At a time when the entire world seems determined to replace exhaust pipes with charging ports, Dodge has decided to flip the table. The American automaker, practically an eternal symbol of power and burned rubber, has just let it be known that the V8 engine isn’t dead at all. In fact, it seems to have just taken a brief break to come back fiercer than ever.
Dodge hints at V8 return as Stellantis commits $10 billion to U.S. performance cars
While competitors invest billions in batteries, software and acoustic silencers, Stellantis, Dodge’s parent company, has chosen a significantly louder path. The group has announced a mega-investment of $10 billion in its U.S. operations, double what was originally allocated, thus raising the stakes by another $5 billion, with the goal of reviving American high-performance car production.
There’s still (but it would be more accurate to say again) a need to bring back to life the glorious tradition of eight-cylinder muscle cars. According to Bloomberg, part of those funds could go right into developing a new Dodge V8. And the fuse was lit directly by the brand’s CEO, Matt McAlear, who when asked about a possible V8 return in the next generation of Charger responded with a disarming smile: “No surprise if it comes to fruition.” A phrase that, in enthusiast language, sounds more or less like a declaration of love.
And to think that, just a short time ago, Dodge seemed ready to definitively embrace electric. The project for the electric Charger Daytona SRT Banshee, a 900-horsepower beast with fake exhaust rumble, was supposed to represent the brand’s future. Then, quietly, in 2025, that plan was put on hold due to poor sales of the Charger Daytona. And let’s be frank about it, even the best synthesized sound can never replace the honest growl of a V8.
