Ford Mustang’s V8 rival set to return

Until recently, the Mustang had competitors – at least in the US market – from General Motors and Stellantis in the Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger, respectively. However, production of both models ended in 2023, leaving the Mustang as the sole traditional muscle car.

While Stellantis now has a coupe in the reborn Charger (also available as a sedan), it’s an electric vehicle, and the first examples of the six-cylinder version have only just started to roll down the production line.

Like the Ram 1500, the six-cylinder Charger will be powered by a twin-turbo 3.0-litre engine, capable of higher outputs than some versions of its V8 predecessor. Despite this, Dodge is still investigating whether it can put its old V8s into the new Charger.

Speaking to Canadian publication Windsor Star, AutoForecast Solutions vice-president of global vehicle forecasting Sam Fiorani says Dodge is currently working out if the long-serving ‘Hemi’ V8 can work in the Charger, which runs on a completely different platform to its predecessor.

“We haven’t seen the Hemi V8 yet,” Fiorani told Windsor Star. “That (Hemi) is expected if it fits on the (STLA large) platform.

“We haven’t seen any of that engineering information showing it fits in the platform yet. The revival of the Hemi makes perfect sense.”

It’s not the first time reports of the V8 Charger’s return have emerged, with sources previously saying Stellantis would restart production of the 5.7-litre, 6.4-litre ‘Apache’, and supercharged 6.2-litre ‘Hellcat’ Hemi engines which powered the Challenger coupe.

Last month, Ram performed a U-turn and announced the hemi V8 (in 5.7-litre form) would return to the 1500 pickup, however it runs on a different platform to the Charger, which could lead to stumbling blocks for Dodge.

According to Fiorani, it could take 18 months for the V8 to be engineered to work with the Charger’s STLA Large architecture.

Windsor Star also reports word from other sources that the Charger could receive Dodge’s ‘Hellephant’ engine, a 7.0-litre supercharged V8, capable of producing more than 745kW (or 1000hp).

The Hellephant has never been offered in a production car, and is only available as a crate motor from Stellantis’ North American performance division, Mopar.