2028 Dodge Charger Hellcat Reportedly Confirmed By Internal Documents
Stellantis is reportedly preparing to put the big, bad V8 back under the hood of the Dodge Charger.
According to supplier documents reviewed by Automotive News, Stellantis is quietly doing the work to drop a 6.2-liter supercharged Hellcat V8 into the latest-generation Charger. Production should kick off in late 2027 for the 2028 model year, with suppliers instructed to prepare for a production run of about 12,000 units per year. For context, Dodge has sold 8,029 Chargers as of the end of September, putting it on pace to finish the year with between 10,000 and 12,000 cars sold.
Given the timeline, we could see the car debut at the 2027 Detroit Auto Show. When prompted for a statement, Stellantis brushed off the report as pure speculation.
Stellantis originally killed off the previous-generation Challenger and Charger in 2023, taking with it the Hemi V8 in a bid to go all-in on aggressive electrification. The new Charger launched with two main flavors: the all-electric Charger Daytona and the inline-six Charger Sixpack powered by the 3.0-liter twin-turbo Hurricane engine.
While the turbo-six makes plenty of power on paper and absolutely smokes the old naturally aspirated Hemi, it just doesn't have the same soul, missing the exhaust burbles and a syncopated idle that gently vibes with your body on a molecular level.
MoparInsiders claims access to internal Stellantis documents that confirm the Hellcat engine is planned for both two-door and four-door Charger models. The outlet also alleges the supercharged V8 model will drive only the rear wheels, unlike the Hurricane-powered Chargers that are all-wheel-drive.
The electric Charger Daytona has been a total paperweight in showrooms. The top-tier 670-horsepower EV hits 60 mph in 3.3 seconds, which is awesome, except nobody seems to care, or want one, for that matter. Dodge has sold shy of 800 EV Charger Daytonas through September of this year — a 90 percent drop compared last year.
The Hurricane six-cylinder and the electric Daytona aren't going anywhere, but clearly Dodge is expecting the return of a 6.2-liter Hellcat Charger to boost volume significantly.
