibre floor and are strategically placed to surround occupants, flowing under the seats, moving to the centre console and IP, and coming back to the driver, a subtle detail that acts as a circuit board, connecting one to another. A unique lightning bolt shape on the accelerator pedal hints at the concept’s electrified powertrain. Carbon fibre door sills feature illuminated white Daytona lettering, with lighted Daytona lettering also found at the top right of the mid-bezel.
Doors and centre console follow the sculptural design theme, including only the needed elements. A pass-through area under the console creates a much lighter feel, and clever centre console touches include a jet-fighter inspired cap that flips up when engaging the start button. The unique pistol-grip shifter is inspired by the past but with a modern execution, functioning as a mechanical precision piece that delivers an effortless shift experience when squeezing the pistol grip’s trigger.
A new steering wheel design offers a thinner feel, with a flat top and bottom. The centre spoke of the steering wheel is not connected to the rim, giving the steering wheel a floating feel. Paddle shifters are mounted on the steering wheel, with the PowerShot button on the right and drive mode controls on the left. Like the doors, the steering wheel features capacitive touch controls. An illuminated red SRT logo lights up the steering wheel centre.
Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept seats are lightweight, sporty and slim in design, with an insert that features abstract, perforated pattern of the Fratzog logo. The unique pattern fades out as it travels down the seat and reappears as it flows toward the centre of the seatbacks. The upper seatbacks feature openings and seat bolsters that provide an airy, race-oriented feel, while holding occupants.
The panoramic glass roof gives an open-air feel to the Charger Daytona SRT Concept, helping to include rear passengers in the vehicle experience. The parametric interior texture extends to the headliner surrounding and accentuating the glass area. The carbon fibre “tub” floor and hatch are race-inspired lightweight features, and the large cargo area along with fold-flat rear seats provide more storage space than any previous Dodge muscle car.
Immersive, Electrified User Experience
The Charger Daytona SRT Concept’s cockpit experience immerses the driver’s sensory experience through performance sounds, lighting features, and vehicle displays.
A simple one-button press on the steering wheel lets the driver pick from Auto, Sport, Track and Drag modes, instantly changing the driving dynamics, instrument cluster information, HUD content, performance sound and interior lighting features of the vehicle.
Dodge//SRT
For more than 100 years, the Dodge brand has carried on the spirit of brothers John and Horace Dodge. Their influence continues today as Dodge shifts into high gear with a lineup that delivers unrivaled performance in each of the segments where they compete.
Dodge drives forward as a pure performance brand, offering SRT Hellcat versions of the Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger and Dodge Durango, as well as an R/T plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) version of the all-new 2023 Dodge Hornet, representing the brand’s first-ever electrified performance vehicle. Dodge delivers the drag-strip dominating 807-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock; the 797-horsepower Dodge Charger SRT Redeye, the most powerful and fastest mass-produced sedan in the world; and the 710-horsepower Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, the most powerful SUV ever; and best-in-class standard performance in the compact utility vehicle segment with the Dodge Hornet. Combined, these four muscle vehicles make Dodge the industry’s most powerful brand, offering more horsepower than any other North American brand across its entire lineup.
In 2022, the Dodge brand ranked No. 1 in the J.D. Power APEAL Study (mass market), making it the only domestic brand ever to do so three years in a row. In 2020, Dodge was named the “#1 Brand in Initial Quality,” making it the first domestic brand ever to rank No. 1 in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS).
Dodge is part of the portfolio of brands offered by leading global automaker and mobility provider Stellantis. For more information regarding Stellantis (NYSE: STLA), please visit www.stellantis.com.
Story & Image courtesy of Stellantis
