Dodge is taking a giant step forward on the performance brand’s road to an electrified future, revealing the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT, a perception-shattering concept that reimagines what a battery electric vehicle (BEV) can be. The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept offers a glimpse at the brand’s electric future through a vehicle that drives like a Dodge, looks like a Dodge and sounds like Dodge. The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept muscles aside the boring BEV paradigm and replaces it with an electrified vehicle unlike any on the road today. A new propulsion system drives the Charger Daytona SRT Concept with performance that exceeds the Dodge brand’s famed SRT Hellcat engine, accompanied by an industry-first BEV exhaust sound. The two-door Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept was unveiled at the 2022 M1 Concourse in Pontiac, Michigan, during the third day of the three-day Dodge Speed Week event series, which featured announcements and reveals of Dodge performance products. The concept’s modern exterior styling incorporates subtle Dodge heritage cues while also exceeding aerodynamic targets. Interior design elements connect to create a driver-centric, immersive experience through sounds, displays and lighting features that change inside and out at the push of a button. The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept’s cockpit experience immerses the driver’s sensory experience through performance sounds, lighting features, and vehicle displays. A simple one-button press on the steering wheel lets the driver pick from Auto, Sport, Track and Drag modes, instantly changing the driving dynamics, instrument cluster information, HUD content, performance sound and interior lighting features of the vehicle.
The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept’s interior is modern, lightweight and athletic, providing a driver-centric cockpit with all essentials cohesively packaged. The 12.3-inch centre screen, the largest featured in a Dodge vehicle, angles nearly ten degrees towards the driver, and the 16-inch instrument cluster is curved, creating a cocooned, driver-focused feel. An 8-in.x 3-in. Heads-up display (HUD) puts additional vehicle information where the driver needs it. The slim, instrument panel (IP) and mid-bolster in Ultraviolet colour with blue and silver accent stitching feature a “waterline” that extends cross car. The upper IP is a step higher, an elevation change that creates a sculptural surface floating above the cluster. The Ultraviolet colour also touches multiple interior surfaces such as the console, doors and seats, creating a halo that works with the Attitude Adjustment Lighting TM to enhance shadows and highlights. A parametric texture unites the interior and provides a connection to the exterior by continuing the inspiration of the 1968 Charger grille detail on the inside. The parametric pattern adds fluidity and shine, spanning from the IP to door appliques, beneath the console and continuing to the rear armrests and rear console. The dynamic interior texture has a three-dimensional quality that bounces light and is reactive to the environment, with lines that radiate as they move rearward. Ambient Attitude Adjustment Lighting illuminates the texture from below, playing with depth and dimension. Circuit-like graphics originate on the carbon fibre floor and are strategically placed to surround occupants, flowing under the seats, moving to the centre console and IP, and coming back to the driver, a subtle detail that acts as a circuit board, connecting one to another.
Doors and centre console follow the sculptural design theme, including only the needed elements. A pass-through area under the console creates a much lighter feel, and clever centre console touches include a jet-fighter inspired cap that flips up when engaging the start button. The unique pistol-grip shifter is inspired by the past but with a modern execution, functioning as a mechanical precision piece that delivers an effortless shift experience when squeezing the pistol grip’s trigger. Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept seats are lightweight, sporty and slim in design, with an insert that features abstract, perforated pattern of the Fratzog logo. The unique pattern fades out as it travels down the seat and reappears as it flows toward the centre of the seatbacks. The upper seatbacks feature openings and seat bolsters that provide an airy, race-oriented feel, while holding occupants. The panoramic glass roof gives an open-air feel to the Charger Daytona SRT Concept, helping to include rear passengers in the vehicle experience. The parametric interior texture extends to the headliner surrounding and accentuating the glass area. The carbon fibre “tub” floor and hatch are race-inspired lightweight features, and the large cargo area along with fold-flat rear seats provide more storage space than any previous Dodge muscle car.
The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept features inspired design that takes on the challenge of revolutionizing the look of a BEV while offering subtle nods to the brand’s muscle car past. That design principle begins to unfold up front, where the Charger Daytona SRT Concept’s patent-pending R-Wing redefines the typical Dodge front end, maintaining the characteristically blunt Dodge profile while developing a more aerodynamic vehicle. The R-Wing, an homage to the original Charger Daytona design and to a key figure behind development of the original vehicle, allows air to flow through the front opening, enhancing downforce. Incorporated into this functional performance hood, the front R-Wing holds true to the brand’s dramatic exterior themes while delivering an aerodynamically improved pass-through design. The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept combines modern looks with a long, wide and confident road presence. The front grille stands out with cross-car illuminated lighting centred by a white illuminated Fratzog badge, a symbol teased last year by the Dodge brand. The three-pointed Fratzog badge, originally featured on Dodge muscle cars from 1962 through 1976, was previously used without any meaning or context – until now. The return of the Fratzog logo represents the electrified future of Dodge and signifies the brand’s unwavering commitment to its performance heritage, but with new technology capable of pushing limits well beyond the cars of today. Carbon-fibre intakes tucked into both sides of the front and rear lower fascias provide an air curtain to assist in aerodynamic performance.
Dodge has built a unique reputation as America’s muscle car brand. In the race to be faster, quicker and more powerful, Dodge is turning the page to a new chapter. The brand’s first-ever electric car isn’t called the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept by coincidence – like the famed Charger Daytona model that was the first vehicle to break 322 km/h (200 mph) on a NASCAR track in 1970, the Charger Daytona SRT Concept packs a performance punch. The 800V Banshee propulsion system powers the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Concept car and screams performance, making Dodge’s first electric vehicle faster than a Hellcat in all key performance measures. The standard all-wheel drive system is key to pushing beyond Hellcat performance while also improving all-weather capability. It does so courtesy of a new propulsion system that joins high-horsepower household names such as HEMI®, Hellcat and Redeye. There’s a new pinnacle of performance in the Brotherhood of Muscle: Banshee. Unlike typical BEVs, the Dodge brand’s eRupt multi-speed transmission with electro-mechanical shifting delivers distinctive shift points, throwing shoulders into seatbacks in true Dodge style. The Charger Daytona SRT Concept also boasts a PowerShot push-to-pass feature. Activated by the push of a button on the steering wheel, PowerShot delivers an adrenaline jolt of increased horsepower for a quick burst of acceleration.
