Yesterday, we reported about reports Stellantis is planning to ramp back up production of Hemi V8 engines at the company’s plant in Dundee, Michigan, starting next August.
Mopar Insiders, which first reported on that, today added that the new Dodge Charger Daytona will get a V8 engine, once again citing informed sources.
In its latest reincarnation, the Charger Daytona is offered in an all-electric configuration, and it will soon be offered with the brand’s 3.0L turbocharged inline-6 engine known as the Hurricane. Production of that variant is due to launch in May, with model deliveries se to start this summer.
The new reports indicate that Dodge engineers will work on a Dodge Charger with a V8 engine, though it wouldn’t be ready before the tail end of 2026. There’s no information at this point indicating which engine will be chosen. Will the offer be limited to the 5.7L Hemi V8, or might the 6.2L Hellcat block be brought back? That would allow Dodge to boast of a gas-engine model as powerful as the electric version.
It’s easy to see the attraction of that idea. The 6-cylinder engine, which is available in two configurations, delivers 456 and 670 hp. A V8 would have the mission of offering more, which would leave room for a Hellcat version.
Dodge Charger Daytona (electric version) | Photo: Dodge
Stellantis has nothing official to say yet about the possibility of a V8 engine. To Car and Driver, which inquired about it following the Mopar Insiders report, the automaker simply repeated what we already know, namely that the Charger Daytona is to receive different types of powertrains, that it will also be offered with a sedan body style, and that the 6-cylinder engine is coming soon.
Clearly there’s movement behind the scenes – and an obvious change of philosophy – since the departure at the head of Stellantis of Carlos Tavares, who had forced the American divisions to get rid of V8 engines.
And all this comes at a time when the current U.S. administration is proceeding with plans to roll back environmental standards for polluting emissions.
