2029 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat / Banshee / Demon / Redeye: Dodge’s Wildest Car Is Getting Wilder
Whatever you call it, it absolutely needs to be a drag-strip monster.
What It Is In July, Stellantis announced the revival of its Street and Racing Technology (SRT) performance division. Its task: unify high-performance efforts across the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram brands with a new batch of adrenaline-inducing vehicles. Among the most exciting Dodges in recent memory was the Challenger SRT Demon 170, and adrenaline junkie Tim Kuniskis will oversee SRT, so it makes sense he would reprise a dragstrip-ready Demon for the modern age. As for the name: Charger Daytona SRT Banshee, Demon, Hellcat, Redeye—any of them could work.
Because the relatively new electric Dodge Charger Daytona in Scat Pack–spec is tuned to make 670 horsepower with the Power Shot boost and 627 lb-ft of torque, and the previous Demon with its Hellcat 6.2-liter supercharged V-8 engine with E85 fuel cranked out 1,025 hp and 945 lb-ft, a new Demon will need serious specs to be worth creating. It must arrive with outrageous power, crazy marketing stunts, and smoky donuts. Dodge has hinted at a Daytona SRT Banshee making close to 900 hp. A Demon would take it a step further.
Expect SRT to build on the look of the Charger Daytona, which is some of the finest work by Stellantis design chief—and a former head of SRT—Ralph Gilles, who created a modern muscle car that stopped short of being cartoonish. Maybe we’ll get some flared wheel arches and secret details Mopar nerds will appreciate. Expect items from Direct Connection’s tuner catalog, as well.
FUTURE Dodge Charger Hellcat Demon rearquarter
Why It Matters Chargers, Hellcats, Demons, and Redeyes are the Dodge brand’s essence; they’re the reason it continues to exist today as a niche maker that caters to a group that calls itself the Brotherhood of Muscle. While many companies add performance variants to augment their image, at Dodge, performance is the brand. Hellcats and Demons were Hemi V-8 legends, serving as halo vehicles to sell the regular muscle cars—and while the new Chargers look great, they need all the sales help they can get. Dodge no longer has Challengers in its lineup to assist; the business case is based on relatively low volume, and Dodge makes no apologies for not trying to become more mainstream to broaden its appeal.
Platform and Powertrain The beauty of the STLA platforms at Stellantis is that they were designed to accommodate all drivetrains: internal combustion engines, hybrids, plug-in hybrids, extended-range hybrids, and battery electric vehicles. STLA Large supports 400- and 800-volt architectures, all-wheel drive, and electric driving ranges up to 400 miles. A pure EV is the easiest way to get big performance numbers, but enthusiasts have gravitated more to the Charger Sixpack with its Hurricane I-6 engine than to the Daytona EV. Demon buyers probably want the sound and vibrations that only come realistically from an internal combustion engine. The rub: Stellantis is bringing back the Hemi V-8 as an option on the Ram 1500, but only the 5.7-liter at this point, so it would need some electric boost to achieve the kind of performance numbers worthy of a Demon.
Estimated Price $110,000
Expected On-Sale Date Fall 2028
Alisa Priddle
Alisa Priddle joined MotorTrend in 2016 as the Detroit Editor. A Canadian, she received her Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and has been a reporter for 40 years, most of it covering the auto industry because there is no more fascinating arena to cover. It has it all: the vehicles, the people, the plants, the competition, the drama. Alisa has had a wonderfully varied work history as a reporter for four daily newspapers including the Detroit Free Press where she was auto editor, and the Detroit News where she covered the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies, as well as auto trade publication Wards, and two enthusiast magazines: Car & Driver and now MotorTrend. At MotorTrend Alisa is a judge for the MotorTrend Car, Truck, SUV and Person of the Year. She loves seeing a new model for the first time, driving it for the first time, and grilling executives for the stories behind them. In her spare time, she loves to swim, boat, sauna, and then jump into a cold lake or pile of snow.
