Stellantis’ North American division has seen the writing on the wall and is slowly reintroducing the Hemi V8 across its brand lineup, first with the Ram 1500, followed by the Jeep Wrangler.
However, the Dodge Charger – which last year launched as an EV coupe and sedan, followed by a twin-turbo six-cylinder – remains without the option of a V8, despite customers calling for it.
Speaking to US outlet Motortrend at the Detroit motor show, Tim Kuniskis, the head of Stellantis in North America, as well as the man leading the reborn SRT performance division, said the Charger likely won’t get the 5.7-litre V8 found in the Ram 1500, instead only the supercharged 6.2-litre V8 from the old Challenger Hellcat would be considered.
“The only way it makes sense to charge for [an optional Hemi] now is I have to go all the way up to a Hellcat,” Kuniskis said.
“If you were to put a V-8 in the car you would probably go to Hellcat instead of 5.7. The reality is when you get into that rare air, the take rate is pretty small.”
“People say to me, ‘you brought back the [5.7-liter] Hemi on truck’ and it’s great, everyone’s happy. ‘Now bring back a 6.4-liter Hemi into truck’. They say if the 5.7-liter fits, the 6.4-liter will and you should do it.
“It was a miracle that we got it [the new 1500 V8] done in 10 months,” Kuniskis added, referring to the far more advanced electrical system in the pickup than its predecessor.
Already, Ram is selling more than two times as many V8 1500s in the US as twin-turbo straight-sixes, and it’s still not able to meet demand. That’s also despite the Hemi V8 not being as widely available in the lineup.
While only two Ram 1500 variants get the V8, in truth only two – Limited and Longhorn – offer it as a no-cost option compared to the Hurricane HO.
In the Tradesman, Express, Warlock, Big Horn, Lone Star, the V6 is standard while the Hurricane SO and V8 are cost options, setting buyers back an extra US$1695 (A$2565) and US$2895 (A$4380), respectively.
Kuniskis has previously said that once Ram is able to meet demand, the Hemi V8 will account for about 40 per cent of 1500 pickup sales.
However, the business case may not be as clear cut for the Dodge Charger. A Hemi V8 version would likely lose the twin-turbo ‘Hurricane’ model’s all-wheel-drive system, repositioning it as more of a Mustang challenger than a cut-price alternative to the likes of the BMW M3 and M4.
We have seen recently that Stellantis hasn’t been afraid to bring back the 6.2-litre supercharged V8 from the Hellcat, after it resurrected the Ram 1500 TRX.
Powered by the same V8, changes to the engine resulted in power and torque in the pickup rising from 523kW and 882Nm to now produce 579kW and 922Nm, figures which would be more than at home in a new Dodge Charger V8.
Currently the Dodge Charger’s ‘High Output’ twin-turbo six makes 410kW and 720Nm, a respectable increase over the circa-300kW Hemi V8 which last powered the Charger sedan and Challenger coupe, but nowhere near the flagship Hellcat levels.
Last year, Dodge reportedly cancelled the Charger Daytona SRT Banshee EV, which was expected to produce at least 660kW and also be all-wheel drive.
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