Dodge rolling out Durango Hellcat, Charger Redeye, 807-hp Challenger
Dodge will roll out a new hybrid version of the Grand Caravan for the 2021 model year as the automaker moves to a greener brand philosophy and more environmentally responsible messaging. Nah, I’m just kidding, it’s axing the Grand Caravan and Journey and adding gobs and gobs of raging horsepower to the rest of its lineup in the form of the ’21 Durango Hellcat, Charger Redeye and 807-hp Challenger Super Stock.
Tim Kuniskis, FCA’S North American head of passenger cars, doesn’t mince words: Dodge customers prefer power over tech, he said late June, and hinted they’d take it over pretty much anything else, too, really.
So for 2021, Dodge will give the people what they want, trimming the beloved Grand Caravan and the tolerated Journey from its range and adding one new massively overpowered SRT trim each to the remaining three models.
CHALLENGER SRT SUPER STOCK
The Challenger is getting a new SRT Super Stock trim — it’s not quite a Demon, but it’s not far off it either. To whit, this Chally’s 6.2-litre HEMI offers 807 horsepower on pump gas, channeling it through 315-millimetre rubber on all four corners to pull off 10.50-second ETS in the quarter-mile stock, making it the quickest muscle car you can buy today.
Engineers got there by bumping up the redline to 6,400 rpm and adding Bilstein shocks that, in Track Mode, remove rebound damping to plant the rear on those waywide meats and lift the front end.
CHARGER SRT HELLCAT REDEYE
Charger will get the Redeye trim the Challenger’s been enjoying, which means a new hood with a functional coldair intake feeding that V8 all it can get so that it can also nail mid-10s in the quarter, hit 96 km/h from zero in the threes, and top out at 327 km/h (203 mph). The tires on this family sedan — yes, this is a four-door remember — measure 305 millimetres wide and are stopped by Brembo six-piston calipers.
Like the Challenger Redeye, it comes with line lock, Torque Reserve, launch assist and a launch control mode with a dial-it-in-yourself launch RPM. The supercharger cooler keeps the engine bay heat down by tapping into the car’s A/C refrigerant reservoirs.
DURANGO SRT HELLCAT
But the big news is the Durango Hellcat. It was “only a matter of time before we convinced the suits to let us” build the thing, Kuniskis says, and the truck does not disappoint. The whole Durango range borrows some styling from the Charger and gets a more driver-centric cockpit layout similar to its siblings’, too, but the Hellcat in particular gets a wicked front splitter and two-piece rear spoiler with a Gurney lip on it for actual aero benefit up around its 290-km/h (180-mph) top speed.
The exhaust system gets an X-pipe for a muscle-car-like sound, and the transmission and suspension have been retuned, too. Did I mention the supercharged Hellcat V8? It delivers 710 horsepower to scoot the SUV down the quarter-mile in 11.50 seconds, or to 96 km/h from a standstill in just about 3.5 secs.
The Durango Hellcat will be a one-model-year-only model since in SUV applications the engine won’t pass EVAP regs in ’22, and while Dodge isn’t limiting orders, the pandemic means it won’t be able to turn out more than 2,000 of them during its sixmonth production run. The sign-up books open up late this year.
The rest of the Durango trims get some attention, too, especially inside, where the also-sporty GT and R/T get flat-bottom steering wheels and the Citadel gets a more premium feel, particularly if you opt for the Ebony Red upholstery.
While Dodge customers prefer power over tech, Durango’s upgrades don’t neglect tech altogether: FCA’S exceptional Android-based Uconnect 5 infotainment system is now five times faster, plus Durango gets Amazon Alexa, Siriux XM radio, Tomtom navigation, wireless charging, and wireless connectivity for two phones simultaneously. The touchscreen has gone up in size from 8.4 inches to 10.
Kuniskis jokes that Dodge knows its customers so well, it doesn’t even need to do market research any more — and he’s probably right. So to any hypothetical Dodge customers hoping to see plug-in drivetrains or affordable minivans for 2022 instead of even more tire-smoke-generating machinery, don’t hold your breath.