Dodge will go EV starting in 2024, but before its signature rip-sorting muscle cars pass the checkered flag there will be a final commemorative build of 2023 Dodge Challengers and Dodge Charger muscle cars—including seven new limited-edition buzz models that pay homage to such storied names as Swinger, Coronet, Super Bee, and a grand finale expected to be an E85-fueled Demon.
The throaty sendoff of Dodge's gas-powered muscle cars is integral to the brand's three-part plan on the road to full electrification. The brand, one of 14 under the Stellantis umbrella, has a small lineup so it needs to get the most out of its current nameplates. Equally important is the addition of the compact Dodge Hornet crossover, the sister to the 2023 Alfa Romeo Tonale SUV that goes on sale in early 2023 and will be available as a plug-in hybrid. The Dodge Hornet will be the brand's first electrified vehicle, serving as a transition to the first all-electric muscle car promised in 2024.
Dodge has said the current-generation Dodge Challenger and the smaller Dodge Charger muscle cars with internal combustion engines are going away, along with the aging platforms they ride on. The last of these cars, that have defined the brand, will roll off the line at the plant in Brampton, Ontario, in December 2023. The Canadian plant will be retooled to make a new, unspecified, product in 2024—perhaps the electric Dodge.
After 20 years and 3 million sold, the Challenger and Charger will not exit quietly. Dodge's "Never Lift" business plan has new models and products bowing every four months over the course of two years.
Flood of Final Dodge Challengers and Chargers
In October, Dodge will detail its plan to flood the market with Challengers and Chargers, listing every vehicle, by trim, to be built in 2023, the final year of production, and which dealer each model is allocated to. Customers can go to DodgeGarage.com to see the full-year allocation, find what is available and where, in the countdown to zero inventory. Full transparency for customers, says Dodge brand CEO Tim Kuniskis.
Every Challenger and Charger made in 2023 will have a commemorative "Last Call" underhood plaque to celebrate the final year of its production in Brampton. Heritage colors such as Plum Crazy purple [seen at top], Sublime green, and B5 Blue [below] make a comeback as well as Destroyer Grey [shown above]. And the SRT Jailbreak models expand to include 717-hp Charger and Challenger SRT Hellcats allowing customers to customize their order.
Buzz Models Pay Tribute to Past Dodge Performance Cars
To make the end run special, Dodge will also build seven "buzz" vehicles. They ride on the current platform and use existing powertrains but will be decked out with appearance packages that pay homage to great Dodge performance cars from the past.
Dodge will build a set number of each buzz model [think hundreds or thousands, depending on the model] and ship them to dealers to be sold off the lot—these cars cannot be ordered. They are in addition to each dealer's final-year allocation.
The first six limited-run cars pay homage to past models and some of them are Hellcats. "Every single one of them is a tribute to a car that came before it," Kuniskis says. It does not mean the commemorative special edition has more power but it harkens back to a past model.
The final model is the icing on the cake—Kuniskis calls it his personal moonshot and says it will be different from the rest. We have to wait for SEMA in November for details, but we expect the CEO's career-defining car is a new and more powerful take on the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, exceeding the original's 840 horsepower with the help of E85 fuel.
Dodge Muscle Car Sneaker Dump
Dodge likes to tease, and the buzz model rollout does exactly that. Here is how it will go down:
August 24: Details will be released on the first buzz model that will be shipped to dealers like a sneaker drop. To tease us, Dodge released a picture of a salt and pepper shaker—the operative word here being "shaker" as in Widebody Challenger Scat Pack Shaker. Shaker packages feature a special hood design to feed cold air directly to the engine and because it is mounted to the engine, the air intake that sticks up through a hole in the hood can be seen shaking with the vibrating engine.
August 31: This is the date we learn about the second model. The clue: a high-octane honeypot. We'll be looking for a limited-run return of the Super Bee, or "angry bee" as the logo was reinterpreted on the 2019 Dodge Challenger R/T Scat Pack. The original Dodge Super Bee dates back to the '60s, part of the original "hive" of models known as the Scat Pack and wearing a variation of the original Super Bee logo. To be part of the Scat Pack, a performance car had to run the quarter mile in under 15 seconds.
September 7: The tire swing clue suggests a nod to the Dart Swinger that dates back to the '60s, a two-door hardtop coupe that was an affordable muscle car in its day.
September 14: The crown dripping with oil clue can only mean one thing: a reference to the Dodge Coronet that was sold in many forms over many generations, including the fifth-gen, two-door muscle car introduced in 1965. Dodge modified 101 of them for NHRA drag racing.
September 21: The ghost clue points to the Black Ghost: a rare and valuable 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T SE with a 426 Hemi that was a street racing legend in Detroit, dark and brooding, winning races and disappearing into the night.
SEMA: At the November show Dodge will provide details of the final car, the one Kuniskis describes as history-making, and the one that will make Brampton proud. The clue: a bottle of moonshine. Our take: an alcohol-fueled [E85] Dodge Challenger SRT Demon that will beat the 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon that made 840 hp and required high-octane racing fuel. This final shot won't need the special fuel to move your eyeballs to the side of your face when the full force of the supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi launches.