It’s not a great time to be developing EVs for America. Between flattening consumer demand and the repeal of EV-friendly policies, almost all automakers are reevaluating their plans. Already, several future models have been cancelled, and the headwinds facing EVs in America might’ve just resulted in another casualty. Earlier this week, Mopar Insiders reported that the Charger Daytona SRT Banshee might not see the light of day, and while revisions to Stellantis’ EV plan aren’t exactly unexpected, the potential death of a halo car is certainly noteworthy. As the report states:
According to internal whispers from supplier channels, the upcoming 800-volt Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Banshee, a range-topping, all-electric halo car for Dodge’s EV strategy, has been axed.
We reached out to Stellantis for comment, and as you’d probably expect, the official statement is relatively vague. However, it does state that plans for future SRT models are also under review, which means that the future of the Charger Daytona SRT Banshee is uncertain.
Stellantis continues to reassess its product strategy to align with consumer demand. Our plan ensures we offer customers a range of vehicles with flexible powertrain options that best meet their needs. With the great news announced in July that Stellantis is bringing back its iconic SRT performance division (Street and Racing Technology), it follows that we are also reviewing the plan for future SRT vehicles.
By now, it’s not controversial to say that the initial Charger Daytona models are a bit disappointing. A Scat Pack without a burnout mode, a weird incident involving Edmunds’ unit accelerating on its own, all the backlash that came with America’s muscle car brand going electric, and the prospect of a $75,185 coupe that can be outrun by a $67,800 Hyundai crossover. However, our industry sources who’ve been correct about other Stellantis developments have turned up more details around the purported range-topping model, and they all add up to something promising.
For one, let’s start with power. It’s no secret that the hi-po electric Charger was slated to run an 800-volt architecture with substantially more power than the old supercharged Hellcat. While some initial estimates pegged the figure at north of 800, that’s now looking like a lowball figure. Allegedly the real slated output was well north of 1,000 horsepower, a figure strong enough to match or surpass what we’ve seen from the Tesla Model S Plaid, Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, and Lucid Air Sapphire. Considering both the Taycan Turbo GT and the Lucid Air Sapphire can run from zero-to-60 mph in less than two seconds, all signs point towards the top-shelf electric Charger having hypercar performance, likely for under $100,000.
Then there were the purported battery advancements. Promising significantly greater energy density and longevity, solid-state batteries have long been considered the silver bullet of the EV space, and Stellantis previously announced a partnership with Factorial to use cells with quasi-solid electrolytes. Sure, these aren’t true solid-state batteries, but the promised figures were serious. Energy density of 375 Wh/kg, and 18-minute fast charging from 15 to 90 percent in Stellantis’ proposed applications. Allegedly, these cells weren’t just supposed to come in the electric Charger SRT, but also in the now-canceled Ram battery electric pickup truck. It would’ve been an industry first, and yet, it looks like we’re going to have to wait.
So if the project has been cancelled, what went wrong, especially with the Charger Daytona SRT so late in development? Well, it’s no secret that sales of the regular Charger Daytona haven’t exactly been brisk. Dodge only managed to sell 4,299 of the things through the first half of the year, and the entry level R/T trim has been discontinued on account of slow sales. Right now, it seems like all hands are on deck for the six-cylinder version of the Charger, due to hit showrooms soon.
While a halo car goes a way to reviving the image of something that arrived with a messy landing, Dodge built its entire brand for the past few years on combustion-powered muscle. The people who buy Dodge cars know what they want, and a seriously quick EV probably isn’t it for most of them. Besides, even the old SRT Hellcat wasn’t a volume seller, because the Chargers you see everywhere are ones with the Pentastar V6. An entry level model puts butts in seats, and that seems to be what Dodge is working towards.
Will the Charger Daytona SRT ever drop? At this point, nothing’s certain. It’s possible that in a few years, Dodge will take the project off the shelf, iron out the calibration, and release it. At the same time, Stellantis is revising its strategy for V8s, and while the Charger would make a likely recipient, even the six-cylinder combustion-powered variant runs on a new electrical architecture that would likely require significant engineering work to control a V8. Either way, it sounds like what could’ve been might’ve been great.
Top graphic image: Dodge
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The post The Charger Daytona Banshee Was Going To Be Way More Powerful Than Expected But Now It’s Dead, Apparently appeared first on The Autopian.
