Last call for Dodge’s hellacious, muscular gas-powered sedan
It’s coming, or so the world’s governments have decreed. It’s the denouement of the internal combustion engine age. So, fittingly, Stellantis celebrated “Dodge Speed Week” from Aug. 15-19, as the company revealed where it’s headed in the age of the electron, even as it celebrated with the last of its fossil-fueled muscle cars.
There’s the graceful, yet muscular Charger Daytona SRT Concept, a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody at once new and classic, one that recalls the best of Chrysler Corporation’s muscle car era without slavishly replicating it. While it certainly looks as if it could be Dodge’s first battery electric vehicle, executives remained mum. The 2023 model year will also see a convertible version of the Dodge Challenger, and the return, however briefly, of the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat. And the Dodge Charger and Challenger return for 2023 for one last lusty, loud, gas-fueled rebellion against an electron-filled transportation future. These cars are leaving, but not quietly.
And so, it was time to climb behind the wheel of the lengthily-named 2022 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody Jailbreak. Whatever you might call it, call it familiar. Having debuted in 2005 using a modified 1990s-era MercedesBenz E-Class chassis, the Charger retains a litany of mostly OPEC-friendly drivelines. Dodge thoughtfully provided me with a Jailbreak model. New for 2022, and continued for 2023, it offers seven options for seats, stripes and wheels; six brake caliper color options; five exterior badging finishes; four choices each of steering wheels, seat belt colors and floor mats.
It dispenses 60 mph in a mere 3.6 seconds; top speed is 203 mph, with a quarter-mile run in 10.6 seconds at 129 mph.
And there are any number of electronic aids to satisfy your need for speed that come standard. Launch Control controls tire slip during acceleration, Launch Assist modifies engine torque to restore full grip, and Line Lock engages the front brakes when the vehicle is stationary, allowing for a smoky burnout. There are also Track, Sport and Auto damping modes for the adaptive suspension.
If there’s anything that fails to live up to its price, it’s the interior. The seats are welcoming, being large, wide with heating and ventilation. Yet despite the coddling comfort, they prove sufficiently supportive. But other parts that remind you that the Charger also does duty as a bare-bones cop car. Apple CarPlay and Android
Auto are standard on the 8.4-inch touchscreen, a reminder of this vehicle’s age.
But its lack of perfection is, by its very nature, what makes it a quintessential American car. Dodge claims the 2022 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye Widebody Jailbreak to be the fastest mass-produced sedan in the world.
We wouldn’t doubt them. There’s a reason it’s called the Jailbreak.