Dodge Charger Daytona SRT updated for SEMA 2022

01 November 2022

It is SEMA week and the show is full of electric cars. Dodge wasn’t going to risk being forgotten and brought its all-electric Charger Daytona SRT - with more power and more options to get the crowd excited about the electric future of muscle cars.

Dressed in a deep and glossy Stryker Red paint job, Charger took to the center stage. Drag racing carbon fiber 18-inch wheels wrapped in drag radial tires with the signature “donut” side walls complement the mean looks. But the looks are just a part of the show - a very important one, but far from the whole thing.

The giveaway to the secret sauce hiding under the body of the electric Charger is the not-so discreet badge “Direct Connection Stage 2” - a testament to how seriously Dodge takes the electric transition. Direct Connection is a power upgrade program for electric Dodge vehicles, no different than Mopar, that will offer plenty of choices for the future customers.

There are three power levels available for Charger Daytona SRT - the base model comes with 455hp, which can be increased to 495hp with eSatge 1 upgrade or all the way to 535hp with eStage 2.

The middle-spec Charger comes with 590hp in its base form - this can be upgraded to 630hp with eStage1 or, if you feel adventures, eStage 2 will take it all the way up to 670hp. Both entry and mid-spec models come with 400V architecture.

If 670hp are not enough to quench your power thirst, then you’ll have to wait for the 800V Banshee - a triple-motor 1,000hp electric bat straight out of hell. Dodge is keeping quiet about the specifications, but is promising to unveil the details really soon. Even the Banshee will be available in three power outputs, how far will the eStage 2 take it?

If the numbers aren’t enough to get your pulse racing, maybe the way the upgrades are activated will impress you. Dodge took a page from Bugatti here and turned the theatrics all the way to 11. In order to engage either eStage1 or eStage2 performance, the driver has to insert a specially programmed crystal into the dashboard.

It is so clever - not only you can have the higher performance on demand and let others drive the less intimidating version of the car, but when the time comes, you pop the magic crystal in and light the tires up.

SEMA 2022 is a perfect place for Dodge to wheel out the electric Charger, the company will run customer clinics with surveys and questionnaires. The potential buyers will be able to experience the car up close and personal and will even get a chance to visualize their desired configuration.

The Charger’s “Fratzonic Exhaust” will be put through its paces and customers will have an actual input whether they like it or not and will have the choice of different exhaust sounds to rate, the results of that exercise will haunt us for decades.

Dodge has got one heck of a job on its hands - an electric muscle car is more than a revolution. It is such a polarizing idea that families split over it and friendships end.

There is no question the new Charger will be fast, it will be most likely the fastest Charger ever to have left the factory but that’s just a half of the story. Muscle cars are defined by the noise - is more power enough for people to give up on the V8 burble? Is the “fake” noise an answer?

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