Dodge Introduces “Banshee” Electric Charger Concept – An Electric Vehicle With Exhaust?

Dodge has released photos of its Dodge Charger Daytona SRT “Banshee” Concept, an all-electric version of the iconic American muscle car.

Dodge has been teasing the potential of an all-electric muscle car for some time. We first heard about it last year, when Dodge said it would launch the “world’s first battery-electric muscle car” in 2024. And later that year, Dodge also set a 2024 end date for gas-powered Chargers and Challengers (a story that some sites have reported again this week).

Now we see the next car he could induct into the “Brotherhood of Muscle”: an electric charger. And boy, does it look really hot.

The electric “Banshee” Dodge Charger concept is an all-electric American muscle car – no hybrid, no engine, just a battery.

Dodge’s press release is a bit light on details, without a lot of spec information. The only real performance spec we have is that the concept will be powered by Dodge’s 800V electric all-wheel-drive system, codenamed Banshee. Dodge wants this Banshee brand to evoke the same level of performance as its other high-horsepower brands, like Hemi, Hellcat and Redeye.

The electric charger concept includes three main features:

• R-Wing: Intended to increase aerodynamic efficiency while retaining the Charger’s signature bulky front end.
• eRupt transmission: an electromechanical multi-speed transmission intended to provide distinct shift points, rather than smooth transitions from gear to gear, giving the same “jerk” feel of gear changes in a car gasoline-powered – and a “push-to-pass” for a quick increase in power.
• Fratzonic Chambered Exhaust: an exhaust system… on an electric car. Eh?

That’s right, the electric Dodge Charger includes an exhaust system. Or at least Dodge calls it an exhaust system – there’s nothing to exhaust, more like some speakers that sound as an exhaust. “Fratzonic” is a reference to “Fratzog”, the name of an old three-fold Dodge logo from the 60s and 70s.

Listen now:

The Fratzonic exhaust can produce up to 126dB of sound, sound levels equivalent to the Dodge Hellcat – and above the 120dB threshold that can cause immediate damage to unprotected ears (sigh).

The interior…looks reasonably normal as far as concept car interiors go. That said, that’s the part where concepts usually change the most, so we wouldn’t put a lot of stock there, but you do have the now-standard large center screen, lightweight seats and a panoramic glass roof, which is a novelty for a loader.

Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis said the electrified charger “exists because performance drove us to” – a reference to Dodge’s new marketing slogan. He claims the Banshee-powered electric Dodge Charger will “go a blazing quarter-mile,” but didn’t say how fast that quarter-mile would be.

While we don’t know how many horsepower Dodge is aiming for, putting this Banshee electric concept alongside Hellcat and Redeye in the “Brotherhood of Muscle” suggests the number can’t be low. We’re sure if this car goes into production it’ll have to be in the hundreds if it’s going to live up to those names.

But will it make it to production? Dodge hasn’t made a commitment on this yet, as it’s just a concept for now. But given Kuniskis’ previous comments on electrification – targeting a 2024 release for the “world’s first battery-electric muscle car”, we think it’s reasonably likely the end product will take a shape much like this concept, and could even hit the road in the next few years.

Electrek’s Grasp

When we first heard about Dodge’s electrification plans, and at such short notice, we were a bit skeptical. It’s hard to turn one of the most iconic gas-powered car models, the Charger, into an electric car in just a few years.

But this concept electric Dodge Charger feels surprisingly…real. Despite the lack of spec details and some nonsense (an eardrum-busting exhaust? really? why waste energy damaging your drivers’ ears, come on), nothing about the interior or exterior doesn’t seem too unrealistic. It looks great all around. We could definitely see that build.

Personally, I to like the design of the R fender. Dodge says it’s supposed to evoke the fender of the original Dodge Charger Daytona, but this one was… a bit too much. The R wing is more subtle (like something about this car is subtle) and serves an aerodynamic purpose, but looks just different enough to be a nice feature that sets it apart from other cars. Moreover, this can only happen because less space is needed under the hood to accommodate a giant semi-hemicycle engine, which makes it possible to take advantage of one of the advantages of electric propulsion. All around, just a great design feature, in my opinion.

However, we don’t know how the shift points and loud speakers add performance, but maybe it will work on Dodge’s target audience. Or maybe those features won’t go into production. Since Kuniskis has apparently received death threats from the latest announcementmaybe this audience somehow deserves to have some of their toys taken away if they can’t behave.

But from what we’ve seen here in Dodge reviews and what we’ve seen with other EVs, they’ll still have a lot of performance toys to play with, at least.

What do you think of the electric charger? Let us know in the comments.

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