2023 Dodge Charger release date

It’s official — the end is nigh for the gas-powered Dodge Charger and Challenger. For gearheads, news like this is the end of the world as we know it — we’d be lying if we said the thought of a world brimming with EVs didn't make us apprehensive.

Some even view electric propulsion as the enemy, despite that EVs are way, way more energy efficient, and have the ability to accelerate faster than ICE cars. But gearheads have a legitimate dread of the future because it isn’t just about missing the 126 decibels of a supercharged Hellcat V8 or the 17,000 rpm wail of a Ferrari F14 T2 V12. It's about the unthinkable retirement of the flat-sixes, the turbocharged Quattros, and the three-cylinder tiny friendly giantto the depths of history.

For this reason, Dodge is celebrating the end of an era with seven special editions in their Charger and Challenger lineup, including the Demon, Hellcat, Redeye, Scat Pack, Shaker, and Jailbreak models. Dodge teased the models during the first day of the August 15 to 17 Dodge Speed Week event, and here’s what we know about the “Last Call” Charger and Challenger.

The Future Of The Dodge Charger And Challenger After 2023

Via: Dodge

“We are celebrating the end of an era — and the start of a bright new, electrified future — by staying true to our brand,” said Tim Kuniskis, Dodge brand chief executive officer. Dodge has sold three million cars since the rebranded Charger launched in 2005. We saw it coming — the changing times heralded by the bizarre 24-month Never Lift advent calendar that should culminate in a new electric Dodge muscle car by 2024.

We knew the future is electric, but – forgive us – it rather feels a bit too soon. The ICE-powered Dodge Charger and Challenger as we know it will die after the 2023 model year. But the beloved muscle cars are leaving with a resounding bang in the form of “Last Call,” over-the-top special editions. The Dodge Challenger closed 2021 as America's number one muscle car, but only time will tell if fans and enthusiasts will be just as enthused with the electrified generations from 2024.

The first of the 2023 “Last Call” models is the Challenger Shakedown, which the automaker confirmed will get limited to just a thousand units, split equally between the regular and wide-body variants. It’s the production version of the Challenger Shakedown Concept we saw at the 2016 SEMA show.

To put Dodge’s future in perspective, the company plans to cease making the Hellcat-powered Charger and Challenger by 2024 to make way for the electric propulsion models. We’ve seen the Charger Daytona SRT electric muscle car concept unveiled on August 17 this year as a preview of what’s to come in 2024.

According to Kuniskis, the electric Charger will run on the parent company’s new STLA large EV platform, one of four that Stellantis is reportedly developing and will purportedly offer up to 500 miles of range. Besides the muscle cars, Dodge’s electric future extends to its other brands, led by the plug-in hybrid Hornet SUV.

What The Future Holds For The Charger And Challenger Without The Hellcat Engines

Via: Dodge

Dodge CEO Kuniskis commented, “At Dodge, we never lift, and the brand will mark the last of our iconic Charger and Challenger nameplates in their current form in the same way that got us here, with a passion both for our products and our enthusiasts that drive us to create as much uniqueness in the muscle car community and marketplace as possible.”

When Kuniskis talks about “the same way that got us here,” we like to think the same applies to how the Hemi V8 continued to help Dodge sell over 1.4 million Chargers between 2005 and 2022. Introduced in 2015 as the high-performance variant of the Hemi V8, enthusiasts are just getting used to the 717-hp supercharged and intercooled 6.2-liter Hemi V8 engine that comes standard on the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat models, the same engine the automaker describes as having “enough power to drive anyone mad.”

But then Dodge announced in the fall of 2021 that it was discontinuing the limited-edition Durango SRT Hellcat SUV, citing increasingly strict federal emissions rules. This was inevitably followed by the axing of the Hellcat engine altogether. Dodge is replacing the Hemi V8 with the 400-hp twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six GME T6 (Global Medium Engine Turbocharged 6) that made its global debut at the New York International Auto Show this year.

Gearheads might feel better knowing that Dodge will replace the Hellcat with an 800-hp hydrogen-combustion engine called “SRT Hydra.” Hydra is basically an evolution of the supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat V8 that will run on liquid hydrogen instead of regular gas.

The stark truth is that the future of Dodge’s muscle cars hangs on the success (or failure) of the new Hydra engine. “The Hydra name is symbolic for us. While legislation may have cut the head off of our ICE-powered muscle cars, two more will grow back in its place. Muscle cars won't go down that easily,” said Ivan Tobrakfri, Director of Muscle Car Development at Dodge.

Final Word On The 2023 Dodge Charger And Challenger

Via DodgeGarage 

So, Dodge has put together a fitting goodbye package in the form of seven no-holds-barred heritage 2023 models to celebrate the Charger and Challenger’s “long and legendary” history. We'll meet the seventh and final 2023 Dodge model at the Las Vegas SEMA Show, scheduled for November 1-4, 2022. It will be the very last of its kind, the final nail in the coffin of a gas-powered muscle car era.

While details are still under wraps (we’ll know more later this year), Dodge says, “each model will share a connection to an iconic Dodge model from the past, reaching back to the dawn of the muscle-car era in the 1960s and 1970s.”

The automaker confirmed the cars will feature heritage colors (such as the B5 Blue, Plum Crazy Purple, and Sublime Green along with the Destroyer Gray), an expansion of SRT Jailbreak models, and a commemorative “Last Call” under hood plaque for all 2023 Charger and Challenger vehicles. Dodge also says it will adopt a more customer-focused allocation process that sees the entire models released to dealerships all at once, making it easier for customers to get the Dodge they really want.