I’ve been a fan of the American Muscle Car since I was a kid, especially the big three, Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Charger/Challenger, and like many of my era I’ve been interested to see if and how these cars transition into the electric vehicle age.
Sadly, as General Motors are currently in midst of a huge company-wide transition toward electric vehicles and hope to go all-electric by the model year 2035, they have announced the retirement of the Chevrolet Camaro as we know it.
Then in 2021, Ford released the Mustang Mach-E, an all-electric compact crossover SUV, which admittedly is selling like hot cakes in the US but makes me wonder why they used the Mustang name as this car is nothing like the Ford Mustangs I know.
So, when I heard Dodge had unveiled its Dodge Charger Daytona SRT “Banshee” Concept, a fully electric take on one of the famous American muscle cars, I was fascinated to see if they too had prostituted a once great name on a hair drier, all be it a very powerful and fast hair drier!
Well, I’m very pleased that from what I’ve seen of the car, which incidentally is flagged for release in 2024, they have done the name proud and will drag old die-hard muscle car fans like myself into the new EV era.
The Banshee is powered by an 800V electric all-wheel drive propulsion system, offering a higher level of performance than Dodge’s other signature offering the Hellcat, it features an eRupt transmission which delivers smooth transitions that give a similar jerking feeling to shifting gears, a “push-to-pass” button for a quick power boost, and a stunning new R-Wing design for increased aerodynamic efficiency whilst still maintaining the old Charger styling.
The most fascinating feature of the car is its Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust which is said to produce up to 126dB of sound, a similar level to the Hellcat, despite being fully electric.
In a nutshell and on paper the new Dodge Charger Daytona SRT “Banshee” performs as well or better than the traditional model, sounds as good as the old model and looks similar, so there’s really no reason why a model like myself, shouldn’t like it.
According to Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis, “Dodge is about muscle, attitude and performance, and the brand carries that chip on its shoulder and into the Battery Electric Vehicle 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. Charger Daytona does more than define where Dodge is headed, it will redefine American muscle in the process.”
I hope Tim’s right because from what I’ve seen of the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT “Banshee” Concept, it looks amazing and here is what the American Muscle Car site, ‘Raiti’s Rides’ thinks of it.