Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Banshee Concept: The future of ‘Murican Muscle

Trust Dodge to make an EV Muscle car with all the outrageous attributes of the Hellcats and Demons, dialed to 11

Dodge took wraps off what it claims will be the future of signature American Muscle cars, The Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Banshee Concept. And it is packed with just as long a list of references to past Dodge greats, as its name is. Let’s call it the Charger Banshee going forward. And Dodge has gone about making the concept in true Dodge fashion. Loud (Yes, it’s an EV), brash, in-your-face… got the message?

Exterior

The Dodge Charger Banshee looks like the Muscle part of its name. Starting up front, the looks are pure Dodge with a blunt front end. But that is an illusion. Typical of the brand to do outrageous stuff, the blunt front end actually integrates a spoiler, called the R-Wing. A SPOILER. On the front of a car. Dodge aims to make this future Charger 25% more aerodynamic than the current Charger Hellcat Widebody. If you were to ignore the spoiler for a moment, the front end would look like the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. There is a sleek LED light running across the breadth of the front end along the lower edge under the spoiler. While in the middle, the historic Fratzog logo sits proud, signifying what’s to come for us from Dodge. The Fratzog logo holds substantial significance and deserves a separate article of its own.

The side profile of the Charger Banshee retains the typical muscle car profile, with the ‘Waterline Tracks’. These character lines shift the visual mass of the Charger in the top half of the car. It also gives the muscle car enhanced, muscular shoulder and wheel arches. Also, another important ‘Back to The Roots’ factor is that the Charger Banshee is a 2-door, like the Chargers of the ’60s. A ‘Screaming Banshee’ emblem sits on the front fender as the Hellcat badges do on the current line-up of Chargers and Challengers. The alloy wheels also feature a radical new design unlike anything seen before at least, not on a Muscle car. Those are 21-inch wheels with a turbine-inspired design that help with aerodynamics. The wheel center-lock caps are finished in red and feature the Fratzog emblem as well.

The rear features a fastback design, complete with full-length tail lights. It reminds me of the ’66 Charger or the ’68 Barracuda. Notice the tapering wide C-Pillar flushing into the boot of the vehicle. I’m surprised they didn’t engrave the cursive ‘Charger’ badging on it which would have been a helluva throwback. Also, if anyone at Dodge is reading this, can we please have the charging inlet on the rear quarter, just above the rear wheel, like the gas tank inlet on the ’68 Charger?

Interior

The 12.3-inch center screen, the largest featured in a Dodge vehicle, angles nearly ten degrees toward the driver, and the 16-inch instrument cluster is curved, creating a cocooned, driver-focused feel. An 8-by-3-inch Head-up Display (HUD) puts additional vehicle information where the driver needs it. The slim, instrument panel (IP) and mid-bolster in Ultraviolet color with blue and silver accent stitching feature a “waterline” that extends across the car. The upper IP is a step higher, an elevation change that creates a sculptural surface floating above the cluster. The Ultraviolet color also touches multiple interior surfaces, such as the console, doors, and seats, creating a halo that works with the Attitude Adjustment Lighting™ 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 sculpture, 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 fiber floor and are strategically placed to surround occupants, flowing under the seats, moving to the center console and IP, and coming back to the driver, a subtle detail that acts as a circuit board, connecting one to another. A unique lightning bolt shape on the accelerator pedal hints at the concept’s electrified powertrain, as does the dual Blue Plasma and Silver stitching that surrounds the entire interior. Carbon fiber door sills feature illuminated white Daytona lettering, with lighted Daytona lettering also found at the top right of the mid-bezel.

Powertrain

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. 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.

400-volt Output Levels

440 (kW) – base trim (590 hp)

Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust

Visit the Dodge Official Website to know more about the Dodge Charger Daytona SRT Banshee