As we all know, the supercharged 6.2-litre Hellcat V8 mostly found in Dodge vehicles will not be back after 2023 due to increasingly stringent emissions regulations. All good things must come to an end, right?
In the meantime, the company hopes to appease and please hardcore Dodge enthusiasts with at least one reveal or exciting announcement every three months as part of a business plan called “Never Lift.”
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The next ones will likely come in mid-August during Dodge’s Speed Week in Pontiac, Michigan. That’s when we should see the concept of the electric muscle car we’ve been promised for 2024, but there could also be major news about the Hellcat engine.
Photo: FCA
According to a “reliable source” quoted by Mopar Insiders, the most powerful production Challenger is in the works and it will blow the late Demon out of the water, not to mention the current Challenger Super Stock pictured here.
The report claims the Hellcat will receive significant modifications allowing it to run on E85 fuel [a mix of ethanol and gasoline] and produce as much as 909 horsepower, believe it or not.
Remember, the first Hellcat models arrived several years ago with 707 horsepower under the hood, then the Challenger SRT Demon came out with 808 horsepower on premium gas [840 horsepower when using 100-octane race fuel]. The next logical step is 909 horsepower.
Photo: FCA
The same source also denied previous rumours suggesting Dodge would crank the Hellcat up to an even 1,000 horsepower. It appears the company wants to keep that magic number exclusively for the 7.0-litre Hellephant crate engine.
Anyway, prepare for a serious dose of power with the 2023 Challenger. Could this have anything to do with the Tomahawk name that recently surfaced in a patent application? We’ll see. Keep following The Car Guide for more details as they become available.
Sep 14, 2022 at 4:32pm ET
We're already into the fourth week of Dodge's Last Call debuts for the 2023 Charger and Challenger. Thus far, we've seen appearance packages applied to versions of Scat Pack trim levels of both models, but this orange Charger is a completely different animal. In fact, it's the most powerful Charger to ever come from the factory.
It's called the Charger King Daytona, and it's not a derivative of the naturally aspirated Scat Pack. This is a Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody with an extra 10 horsepower added in for good measure. That means its supercharged 6.2-liter V8 makes 807 hp, exactly the same as the Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock that debuted in 2020. It rides on 20-inch Satin Carbon Warp Speed wheels with orange Brembo brakes behind them. Suspension tuning remains the same, as does the eight-speed automatic transmission.
Gallery: 2023 Dodge Charger King Daytona
The rest of the upgrades are aesthetic, and it starts with an exterior coat of Go Mango orange – the only color offered on this particular Last Call edition. It's complemented with satin chrome badges on the outside and black graphics on the hood, roof, trunk, and King Daytona branding on the quarter panels. Inside, the color combo continues with a black interior featuring orange contrast stitching. Daytona is stitched onto the seat back in orange, and an orange King Daytona badge is impossible to miss on the passenger side dash. As with all 2023 Dodge Charger and Challenger models, a Last Call plaque is mounted under the hood.
With more power comes less availability. Whereas the Challenger Shakedown, Charger Super Bee, and the Charger/Challenger Swingers debuted with production runs of 1,000, Dodge will only build 300 King Daytonas. As for the name, it's an homage to William "Big Willie" Robinson, a staple in the drag racing scene through the 1960s and 1970s who drove a '69 Charger named – you guessed it – King Daytona.
The Beginning Of The End For The Hemi V8:
The next Dodge Last Call offering will debut on September 21. The seventh and final vehicle in the series is being held for a special reveal at the 2022 SEMA Show in early November. In the meantime, enjoy more discussion on Dodge Last Call models and other automotive news in the Rambling About Cars podcast, available below.
Source: Stellantis